WANDILE SIHLOBO: Down on the farm, eyeing land debate
Going forward, policy uncertainty could further weigh on investment
On Tuesday, I posted a tweet saying that the second-quarter contraction in SA's agricultural economy was largely due to the tail-end effects of the Western Cape drought and the delayed summer crop harvest. This met with wide-ranging commentary. Some agreed with my sentiments, while others attributed the decline to uncertainty regarding land reform. Here is a bit of context before I delve into the matter. After contracting by 33.6% quarter on quarter on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis in the first quarter of this year, SA's agricultural economy entered a technical recession in the second quarter following a further 29.2% quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted and annualised contraction. So where does the Western Cape story come in? The Western Cape mainly produces winter crops and high-value horticulture. The bulk of the winter crops, such as wheat, barley and canola, together with summer fruits (stone fruit and grapes), are typically harvested between November and March,...
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