Some brief comments on South Africa's agriculture in this snowfall

We have had one of the challenging weekends in the regions of the Free State, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal with the heavy snowfall. These are also agricultural-endowed provinces; thus, we typically worry about the impact on farming during natural disasters. The subsectors of agriculture that we continue to worry about are livestock – cattle, sheep, and goats. These harsh weather conditions are not ideal for the farming community.

However, it has not been possible to assess the impact of this snowfall in these regions. With travel restrictions and difficulty driving around, understanding the consequence of the snowfall on farming may take some time. But cattle, sheep, and goats are certainly the farming activities we must watch closely.

The communal areas, where livestock is generally not in good health in some regions in winter because of reduced feed and dry grazing veld, are a significant concern. The departments of agriculture in the affected provinces must pay closer attention and connect with farmers as soon as travel is permitted and the roads clear up. The type of support farmers will need will be clearer once the scale of the challenge is better understood.

Fortunately for summer crop farmers, the snowfall is when we are out of season. The summer grains and oilseed planting season only starts in mid-October in the country’s eastern regions and begins in mid-November in the western areas. By this time, we suspect the weather conditions would have normalized, and the snow may even help improve soil moisture ahead of the planting season.

In essence, as best as one can tell, at this point, our focus in agriculture should be on understanding the impact of snowfall on livestock. The summer crop regions are off-season and will begin with 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed planting in mid-October. The prospects for this upcoming season remain positive.

Follow me on X (@WandileSihlobo).