Balance and Reason by Wandile Sihlobo

South Africa’s agricultural sector has been trade-oriented since 1994, with half of its produce now sold to the rest of the world. The sector and the country have benefited significantly from the focus on exports. However, this outward focus has made the sector more sensitive to geopolitics and international trade dynamics.

An example of this is the impact of the Donald Trump Administration’s policies on certain segments of the agricultural sector. This has heightened the need for South Africa to review its agricultural trade agenda, reducing its overexposure to a single country while also creating more employment and opportunities for new entrants, particularly black farmers.

In recent times, too, agriculture has been subject to political opportunism, sapping the energy needed to implement the right programmes and policies, such as the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, which emerged from a cooperative effort between government, organised agriculture, and labour.

In Balance and Reason, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo dispels the distortions and misinformation perpetuated by President Trump and various interest groups in South Africa. He also outlines how South Africa can adapt its trade policy to an evolving geopolitical environment and support its export-oriented agricultural sector.

The book explores the roots of the challenges facing the sector, including political-economy diversions, and how these can be addressed to support its growth. Sihlobo also addresses food insecurity and the misconception that exports reduce food supplies for South Africans.

Ultimately, Sihlobo provides a much more candid view of South African agriculture, examining the domestic and global factors that constrain growth, and calls for ‘balance and reason’ to achieve inclusive growth and job creation.

Print Edition E-Book