South Africa

Lower feed costs and improved grazing are bringing relief to South Africa’s livestock farmers, but better production conditions are not translating into the same price trends across the industry.

South Africa’s growing avocado crop faces a tougher marketing environment this season as heavy competition in the EU squeezes prices, while newly opened markets remain too small to absorb significant volumes.

Five promising blueberry selections are moving through evaluation and deployment in Southern Africa. At Fall Creek Connect in Paarl, Jeán Kotzé outlined what the early trial data revealed and why local validation remains critical.

Land Bank's Blended Finance Scheme is under renewed parliamentary scrutiny as demand outstrips available funding and farmers face delays that can have serious consequences for seasonal production.

SARS has opened a standalone diesel refund registration system, separate from VAT. Existing claimants must register again, while farmers will eventually be able to claim only.

South Africa’s agriculture sector needs leaders who can look beyond the farm gate and work across the value chain as infrastructure constraints, access to technology, and global volatility place increasing pressure on producers.

The Agricultural Research Council has begun the preparatory work needed to license its foot-and-mouth disease vaccine technology to private manufacturers, but says procurement, regulatory and biosafety requirements must be completed before an implementation timeline can be set.

South Africa has entered the 2026/27 production season with El Niño established in the tropical Pacific, with the latest seasonal outlooks favouring below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures over much of the country.

Recent South African surveillance data has shown that most human rabies infections are linked to infected dogs, according to Fiona Miles, director of FOUR PAWS South Africa. She emphasised the importance of routine pet vaccinations and community awareness, and added that children were among the most vulnerable groups affected by the disease.

The Free State has reported one new clinically confirmed foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) case in the Fauresmith state veterinary area, bringing its stated provincial total to 799 cases. Of these, 155 remain active and under quarantine, while 644 have been classified as resolved.

Now in its sixth year, the 2026 edition of the Good Life Show closed with the Johannesburg leg, which ran from 18 to 20 September at the Sandton Convention Centre in Gauteng. It followed the Cape Town edition, which took place from 29 to 31 May at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, in the Western Cape.

For many South African grain producers, the 2026/27 summer season is already on paper. Hectares have been allocated, cultivars selected, input budgets compiled, and planting windows identified. The current El Niño event doesn’t automatically invalidate those decisions. It does, however, change the value of testing the assumptions behind them.

Higher supply delivered sharply different outcomes in South Africa’s potato and onion markets during the first half of 2026, with average potato prices falling by 19% while onion prices rose by 8%, according to Absa AgriBusiness’s latest AgriTrends report.

South Africa's grain producers set 11 new Grow for Gold competition records in 2026, with particularly strong performances from producers farming under dryland conditions in the North West, and exceptionally high yields under irrigation.

South Africa’s fruit export industry is entering a new phase in which producing more fruit is no longer enough to secure stronger returns, with market access, logistics, and the timing of exports becoming increasingly important for profitability.

Black marker pens, mosquito repellent, and hand sanitiser have been identified as potential sources of detectable residues in rooibos tea, industry experts told delegates at the Rooibos Tea Producers Association’s annual general meeting near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape on 17 September.

Government plans to explore a more suitable financing framework for sugar cane growers after farm visits in KwaZulu-Natal highlighted gaps in existing funding models.

In an increasingly volatile operating environment, farmers can protect their margins by paying closer attention to when they buy inputs and market their produce, according to Absa’s AgriTrends 2026 Spring Edition report.

A century of research at Langgewens, near Malmesbury in the Swartland, Western Cape, has helped transform farming far beyond the boundaries of the research farm, contributing to advances in crop production, soil management, conservation agriculture, and livestock systems.

Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp has committed his department to pursuing the classification of the Gamtoos Valley in the Eastern Cape as a disaster area, following a meeting with farmers and local authorities in Humansdorp and Patensie.