South African farmers intend to plant 25% more hectares of maize this season in the hope that decent rainfall will ease the hardship caused by last year’s scorching drought, a Reuters’ poll showed on Monday. SA’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) is expected to announce that farmers plan to sow 2.44-million hectares with maize, up from the 1.947-million hectares planted last year, according to an average estimate of five trading houses surveyed by Reuters. The range was 2.14-million to 2.7-million hectares. The estimates committee will give its first forecast on intentions to plant on Wednesday for the 2016-17 maize-growing season — which has already started on the eastern edge of the maize belt. "We believe this year the farmers will get enough rain to plant 2.7-million hectares," said one trader. An El Niño weather pattern, which ended in May, brought severe drought with blistering temperatures last season. The drought turned SA from a net exporter of grain to a net importer in the 2...
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