Jaco Says: Action needed as agriculture sector faces perfect storm
[{“type”:”text”,”content”:”Yet the sector now faces a moment where numerous factors and pressures, some of which have been simmering for many years, as well as geopolitical realities and disasters beyond our control, have combined to put the sector and its constituents under immense pressure. Essentially, what is brewing for agriculture is a perfect storm that threatens food certainty and our very ability to continue to grow locally into the future. nnLong neglected infrastructure u2013 including roads, rail, port, water, rural policing and the electricity grid – have continued to decay with many reaching critical levels of failure in parts of the country. Continued policy uncertainty over inter alia expropriation without compensation has driven both lower levels of investment in the sector (because in farming your investment life is 10 to 15 years typically) and a loss of skilled farmers out of the sector u2013 and neither of these negative consequences will contribute to greater inclusivity in agriculture, which remains a challenge. Flooding in KwaZulu-Natal in April of this year highlighted just how important environmental sustainability is, and together with the severe locust season also shined a light on the lack of knowledge, capacity, and resources to manage disasters properly. nnThe conflict in Ukraine has seen input costs rise dramatically for fertiliser and fuel u2013 this in a climate of generally higher overall input costs after the COVID-19 pandemic and the chaos it caused with global supply chains. Delving below the surface of this one challenge alone illustrates the complexity of the terrain todayu2019s farmers operate in. nnThe 2022 BFAP Baseline Report notes that South Africa continues to be a net importer of fertiliser and given that among the most significant exporters of fertiliser are Russia and ally Belarus u2013 both subject to sanctions. Coupled with this the fact that China (the second biggest exporter of fertiliser) continues to experience supply chain disruptions related to its zero-tolerance policy towards COVID-19, one begins to understand the price and supply pressures facing South African farmers looking for this input. For each of the challenges mentioned there is a similarly complex set of background factors which need to be navigated.nnTo ensure food certainty for South Africans, we will require growth in the sector that will see more people in employment (which means they too can access this food) and promote inclusion, because only growth can achieve this goal. The agricultural sector is ready to meet this moment but we must urge our stakeholders across other sectors and the government to move rapidly to do the same.nThe Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan has done well to identify key challenges to the sector. The signing of the Masterplan earlier this year is no doubt an achievement in terms of getting key role-players moving in the same direction toward more inclusive, competitive agricultural growth in South Africa. The Masterplan represents a comprehensive analysis of the issues facing the sector u2013 as well as a vision for where to from here.”,”position”:0,”id”:”YOCE6fDVH5NoLa2n”}]