Decaying infrastructure: a growing threat to South Africa’s producers

You previously said that the moment South African crops exit the farm gate, our producers find themselves at a serious disadvantage. Please explain.

The on-farm efficiency of South Africa’s producers is rated among the top 10% in the world, based on international production standards and covering a wide range of commodities. South African maize farmers are an example of this, producing on average more than 12,5kg of maize per 1mm of rainfall.

This efficiency, however, has been considerably eroded by the severe deterioration of infrastructure in the country. Examples include poor or non-existent state support through subsidies, a near-total collapse of the railway system, power supply challenges, road maintenance issues, capacity problems at harbours,