Food security vital to the SA economy

FARMERS play an important role in our daily lives. They are responsible for the food we put on the table three times a day. The life of a farmer is far from glamorous.

Farmers typically start work early and during the planting and harvesting season work until dusk.

Although modern agricultural machinery has made the work far less physically demanding than it was a few generations ago, most of the farmers’ day-to-day tasks are still hands-on physical work.

Given the unpredictable weather and rapidly changing commodity prices, modern farming is a complex economic juggling act and modern farmers use computers and software for budgeting to track harvesting and inventory. Planning is a big part of the job of a modern farmer.

Farmers have to consider not only (whether the) crops will grow well in the soil and climate, but (also think about) fertiliser and irrigation costs, the availability of labour for harvesting, as well as projected prices and transportation to the market. Running a farm is a business and careful planning is the key to success.

What will if happen if South Africa loses its farmers and agriculture? My assumption is that South Africa will be in a recession and there won’t be food security.

The people of our country will suffer the consequences.