South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a new group of commissioners to the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), marking the start of a new five-year term that will run from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030.

Prospects for a positive 2026 are improving as lower input costs are expected for the agriculture sector and bumper grain crops seem likely. Loffie Brandt, head of sales enablement at Absa AgriBusiness, spoke to Farmer’s Weekly about how farmers can take advantage of opportunities in the new year.

As about 90% of South Africa's summer grain crops, including sunflower, are predominantly rainfed, climate changes and rainfall patterns have a major impact on production. When looking at the 2025/26 season, the production outlook is cautiously optimistic for grain farmers.

Around the world, soya beans are in high demand for livestock feed and as a plant-based source of protein for human consumption, offering high protein content without cholesterol or saturated fats.

Dry beans are important for crop rotation and make a significant contribution to the country’s economy, as domestically grown beans are also in demand internationally.

The confirmation of a new foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) case in Amahlathi Local Municipality in the Amathole district has once again placed the Eastern Cape at the centre of South Africa’s escalating animal health crisis.

When household budgets tighten, ethical consumption is often the first casualty. Yet in agriculture, periods of economic strain are when fair trading relationships matter most. South Africa’s Fairtrade industry shows how trade-based interventions can strengthen producer and worker resilience.

A small recovery in local sugar production coincided with a steep drop in the international sugar price, and slow government response to the volatile international market resulted in record sugar imports during 2025.

It was a year of extremes for South African weather, with unusually wet conditions in parts of the summer rainfall areas, while winter cropping areas felt the pinch of below-average rainfall.

South Africa’s fruit exporters had a roller-coaster year, as optimism over record yields and exports was tempered by market jitters over tough tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration and ongoing logistical uncertainty.

Failing infrastructure upstream of Hammanskraal near Pretoria, Gauteng, continues to undermine livestock welfare, crop production, and farm viability in northern Tshwane.

South African extra-virgin olive oil producers have earned some of the highest honours at major international competitions over the past year, despite the local industry accounting for just 0,99% of the global olive oil market, according to the SA Olive Association.

South African farmers are set to receive modest but welcome cost relief in January 2026, as a projected diesel price cut eases pressure during peak operations, particularly harvesting and land preparation.

A hot, windy weekend kept Western Cape fire crews busy on the last weekend before Christmas, with a fire at Laborie Wine Estate in Paarl and disruptions in a number of other farming areas.

After Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen announced that South Africa’s entire national herd would be vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease, scepticism quickly surfaced among farmers and industry role players. Questions were raised about feasibility, timelines, vaccine supply, budgets, and enforcement capacity.

For many in the Western Cape, the severe drought of 2017/18 is a distant memory, but on the Mossel Bay Vlakte the drought never really ended.

Farmers, veterinarians and industry experts met in Potchefstroom, North West, on 12 December to discuss practical ways to manage the growing foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) crisis affecting livestock across South Africa.

While annual consumer price inflation eased month-on-month in November, surging meat prices are putting a damper on December braais.

The foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) situation in the Western Cape remains stable, with no further spread detected beyond the original index farm near Gouda, according to Agri Western Cape (AWC) and the Red Meat Producers Organisation Western Cape (RPOWC).

Kleiheuwel Trust, a 4 700ha mixed farming operation in the Western Cape, achieved a record R306/kg for 14,1-micron Merino wool at the BKB Live Wool Auction on 3 December in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, despite three years of climatic shocks.