Agriculture can play a much bigger role in driving economic growth and improving food security across Southern Africa — but countries in the region need to make it easier to trade agricultural products across their borders.

The focus on agricultural development at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 46th summit in August 2026 reflected a clear understanding that the sector remains important to the region’s economic future. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of GDP in many SADC member states.

Discussions at the summit focused on improving productivity, expanding agricultural finance, strengthening climate resilience and developing regional value chains to improve food security.

As an agricultural economist, I would argue that three major challenges continue to limit agriculture’s contribution to economic growth and food security: weak land governance, underdeveloped agricultural value chains and limited regional trade.

Informal land tenure is common across much of the region. This can discourage agribusinesses from making large-scale investments and has contributed to the continued dominance of smallholder farmers, many of whom struggle with low productivity.

The second challenge is weak agricultural value chains. The region cannot fully develop agro-processing industries if farmers struggle to get their products to consumers. Poor roads connecting farming areas to major markets increase costs and can lead to losses, particularly for perishable products.

The third challenge — and the focus of this article — is trade.

Farmers cannot sustainably increase production without access to markets. This is particularly important for new and emerging farmers, who need reliable markets to grow and sustain their businesses.

In recent years, trade tensions have increased. Namibia, Botswana and, more recently, Mozambique have signalled their intention to restrict imports of vegetables and fruits from South Africa.

Failure to address these tensions could undermine the success of new farmers and limit agriculture’s contribution to food security.

One way to create shared prosperity is for countries to focus on producing agricultural products where they have a competitive advantage, trade more within the region and develop opportunities in global markets.

The barriers to regional agricultural trade

There is already a strong basis for increased trade between SADC countries. The regional bloc’s 16 member states are committed to a free trade area.

Five of them — Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa — are also members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which is intended to facilitate the movement of goods between member states.

These arrangements have helped goods move more freely across borders. However, agricultural trade has not benefited as much as expected.

One reason is the difference in the size of regional markets.

South Africa has a much larger food market than most of its neighbours and spends more than US$7 billion a year on agricultural imports. Eswatini, by comparison, imported about US$806 million worth of agricultural products in 2025, according to Trade Map data.

South Africa also accounts for more than half of SADC’s agricultural exports to the global market, followed by Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. South Africa, Zambia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Tanzania are among the major players in intra-regional agricultural trade.

These differences in market size and production capacity have contributed to tensions between South Africa and smaller countries in the region.

Another challenge is compliance with phytosanitary rules, which govern the movement of agricultural products to prevent the spread of pests and diseases.

In 2025, Tanzania announced that it would ban imports of agricultural products from South Africa in retaliation for what it said was a South African ban on Tanzanian bananas. The South African government denied imposing a ban and attributed the dispute to miscommunication and non-compliance with general standards.

The episode highlighted how sensitive phytosanitary requirements can become and how disagreements over standards can be used to restrict agricultural trade.

There is also a basic productivity problem. Several countries in the region do not produce enough agricultural products to generate significant export surpluses.

Take maize, a staple crop across Southern Africa. Yields in much of the region have remained around one tonne per hectare for roughly three decades. In South Africa, yields are about six tonnes per hectare, reflecting differences in farming practices, technology and the continuous improvement of seed cultivars.

Because of these productivity differences, countries including Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique often import more agricultural products than they can export.

Import restrictions will not solve the problem

Some countries have tried to encourage domestic agricultural production by restricting imports. Botswana and Namibia are examples.

Their argument is that local farmers cannot expand production while competing with cheaper or more readily available imports from South Africa.

There is some logic to this concern. However, countries in the region cannot solve their agricultural trade problems simply by restricting South African imports.

First, trade bans go against the broader objectives of SACU and SADC, both of which promote greater regional trade and economic integration.

Second, many countries have been slow to develop exports to South Africa because they do not produce enough of the products the South African market needs.

South Africa imports products such as wheat, rice, palm oil and poultry products, among others. But many countries in the region do not have sufficient surpluses of these products to become major suppliers.

The problem, therefore, is not simply South Africa’s dominance. It is also the region’s limited agricultural production and competitiveness.

What needs to happen next
South Africa’s dominance of regional agricultural trade needs to be addressed, but this should be done through greater cooperation rather than unjustified restrictions on imports.

Countries should work together on agricultural inputs, technology and knowledge sharing while investing in productivity and infrastructure.

There also needs to be a clear focus on increasing agricultural output with an eye on expanding export opportunities. Without stronger production, countries risk losing out to competitors in global markets where they do not yet have free-trade agreements.

The SACU framework should also undergo a comprehensive review to address trade friction and help member states expand their exports to global markets.

Under the current arrangements, SACU members negotiate for new markets collectively. A review should consider whether countries could have greater flexibility to pursue bilateral trade agreements without being constrained by wider SACU negotiations.

Investment in human capital is equally important. Governments need stronger economic diplomacy to help businesses identify and access new markets.

South Africa, for example, has more than 100 diplomatic missions and embassies around the world. These missions could be equipped with staff focused on identifying commercial opportunities, supporting exporters and connecting businesses with potential buyers.

Agriculture has the potential to become a much stronger driver of economic growth, employment and food security across Southern Africa. But increasing production alone will not be enough.

Farmers need access to markets, businesses need reliable regional supply chains and countries need predictable rules that allow agricultural products to move efficiently across borders.

Making SADC agricultural trade easier and more competitive would benefit farmers across the region and strengthen food security. The path to shared prosperity lies not in closing markets, but in improving productivity, strengthening regional value chains and working together to compete in global markets.