Farmers in the Free State have started sending their harvesters into their maize fields. After what has been a difficult season for some, producers share lessons learned and hopes for a better 2024 harvest season.
Free State maize farmer Reggie Kambule is expecting a weaker harvest than in 2022 due to heavy rainfalls brought on by the La Niña weather phenomenon.
“We experienced hail during a critical period of germination. That ruined almost everything. We faced challenges of climate change and high input cost from fertiliser, seed, diesel,” he explained.
Kambule is expecting to harvest 2,2 tonnes per hectare, the worse harvest he has ever had. “Past harvests have been 3.5 to 4 tons per hectare.”
Another maize farmer in the province, Phaladi Matsole, said high levels of rain experienced would have a negative impact on maize yields.
“The previous (2022) harvest season was relatively good. Although late rains severely affected most of the farmers as a result of saturated conditions and most crops drowned,” he said.
National maize estimate still high
The latest Crop Estimates Committee’s data paint a slightly different picture for maize farmers in the country. Their data shows South Africa will have sufficient staple food supplies in the 2023/24 marketing year.
Maize production is forecasted at 15.9 million tonnes. This is a 3% increase year-on-year.
According to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), “the expected improvement in the maize harvest is on the back of better yields, as the area plantings are down marginally from the 2021/22 season”.
Meanwhile, globally, maize production is expected to be 6% less than the 2021/22 season’s crop. This is according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Subsequently, the 2022/23 global stocks are forecast to dwindle by 3% from the prior season, estimated at 296 million tonnes.
Next planting season
Kambule hopes for better climate conditions in the next planting season, as well as lower input costs.
Outside factors such as load shedding, inflation, and economic shifts also have a negative impact on agricultural production, Kambule points out.
“Let us hope that the government will realise that a thriving economy is where agriculture is taken seriously,” Kambule said.
Meanwhile, Matsole said contours will help him better control water and floods. Contour farming not only minimises erosion but also reduces runoff by storing rainfall behind ridges.
Changing climate condition advice
His advice to farmers is to invest in crop insurance, good soil cultivation practices, and selecting maize cultivars that respond well to changing climate and soil conditions.
“My way forward is communication and forging good relationships between public and private maize-producing stakeholders. [I] expect a good harvest with better yields next [year],” Matsole said.
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