In years to come when we read the agricultural economic history of SA, 2019 will be one of the toughest the sector has experienced in the past decade. 

If you were to believe newspapers and dietary advice leaflets, you’d probably think that doctors and nutritionists are the people guiding us through the thicket of what to believe when it comes to food.

The third quarter 2019 GDP data released by Statistics South Africa this week illuminated what many in South Africa’s farming towns and villages have been experiencing throughout the year, which is that the farming economy is in recession.

In addition to its plans to exit sugar farming in South Africa, embattled agroprocessing business Tongaat Hulett expects to conclude a transaction to establish a transformative milling, refining and sugar marketing business by the end of this year.

Agri-Northern Cape (Agri-NC) says it is looking forward to the help it will receive from the government to raise almost R688m for drought aid in the province. This, however, has not been granted yet. 

The latest Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, has averaged 177.2 points over the month, up 2.7% from October and 9.5% from the same period a year earlier.