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DURING the second quarter of 2013, South Africa’s nominal GDP at market prices was R836bn, which is R23bn more than in the first quarter. This improvement was largely due to the agricultural sector (including forestry and fisheries), which expanded by R19bn to R33bn and which employs more than 800 000 people.
But the world is changing and South Africa needs to keep abreast of these changes if such growth is to continue and if we are to have the ability to feed our people.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050, 34% higher than today and nearly all of this population increase will occur in developing countries.
If the world is to remain capable of supplying food to its 9.1 billion people in 2050, food production (net of food used for biofuels) must increase by 70%. For example, annual cereal production will need to rise to roughly 3 billion tonnes from 2.1 billion today and annual meat production must increase by more than 200 million tonnes to reach 470 million tonnes.
With the largest population increases occurring in developing countries, South Africa’s agricultural producers need to be both proactive and dynamic. Failing to do so will not only mean losing out as demand grows but will also mean a loss in food security for the nation.
Sharp increases in food prices can be expected to continue and the resulting increases in the number of hungry and malnourished people along with it. Therefore, it is vitally important that consumers, manufacturers and government be aware of the fragility of the global food system.
Last week alone saw the notification of eight technical regulations to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that relate directly to the agricultural sector. These notifications can be seen in the table below.
Bearing in mind that technical regulations must be complied with and that South African exports of live animals, animal and vegetable products to the European Union and United States for the last five years have added more than R12bn to the economy annually, should we wait any longer to be proactive?
As the winds change direction, I see two options for South Africa. We can either be proactive and become a dominant food supplier regionally (and perhaps internationally) or we can procrastinate and rely on food imports in the future.
I see no benefit to the latter, what with higher food prices, an already staggering trade deficit and the loss of 800 000 jobs but I certainly do see benefit to the former.
- Fin24
*Geoffrey Chapman is a guest columnist and trade policy expert at the SABS. Views expressed are his own.
But the world is changing and South Africa needs to keep abreast of these changes if such growth is to continue and if we are to have the ability to feed our people.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050, 34% higher than today and nearly all of this population increase will occur in developing countries.
If the world is to remain capable of supplying food to its 9.1 billion people in 2050, food production (net of food used for biofuels) must increase by 70%. For example, annual cereal production will need to rise to roughly 3 billion tonnes from 2.1 billion today and annual meat production must increase by more than 200 million tonnes to reach 470 million tonnes.
With the largest population increases occurring in developing countries, South Africa’s agricultural producers need to be both proactive and dynamic. Failing to do so will not only mean losing out as demand grows but will also mean a loss in food security for the nation.
Sharp increases in food prices can be expected to continue and the resulting increases in the number of hungry and malnourished people along with it. Therefore, it is vitally important that consumers, manufacturers and government be aware of the fragility of the global food system.
Last week alone saw the notification of eight technical regulations to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that relate directly to the agricultural sector. These notifications can be seen in the table below.
Country | Subject |
Ecuador | Water pumps |
Kuwait | Pesticides - Residues |
El Salvador | Fruit and vegetables |
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Pesticides - Residues |
South Africa | Avocados - Addendum |
United States | Meat and poultry products - Addendum |
European Communities | Pesticides - Residues - Carbofuran - Corrigendum |
European Union | Agricultural products and foodstuffs - Addendum |
Bearing in mind that technical regulations must be complied with and that South African exports of live animals, animal and vegetable products to the European Union and United States for the last five years have added more than R12bn to the economy annually, should we wait any longer to be proactive?
As the winds change direction, I see two options for South Africa. We can either be proactive and become a dominant food supplier regionally (and perhaps internationally) or we can procrastinate and rely on food imports in the future.
I see no benefit to the latter, what with higher food prices, an already staggering trade deficit and the loss of 800 000 jobs but I certainly do see benefit to the former.
- Fin24
*Geoffrey Chapman is a guest columnist and trade policy expert at the SABS. Views expressed are his own.
