LETTER: Ukraine invasion will have fallout for SA agriculture

The African proverb “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that is trampled” is appropriate in the case of the Russia-Ukraine war. The global agricultural market particularly will be directly affected.

Africa, including SA, imports grains and oil seeds such as maize, sunflower and soya beans from these trouble-torn countries. It would therefore be naive not to consider SA’s trade links with Russia and Ukraine. In 2020 Russia accounted for 7% of SA’s citrus exports in value terms and 12% of SA’s apples and pears, making it SA’s second-largest market. SA depends heavily on wheat imports from Russia.

The department of agriculture, land reform & rural development can rise above our dependency on Russia and Ukraine for imports such as wheat, grains and oilseeds by bringing more black farmers into the market and unlocking the full potential of SA’s agricultural economic growth.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict challenges the department to be more effective in its efforts to find lost opportunities in provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the Western Cape, and involve more black farmers in the production of wheat and barley.

Farmers in Mpumalanga and Gauteng have demonstrated a huge appetite for involvement in the production of sunflower seeds. The department, as an important role player in the growth of the economy, should double its efforts to implement its programmes aimed at addressing the country’s shortcomings.

There is no shortage of evidence indicating that the expected disruption of export activities will only unfold fully once the sanctions imposed on Russia gain momentum.

Mphahlela M Rammutla
Via email

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.