Commercial agriculture revolutionised human society: rendering the hunter-gatherer lifestyle obsolete and allowing humans to specialise in various fields. Without the Neolithic Revolution, many of the jobs we know today might not have emerged. In many ways, the agricultural sector forms the basis of modern life, and in South Africa, it plays a crucial role in the economy.
South Africa’s Agricultural Landscape
South Africa encompasses the largest area of agricultural land per country in Africa, with about 80% of the total land area being classified as agricultural land.(1) 12.5% of that share is land where crops can be grown; the rest is used for animal production. Given these statistics, one might expect agriculture to constitute a significant portion of South Africa’s GDP, but it only contributes to 2.8% of the total GDP. Despite this, the sector’s contribution to GDP is among the lowest in Africa.(1)
Even though this meagre 2.8% seems small, agriculture has far-reaching impacts that cannot be adequately embodied by a percentage of GDP. South Africa has many informal farmers, whose contributions are largely excluded from GDP calculations. In Wandile Sihlobo’s book A Country of Two Agricultures (2023), he explains that South Africa is a unique case where there are two distinct farming systems: subsistence farmers and the commercial farming sector. GDP does not capture informal economies such as most subsistence farmers, who farm to feed their own families and to trade. Another important effect South African agriculture has on the overall economy is that this sector is an important earner of foreign exchange.(2) Agriculture has an important indirect role in the economy through its forward and backward linkages with other sectors in the supply chain.(2) Farmers purchasing inputs such as fertilisers create backward linkages with the manufacturing sector, while agricultural production provides raw materials for further manufacturing, establishing forward linkages. Thus, agriculture is an engine of growth for the South African economy.
Key Crops, Livestock and Trade
Overall, South Africa boasts a wide variety of crops in production. In 2023 the leading crops in the country were sugarcane and maize.(3) In terms of livestock, poultry and cattle dominate livestock production.(1) South Africa produces a greater volume of chicken eggs than chicken meat.(3)
In addition, the total gross value of agricultural production for 2022/23 increased by 5.5% compared to the previous year.(2) Animal products contributed 42.8%, field crops 29.3% and horticultural products 27.9%.(2) Figure 1, shows South Africa’s top exported agricultural products in 2023. Maize is by far the largest chunk of agricultural exports by volume followed by oranges
