Farming can help drive southern Africa’s growth if countries in the region make trade easier

The focus on agricultural development at the Southern African Development Community’s 46th summit in August 2026 reflected a clear understanding that the sector can still play a key role in the region’s economic development. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of the GDP of many of the regional community’s members. The conversations about agriculture focused on improving productivity, agricultural finance, climate resilience and regional value chains, all to enhance food security within the region. As an agricultural economist, I would argue that the sector faces three major challenges in contributing to economic growth and food security. The first is weak land governance. Informal land tenure is a feature of most farming in the region. As a result, agribusinesses may be reluctant to invest at scale. It’s also meant that smallholder farmers, who struggle with low agricultural productivity, remain prevalent. The second challenge is weak agricultural value chains. The summit discussed the need to deepen regional agro-processing value chains. But these can’t be fully developed if road networks linking farmers to consumption points remain in poor condition. Agriculture is about buying and selling perishable products. Roads are key. The third big issue – and the focus of this article – is the need to boost trade between countries in the region. Agricultural production can’t be increased without new markets. In the past few years there have been instances of trade friction. For example tension has been high between South Africa and and some of its neighbouring countries, with Namibia, Botswana and recently Mozambique signalling their intention to limit the imports of vegetables and fruits from South Africa. Failure to make progress on this front will jeopardise the success of new entrant farmers. They need access to markets to grow and sustain their farming operations. It will also stand in the way of agriculture playing a bigger role in increasing food security. One way to ensure shared prosperity through agriculture is for all countries to focus on producing what they can trade within the region, and to sell to world markets. Bottlenecks There’s a strong basis for increased trade between countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. This is because one of the elements of the SADC arrangement is a commitment to a free trade area between the 16 member countries. In addition, five of the countries – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa – are in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which is meant to get goods moving freely. In both cases the arrangements have had some impact in ensuring goods flow freely between the countries. But trade in agricultural products has not benefited substantially. The reasons for this are three-fold. Firstly there’s the issue of size. Trade flows vary between the countries because they differ in size. For example South Africa has a large food market, spending over US$7 billion annually on imports. Eswatini imported only US$806 million of agricultural products in 2025, according to data from Trade Map. South Africa accounts for more than half of the SADC’s agricultural exports to the world market, followed by Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique, according to data from Trade Map. South Africa, Zambia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Tanzania are major players in intra-regional trade. This mismatch in size has led to tensions, particularly between smaller countries and South Africa. Secondly, there is the issue of compliance with phytosanitary rules. For example, in 2025 Tanzania announced that it was banning imports of agricultural products from South Africa in retaliation against that country’s decision to ban the imports of Tanzanian bananas. The South African government denied it had imposed a ban, and put the reports down to miscommunication and noncompliance with general standards. The fracas underscored the sensitivity around phytosanitary rules being used as a tool to block imports. Third, there is also a practical problem of low agricultural output in a number of countries. Consider maize, which is a staple grain in the southern Africa region. The yield has been stagnant for the past three decades at about one tonne per hectare. In South Africa it’s about six tonnes per hectare, and this is all because of differences and the continuous improvement in seed cultivars. Because of these productivity differences, most SADC members – Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique, among others – import more than they can export. Import restrictions Some countries have tried to boost local agricultural production by restricting imports. Botswana and Namibia are examples. They say they would like to boost their domestic production but can’t because they rely on South Africa’s imports. At face value, their argument is compelling. But, in my view, countries in the region can’t lay the problems of trade expansion at South Africa’s door. Firstly, trade bans go against the spirit of the customs union, which encourages free trade, and against the SADC trade approach, which also prioritisese free trade within the region. Secondly, countries in the region have been slow to grow their exports to South Africa. That’s because the agricultural products that South Africa needs can’t be sourced in the region. It imports wheat, rice, palm oil, poultry products and whiskies, among other products. Countries in the region don’t have a surplus of these products. What needs to happen next The dominance of certain countries such as South Africa needs to be addressed. But this can happen through collaboration on farm inputs and knowledge exchange, rather than unjustified restrictions on imports. Other steps to take include: a clear focus on increasing increase agricultural output with an eye on expanding external growth opportunities. Without this, countries risk losing out to competitors in export markets where they don’t yet have free trade agreements. a comprehensive review of the SACU framework, to resolve trade friction in the region and boost exports to the world market. Under its present terms, countries in the union have to negotiate for new markets alongside other members. A review should consider giving countries greater flexibility in signing bilateral trade agreements that aren’t tied up in SACU issues. investment in human capital to drive economic diplomacy with the aim of helping businesses seeking new markets. For example South Africa has over 100 missions and embassies abroad. These should be equipped with staff who focus on maximising economic opportunities for the country. Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and South Africa's Presidential Envoy on Agriculture and Land.

Farming can help drive southern Africa’s growth if countries in the region make trade easier

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