When we could travel without worrying about Covid-19, the transition of September into October each year was a fascinating time to fly over SA.

South Africa has not had three consecutive favourable agricultural seasons in a long time. The typical cycles are two seasons of large agricultural output followed by a notable decline on the back of dryness.

After falling to the lowest levels since 2014 in the first quarter of this year, South Africa's agricultural employment rebounded in the second quarter to 862 000 (up 8% year on year).

The effectiveness of government policy and programmes depends on the credibility that various role players place on such programmes and the government’s ability to implement them

Although July 2021 consumer food price inflation of 7% y/y is unchanged from the previous month, there are clear signs in the underlying details that pressures are beginning to moderate.

 While South Africa is traditionally a net exporter of agricultural products, wheat is the second most valuable imported food product after rice.