It always amazes me when we reach the end of the year at just how quickly the months pass. The adage that time seems to go faster the older you get certainly seems to be true!
This past year has been a volatile one for the agriculture sector, filled with ups and downs.
And as corporate South Africa starts winding down to celebrate the festive season, farmers are still working the lands, planting summer crops and running their animals.
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In South Africa, the agriculture sector never sleeps or rests, and as Farmer’s Weekly, we are proud to be able to provide you with ongoing, reliable and accurate information throughout the festive season and New Year.
But as this is my last editorial for the year, I’d like to briefly look back on 2025. This past year won’t be remembered for its ease, but rather the sheer grit and tenacity it has required.
It was a year in which resilience wasn’t just a buzzword – it was the daily reality of every farmer, farmworker, and industry player across the country.
Farmers continue to face monumental pressures and challenges, such as failing and decaying infrastructure, which has required extraordinary logistical gymnastics to move high-value produce to port.
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Farm attacks and murders, much to the disdain of us all, continue to be a scourge that many farmers and farmworkers feel they are facing alone. We still await government declaring it a priority crime that requires specialised police units.
Farmers have also been faced with ever increasing input costs, which are continuing to squeeze profit margins.
Moreover, cattle farmers have also had to do battle with foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks that seem never-ending. The closure of one of Karan Beef’s feedlots earlier this year will certainly stand out as one of the low points of the year. As always, farmers have also faced inclement weather throughout the year, forcing them to adapt and innovate where necessary.
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Then, of course, who can forget the global trade war spurred on by President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs? And yet, despite this, South Africa’s exports continue to surge.
But 2025 wasn’t all bad, and where these challenges aimed to break the backbone of the industry, they instead forced a magnificent surge in innovation.
There were certainly some key successes to celebrate. As mentioned before, despite Trump’s tariffs, the country’s exports are surging, and we have made many inroads with the opening of new markets, thanks to the hard work of farmers and processors, and the negotiating of industry bodies and representatives from the Department of Agriculture.
We also saw good yields for crops across the sector, which looks to continue into the new year. Farmers have adapted remarkably well to inclement weather by adopting technologies and cultivars that are better able to thrive under adverse conditions, and this adoption is expected to continue in the future.
Across the country, we have witnessed the rapid uptake of precision agriculture. The future is indeed bright for our farmers!
So with that, and on behalf of everyone at Farmer’s Weekly, I wish all our farmers, readers and supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Here’s to 2026!
