As South Africa’s agricultural sector enters 2026, the landscape is defined by both opportunity and caution. According to Nedbank’s head of sales for agriculture, Daneel Rossouw, the current macroeconomic environment presents a unique moment for farmers and agribusinesses to position themselves strategically for growth. ‘Interest rates have declined over the past few years, and inflation ...

By Desry Lesele, Senior Manager for Agriculture Client Value Propositions at Nedbank Commercial Banking. South African agriculture has long been the backbone of our economy, but recently the sector has started to evolve in ways that go beyond food production alone. Agritourism is emerging as a powerful force, offering farmers new opportunities to diversify, grow, ...

South Africa’s agricultural sector is facing one of its most significant trade shocks in years, as new tariffs in the United States place fresh pressure on exporters in the Western Cape. But instead of despair, industry leaders are framing the challenge as an opportunity to reboot. Speaking during a Nedbank-hosted panel discussion at NAMPO Cape, ...

Quote: Des Lesele, senior manager for agribusiness client value propositions at Nedbank Commercial Banking The Q2 2025 South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Quarterly Bulletin offers a largely positive view of South Africa’s agricultural sector and its contribution to economic performance. Agricultural exports grew for the third consecutive quarter, driven by strong demand for fruit, particularly ...

Today, agriculture is driven by 2 global obligations: feeding a growing population and protecting our planet. Nowhere is this more evident than in South Africa, where farmers face the dual challenge of producing affordable food while conserving increasingly scarce natural resources. At the recent Nampo Harvest Day, a Nation in Conversation panel discussion shed light ...

Johannesburg –March 2025 – With the Expropriation Act now promulgated, land reform is in the spotlight again. As South Africa commemorates Human Rights Month, the land reform programme remains central to the country’s broader human rights discourse. Land ownership, access, and the productive use of land remain fundamental to the fulfilment of human rights. The ...

The interest rate remains unchanged as expected, given that the world economy is experiencing extreme levels of uncertainty. Whilst a reduction in borrowing costs would have been the preferable outcome, the announcement of an unchanged interest rate was expected considering such uncertainty. With primary and secondary agricultural debt estimated at around R280 billion, an increase ...

John Hudson, Head of Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking Agriculture is an exciting and complex sector and, while it is volatile, it also offers immense opportunity. The past 2 years, for example, have been challenging, with 2023 having recorded a contraction of just under 5% and 2024 expected to deliver a similar contraction, although final numbers ...

Quote: Daneel Rossouw, Head of Sales: Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking At the Agriculture roundtable webinar Nedbank hosted in late January 2025, presenters from both BFAP and Agbiz cautioned that the Q3 decline in growth was likely highly overstated. We believe the strong bounce back of 17,2% quarter-on-quarter (seasonally adjusted) in the last quarter of ...

John Hudson, Head of Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking, and Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) 2024 has been a year of mixed fortunes for the agricultural sector. The mid-summer El Niño-induced drought that negatively impacted summer crops, while events like the ongoing animal disease woes, the seemingly ...