The tide is turning for agricultural employment in South Africa. Farmers across the country, despite production challenges, have contributed positively to agriculture jobs.
The Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first three months of the year, released by Stats SA, showed that about 888 000 people were employed in primary agriculture, well above the long-term agricultural employment of 780 000.
KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape contributed to this annual job improvement. According to the Department of Agriculture, strong production conditions of various field crops, fruits, forestry, and aquaculture were behind the improvement in agricultural jobs in the first quarter, and mainly in these provinces.
Positive outlook
The minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, Thoko Didiza, said she is encouraged by the improvement. She pointed out that other provinces experienced production challenges, which weighed on employment at the start of the year.
“While the crop planting in different areas of the country was delayed due to excessive rains, and farmers also have to face high input costs, and persistent load shedding, the outlook for the sector still looks positive,” she said.
Various government interventions to ease the load-shedding burden on farmers, such as the launch of the Agro-Energy Fund with Land Bank, and load curtailment by Eskom expansion of the diesel rebate to the food value chain will have a positive impact, said Didiza.
Field crop estimates look great
Meanwhile, crop estimates are also looking good. Through the government’s Crop Estimate Committee, the department estimates that the 2022/23 commercial maize harvest will be at about 15.9 million, 3% higher than the 2021/22 season’s harvest and the third-largest harvest on record.
In addition, the soybeans harvest is estimated at a record 2.8 million tonnes and the sugarcane crop will likely increase by 3% to 18.5 million tonnes in 2023/24.
Didiza said they are also positive about the harvest in various field crops and fruits, which supports better employment prospects over the medium term.
Retain and grow markets
“In conversations with farmers and agribusinesses, we have noticed the rising concerns that the geopolitical tensions across the world, and its impact on trade are key issues that keep stakeholders up at night,” Didiza said.
“As a department, we will continue to work to ensure that we retain the existing export markets for the country, and expand market access to growing markets.”
Noting the challenges presented by deteriorating infrastructure, Didiza said her department would work with relevant departments and stakeholders to address these challenges and support continuous growth and job creation in the sector.
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