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SA is looking at an unusual, yet welcome, scenario of three successive rainy seasons

Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo says South Africa has not had three consecutive favourable agricultural seasons in a long time. The typical cycles are two seasons of large agricultural output followed by a notable decline on the back of dryness. The only periods in the recent past that had three successive years of conducive weather conditions and a large crop harvest were in the 2007/08, 2008/09, and 2009/10 production seasons. In this period, commercial maize production was over 12 million tonnes each year, averaging 12,5 million tonnes per year.

Published: 30 August 2021