Rising costs and global instability squeeze South African grain sector
South Africa's grain farmers are battling an increasingly dire financial situation as escalating production expenses, unpredictable commodity markets and geopolitical turbulence converge to threaten the sector's viability. The alarm was sounded at Grain SA's annual congress held at Nampo Park in Bothaville on Wednesday and Thursday, where more than 600 attendees — including roughly 300 producers and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen — gathered to chart the industry's path forward.
Grain SA chairman Richard Krige acknowledged the vital contribution of producers to the sector, describing them as its lifeblood. He praised the organisation's growth and the resilience demonstrated throughout a challenging reporting period, but was candid about the financial strain many farmers now endure. With commodity prices elevated alongside steep input costs, some producers are battling to honour their financial commitments.
"Graan SA is currently in discussion with the financial sector to investigate short- and long-term support for members," Krige told media, adding that the industry finds itself in a "perfect storm" as Middle Eastern conflicts threaten to drive up costs and rattle global markets in the weeks ahead.
Beyond international pressures, domestic crises including the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak are compounding difficulties for grain producers, particularly those whose clients include livestock farmers. Krige stressed that safeguarding property rights remains fundamental to agricultural stability, describing them as the foundation upon which investment certainty and rural economic development rest. He confirmed that Grain SA continues working alongside agricultural bodies including AgriSA, Agbiz and TLU SA to defend these rights and amplify producers' voices across the value chain.
The chairman issued a pointed call for solidarity within the agricultural community, cautioning that public disagreements between stakeholders are eroding the sector's influence in critical policy discussions. He urged farmers and organisations to present a united front rather than undermining one another when the industry's very survival hangs in the balance.
Overproduction warnings and calls for technological adaptation
Krige underscored that advanced technology has become indispensable for modern grain farming. Precision agriculture, improved genetics, automation and digital data management are no longer luxuries but strategic imperatives for producers seeking to manage risk, contain costs and maintain sustainability amid shifting climate patterns and volatile markets. Several producers at the congress voiced deep concern about the twin threats of financial pressure and surplus production.
Hoopstad-area farmer Janes Barnard drew stark parallels with a previous industry crisis, warning that current conditions mirror those that destabilised the sector two decades ago. He noted that while technological advances — including more than R2 billion invested by Bayer in cultivar development and research locally — have lifted average maize yields from approximately 4.3 tonnes per hectare to around 6.3 tonnes, this progress has created its own problems.
"The years of 100% planting from corner post to corner post are over. We are bankrupting ourselves with overproduction of corn and soybeans. We will have to start planting more according to market demand," Barnard cautioned.
Mpumalanga producer Gerhard Roos painted an equally sobering picture, noting that a promising-looking harvest means nothing if the economics fail to stack up. The combination of depressed grain prices, surging input costs, expensive mechanisation and volatile fuel and fertiliser markets is placing producers in an untenable position. He also flagged the removal of certain herbicides and pesticides by regulatory authorities as a threat to production quality — one that extends beyond grain to affect citrus, vegetable and other agricultural sectors, ultimately impacting every household in the country.
"If we look back at the history of South Africa, we see a country that has gone through droughts, floods and enormous economic pressure. Yet we have always come through it, with our faith and determination to continue," Roos said, calling on the industry to find practical, collaborative solutions that strengthen the sector for the long term.
