In October 2018, President Ramaphosa convened the country's second Jobs Summit to address the need to generate a substantial number of new jobs in our country over the coming years. A key deliverable from the Jobs Summit is a framework agreement between government, organised business and organised labour that outlines concrete and measurable steps to achieve set goals in terms of increasing levels of employment. One of the key areas identified is boosting domestic demand for locally manufactured product to reinvigorate the job market. The more we procure locally, the more we can manufacture locally. The more we manufacture locally, the better we become at developing a sustainable manufacturing sector to produce for our country's needs in addition to identifying opportunities for export. Agbiz is and has been fully involved in driving the execution of the Jobs Summit outcomes relating to agriculture/agribusiness, and specifically the agro-processing environment. Agbiz endorses this local procurement call to action and localisation approach, where feasible and where competitive.

Last month Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Barbara Creecy published draft regulations under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act for public comment. The draft Regulations seek to extend the responsibility for managing the waste generated by paper, packaging and single-use products to impose responsibilities throughout the value chain. These regulations will have a direct impact on agribusinesses as many make use of packaging to preserve food products sold to retailers, agro-processors or consumers directly. In a bid to better manage the environmental impact of these products, the draft Regulations extend limited responsibility for this packaging material post sale. As these draft Regulations will impose cost and other responsibilities on members, Agbiz is working through BUSA's environmental committee to assess the impact on businesses and to draft comments. Fortunately, BUSA's request for more time to prepare comments have been well received and the minister published a notice this week extending the deadline for comments until 26 August 2020.   

One of the big questions that has occupied South African agricultural economists over the past decade has been how to foster inclusive growth in the sector. 

This is, of course, a broad question with several dimensions. One of the more technical aspects related to this question which deals with where growth should happen - which areas and commodities to prioritise - has largely been resolved and is also addressed in the National Development Plan, published in 2012. But the "softer" side of this question, which deals with stakeholder participation, trust and vision alignment remains unresolved, and that is a major stumbling block to implementation. In the linked article, written for and first published on  Daily Maverick , Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo argues that the agricultural sector needs trust and alignment of vision on all sides in order to foster inclusive growth. "If we cannot resolve the divergence of vision between different interest groups, our options will be limited."

It has become increasingly challenging to forecast agricultural production seasons with any level of confidence. One of the factors that has contributed to this challenge is more unpredictable weather conditions, especially over the last decade. South Africa has not only experienced a frequent occurrence of drought, but also significant change in the frequency, patterns and intensity of rainfall. Regions such as Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, which would typically receive their first rains in about October, have in the past few seasons experienced nearly a month delay. Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo says the preliminary indications for the 2020/2021 season, at least with respect to weather conditions, are showing some encouraging signs. Read more in the linked article, written for and first published in Business Day.