For the first quarter of 2025, South Africa’s agricultural exports reached US$3,36 billion, which translates to a 10% increase year-on-year, says Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen.
This is due to the work that government has been doing in expanding market access and defending trade over the past year.
“We facilitated new access for avocados to China, maize to Japan and India, beef to Iran, and table grapes to the Philippines and Vietnam. We managed a quick resolution to Botswana’s temporary ban on South African maize and wheat, reopening the border within two weeks.
“We were part of the Presidential delegation to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in China, secured protocols for wool, dairy and meat exports, and participated in high-level delegations to Davos, Japan, and Berlin,” the Minister said on Tuesday in Cape Town.
Furthermore, South Africa had formal bilateral engagements with counterparts from the G7, African Union (AU), and G20, to advance the country’s market access and biosecurity agenda.
Addressing the Department of Agriculture’s Post-Budget Vote Media Briefing, the Minister outlined the significant strides the department has made in expanding market access, restoring biosecurity, delivering targeted farmer support, fighting food insecurity and empowering young people in the sector.
Restoring biosecurity and disaster preparedness
Over the past year, government has prioritised biosecurity as the world witnessed an increase in animal and plant disease risks.
The Minister said biosecurity is no longer a technical matter, but an economic and national imperative.
“Over the past year, we have established the National Biosecurity Compact and a Biosecurity Council, which bring together scientists, industry experts and officials to coordinate outbreak responses.
“[We have] deployed animal health technicians to vaccinate against Foot and Mouth Disease in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, as well as adopted a new proactive, strategic approach,” Steenhuisen.
Moreover, government relaunched the National Biosecurity Hub in partnership with the University of Pretoria and commenced the country’s first avian influenza vaccination campaign that was supported by upgraded digital disease surveillance.
“Our efforts are restoring confidence in our export systems and protecting farmers from catastrophic losses,” the Minister said.
Delivering targeted farmer support
According Steenhuisen, this year, over 6 000 farmers received direct support through a R1.7 billion allocation, creating 3 000 jobs.
“Through Ilima/Letsema, we supported 67.492 vulnerable households, generating nearly 9 500 work opportunities. We launched new smallholder farmer programmes in Jozini and beyond, focused on shifting the paradigm from “grow and sell” to “grow to sell”.
Ilima/Letsema is a government programme aimed at reducing poverty through increased food production initiatives.
In addition, government fast tracked the global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) accreditation for emerging producers and expanded access to finance through a restructured Blended Finance Scheme.
“We have made it clear; the future of agriculture lies with the youth. Over 3 000 agricultural graduates have entered internship programmes. We have begun integrating all 11 agricultural colleges into the higher education system, starting with Elsenburg.
“We are investing in climate-smart agriculture, pollinator protection, agroecology, and digital agri-tech tools to make agriculture attractive to the next generation,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za