Maize farmers intend to plant 2.463-million hectares of the staple grain in the 2017 season, 26.5% more than last season, the official Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Wednesday. Last season, only 1.947-million hectares of the crop were planted as a scorching drought parched much of the maize belt. But the CEC said hopes for decent rainfall and good prices were incentives for farmers to increase plantings this season. "Producers indicated that more maize would be planted for the 2017 season mainly because of favourable weather forecasts for the new season crops; however, the rainfall can still influence farmers’ decisions," the CEC’s Lusani Ndou said. A Reuters poll had forecast that the CEC’s estimate would be 2.44-million hectares. The CEC forecast the 2016 winter wheat crop at 1.734-million tonnes versus its previous estimate of 1.7-million tonnes. An El Nino weather pattern, which ended in May, brought severe drought with blistering temperatures last season. SA needs to im...
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