Podcast: Agri master plan commodities in focus

In this edition, we welcome back, Dr Sifiso Ntombela, chief economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) and the deputy president of the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa.

A few weeks ago, Ntombela unpacked the key objectives of the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP) and the progress made to date. This time around he talks about implementation plans per commodity and progress projections for 2023.

A narrow focus on niche commodities

The episode focuses on five commodities: grains, seeds, nuts, vegetables, red and white meat. According to Ntombela, besides avocados, sugar, and meats, there are also niche commodities that are coming into play.

“This presents new opportunities for farmers as well as exporters like your berries which are now also part of the master plan,” he explains.

Ntombela also says why it is important that Mzansi focuses on commodities that continue to drive export earnings for the country.

EU/SA citrus saga

In mid-July 2022 the European Union imposed new restrictions on South African citrus imports. The new phytosanitary requirements were meant to address false coddling moth, a citrus pest that is native to South Africa and for which there is zero tolerance in the EU. This, however, has had disastrous implications for South African citrus producers, but Ntombela says they are working on it.

“One of the areas that we are dealing with is to unlock the bottleneck. But also aligning farmers that are having limited excess land to expand their growth and to improve competitiveness,” he explains.

But that’s not all, there is progress in the expansion of irrigation systems because most of the fruit relies on proper irrigation systems. “Most of the fruits rely heavily on irrigation,” he says.