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 ...

Quote: Daneel Rossouw, Head of Sales: Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking According to Q3 stats released today, agriculture showed a net gain of 39 000 jobs compared to Q2 but a loss of 21 000 jobs compared to Q3 2023. It must be noted that the agriculture sector employs a significant number of South Africans, with current ...

John Hudson, head of agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking While it may lack the glamour of other industries, agriculture is arguably one of the most crucial sectors for the South African economy, contributing significantly to food security, employment, export earnings, and the broader economy and providing the foundation for rural life. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, fintech, ...

Spokesperson: Cobus de Bruyn, Head of Client Value Propositions for Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking With unemployment increasing, one can expect further pressure on the Government fiscus.  While the energy situation has improved, the same cannot be said for the economy or employment. There will be a significant lag effect post loadshedding, which is what ...

John Hudson | Head of Agriculture | Nedbank Commercial Banking/Image:File Photo Primary agriculture contributes around 2,5% to South Africa’s gross domestic product , which is a relatively small proportion considering that agricultural land represents almost 80% of the country’s total land area. However, the sector’s overall contribution, including the value chain, is substantially higher, contributing ...

Nedbank Commercial Banking and Partners in Agri Land Solutions (PALS) recently celebrated the financing of their 1st collaborative agricultural transformation transaction at an inspiring title deed handover event held on the farm near Piketberg. The finance enabled a newly formed company named Pele ea Pele (Pty) Ltd to acquire 2 farms in Piketberg in the ...