Boost in South Africa’s grain harvest brings hope to farmers

Farming associations across South Africa are celebrating optimistic forecasts from the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC), projecting the nation’s harvest at a significant 17.2 million tonnes, marking an 11% increase from the previous season.

This upward trend is stirring hope among farmers who endured challenging conditions last year.

In addition, the CEC revised its estimate for sunflower seed—a staple in South African agriculture—indicating that 555 700 hectares have been planted, which is 5.05% (or 26 700 hectares) more than the previous year.

The sunflower seed production forecast stands at 720 050 tons, showcasing a robust growth of 13.93%, or 88 050 tons, from last year’s figure of 632 000 tons.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist for the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA (Agbiz), said that South Africa’s agricultural production conditions were improving, bolstering our long-held belief in a better season ahead.

“We have been stating for some time that this will likely be a recovery year for South Africa’s agriculture. This follows a severe mid-summer drought in the 2023-24 season, which negatively impacted the harvest of grains and oilseeds,” he said.

Sihlobo added that the first production estimates for 2024-25 summer grains and oilseeds, released at the end of February 2025, suggesting a better harvest.

“The CEC forecasts the harvest at 17.2 million tons, up 11% from the previous season. This comprises maize, sunflower seeds, soybeans, groundnuts, sorghum, and dry beans. The expected yield improvements support better harvest prospects. The overall area planted is 4.4 million hectares, roughly unchanged from last season.”

Tags: corn, sunseed, crop forecast