Given the accumulating evidence of climate change in subsaharan africa, there is an urgent need to develop more climate resilient maize systems. About 56% of this could be white maize, with 44% being yellow maize. Impact of air pollution on maize production in the. Dry spell analysis and maize yields for two semiarid. Agricultural research council, grain crops institute, 1999. South africas annual maize consumption is between 8 and 9 million tonnes and the surplus is destined for export. Adaptation strategies to climate change in maize systems in subsaharan africa are likely to include improved germplasm with tolerance to drought and heat stress and improved management practices. The first consideration for fertilising maize is manure, for it is an excellent source of nutrients and has many other benefits for soils. South africa could harvest the second biggest maize crop. Original paper sustainable intensification options for smallholder maizebased farming systems in subsaharan africa klaus j. The majority of people living in mpumalanga are farmers and they have contributed immensely to promote food security.
History of maize production in south africa 1 min read. Indigenous approaches to maize production and soil. Mar 14, 2018 it is now africas most important grain crop. Maize is produced throughout south africa with free state, mpumalanga and north west provinces being the largest producers, accounting for approximately 83% of total production.
South africas largest maize crop in history brand south. On average however, zambia has been producing more and more maize every year for the last eight years. In 2017, biotech cotton area in south africa increased by 315%, and adoption reached 100%. Declining corn production in western highveld, south africa. Feed production in south africa is estimated at more than 11 million tons per annum. The decreased area under production during the 20182019 cropping season was the major reason for a 31% decline in the export of maize in 2019. One of the most reliable is longterm yield data collected by each producer. Assessment of an operational system for crop type map. Morocco, madagascar, burkina faso and south africa. In south africa, maize was first introduced in 1655, and has since become one of dominant food crops. The yield of maize is expected to be just more than 15million tons, 101% higher than the 2016 crop, despite the drought.
Interestingly, south africa is the largest producer of beer in africa, followed by nigeria and ethiopia. Sa maize production figures vary from season to season, but generally about eight million tons of maize grain are produced annually in south africa on 3,1 million hectares. Biotech crop approvals and adoption in south africa south africa planted insect resistant cotton, its first biotech. Maize market value chain profile 20112012 department of. Sep 07, 2011 south africas annual maize consumption is between 8 and 9 million tonnes and the surplus is destined for export. Maize farmers should reassess production plans, good news. Understanding maize production part 3 farmers weekly. Arcgrain crops institute, potchefstroom, rsa scheduled dates. Production and market flow maps provide a summary of experience based knowledge of market networks significant to food security. Maize is produced throughout south africa with free state, mpumalanga and north west provinces being the largest producers, accounting for approximately 84% of total production. The figure further depicts that black tea production in south africa experienced a decline in 2012 to lower levels of about 870 tons. The leading suppliers to south africa were argentina, with a share of 99% 506 900 tons and malawi with a share of 1% 2 814 ton.
Just as developed country farmers practice precision farming through global positioning systems gps and digital soil mapping, african farmers too need to know. Droughts and occasional floods along some of zambias main rivers do occur which can impact national maize production negatively. Declining corn production in western highveld, south. Maize production by region in south africa, maize was first introduced in 1655 and has since become one of the dominant food crops. It is closely followed by south africa, tanzania, kenya and uganda. A total of 37,406 hectares were planted to biotech cotton, compared to only 9,000 hectares in 2016. Maize is produced in all the provinces of south africa, but the most significant producing regions are the free state, gauteng, mpumalanga and the northwest provinces. Maize is produced mostly on dry land although there is less than 10% that is produced under irrigation. Maize market value chain profile 2014 department of.
Nov 26, 2015 sa maize production figures vary from season to season, but generally about eight million tons of maize grain are produced annually in south africa on 3,1 million hectares. Maps are produced by usgs in collaboration with other fews net staff, local government ministries, market information systems, ngos, and network and private sector partners. Sustainable intensification options for smallholder maze. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the. Adapting maize production to climate change in subsaharan. At the same time, the volume of maize exports are forecast at 1. From 1990 to 20, the total value of agricultural production, measured in. We believe that total maize exports could at least reach 2. Africa maize market growth, trends, industry analysis. Barley beer is one of the main sources of cash in the area.
Approximately 1012 million tons of maize is produced in south africa annually on moreorless 2. Apr 24, 20 given the accumulating evidence of climate change in subsaharan africa, there is an urgent need to develop more climate resilient maize systems. According to a new policy brief from the bureau for food and agricultural policy bfap, south africas total rainfall in 2015 was the lowest national annual precipitation seen by the south african weather service since 1904. Guide for the production of maize in the summerrainfall area. Maize production doubles after drought namibia reliefweb.
South african companies can resume operations knowing that. The largest producers measured in ha are nigeria, malawi, tanzania, kenya and rwanda, whereas the largest quantities are produced in south africa, rwanda, nigeria, angola and tanzania. Most countries produce less than a quarter of what they could, said bekele. Review of the eastern capes siyakhulamassive maize project.
Drought reducing maize yields in south africa submitted by sara. Successful maize production depends on the correct application of production inputs that will sustain the environment as well as agricultural production. Contrary to popular belief, agricultural production in africa has. South africa is divided into 36 grain production regions. It is estimated that more than 9 000 producers are responsible for the bulk of the south african crop, while the. South africa is able to adapt and work around the air pollution problem, but will enter a downwards maize production curve when the original pollution problem is not addressed. South africa is currently the main maize producer on the african continent with most production concentrated in the north west province, the free state, the mpumalanga highveld and the kwazulunatal midlands. Pdf temperature is one of the important environmental parameters that determines the development of a crop from one. Maize became an important crop in africa only after 1900 when different types l7ere introduced by the dutch in south africa saunders, 1930. In terms of production, africa produces only a third of the americas output or slightly more than 5% of world tonnage. Understanding maize production part 1 farmers weekly. Maize and its production define livelihoods of millions of people in southern africa, part serving as the most important source of calorie for the poor lobell et al. South africa could harvest the second biggest maize crop on.
At that time, south african maize production amounted to 7. In proceedings of a workshop jointly organized by the association for the advancement of agricu1tur1 sciences in africa and the international institute of tropical agriculture. Pdf mapping of maize growing period over the free state. Maize farmers should reassess production plans, good news for. Dry spell analysis and maize yields for two semiarid locations in east africa article in agricultural and forest meteorology 11712. This province remains the largest forestry production region in south africa. Free state, 07 january 2016 agricultural economists say if the drought prolongs, we could be at risk of a food crisis as the window period for planting mai. Nigeria remains africa s largest producer with nearly 8 million tons produced per annum. Harvesting of the 2020 maize crop started in april and is expected to conclude in june.
The objective of the study was to determine the level of climate change awareness among small scale maize producers in mpumalanga province. Botswana, namibia, mozambique, eswatini, and tanzania are the primary importers of maize from south africa. South africa could expect its largest maize crop in the countrys history, said the crop estimates committee of the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries daff. The grain industry is one of the largest agricultural sectors in south africa, producing between 25% and 33% of the countrys total gross agricultural production. In the past five years the industry has exported an average of. South africa is a small player given the soybean oilcake export market. It is therefore recommended that the problem of air pollution in the sasolburg region be solved, rather than adapting to the circumstances with new agricultural. The impact of climate change on agricultural production will be greatest in the tropics andsubtropics,with subsaharan africa ssa. Maize farmers should reassess production plans, good news for consumer. The dry western and the wet eastern maizeproducing areas of south africa 24 figure 2.
Almost 90% of maize in south africa is produced under dry land condition and the remaining 10% is. South africa has recorded a recordbreaking maize harvest of 14 million tonnes. South africas biofuels programme could restrict the increase in maize production, with land being diverted to soya and sorghum. During that year, there were relatively lower stocks as it was a second successive drier season. Sas 2017 record maize crop to double last years harvest. Mokhele moeletsi at agricultural research council, south africa.
The south african maize market is characterised by a larger supply than what can be used locally or exported in the current marketing year in south africa. Agriculture in subsaharan africa food and agriculture. Farm employment in south africa 19851993 21 figure 2. Distribution of bean production in subsaharan africa.
In 2017, south african maize production was 17,5 million tons, an alltime record for the country. Half of this consists of white maize for human food consumption. Almost 90% of maize in south africa is produced under dry land condition and the remaining 10% is produced under irrigated conditions. Cape town south africa will have to put in place a solid export programme for its expected record harvest for any hope of restoring the maize price, because at the present price levels it is not profitable for farmers to grow maize, according to neel rust, chief operating officer of. The two most important nutrients for maize are nitrogen and phosphorous, but maize also requires potassium and, on some soils, zinc in small quantities.
South africas maize production is taking a knock youtube. South african maize corn description 5 south africa is the main maize producer in the sacu, with an average production of approximately 10 to 12 million tons per annum over the past ten years. Last year, namibia had to import 170 000 tonnes of maize. The 201819 maize production prospects of south africas. Maize requires between 450mm and 600mm of water per season, mainly acquired from soil moisture reserves. Maize plantings in the commercial sector, which accounts for almost the entire national output, are estimated at 2. Pdf maize value chains in east africa researchgate. Who are the biggest buyers and consumers of maize in africa.
White and yellow maize production estimates were revised up by 2% and 4% from the previous estimates. Apr 30, 2020 maize production expected to recover strongly in 2020. Adapting maize production to climate change in subsaharan africa. Establishing production potential several methods can be used to determine yield potential.
South africa will regain its status as a net exporter of maize this season. It expects a harvest of around 11 million tonnes for the 201011 season. The most successful types, which eventually moved into east africa, were hickory. Nigeria is the largest producer of maize in africa, followed by south africa.
Zealand, norway, south africa, spain, sweden, switzerland, the united kingdom, and the. The poultry industry is the largest consumer of feed produced locally. The largescale commercial sector is made up of an estimated 4 818 farming units, covers a production area of approximately 82 million hectares and is responsible for more than 99 percent of south africas marketed agricultural output statssa 2002. There is still capacity to increase production and reduce these imports. The united states remains the worlds largest producer with 42 percent of all maize produced globally. South africas main maizeproducing areas 23 figure 2. South africa experiences periodic droughts, and almost 50% of south africas water is used for agricultural purposes. The total harvested area under maize in africa was around 38. Jan 06, 2016 free state, 07 january 2016 agricultural economists say if the drought prolongs, we could be at risk of a food crisis as the window period for planting mai. Maize corn is the most important food crop in southern africa. South african maize corn description 2 page 6 industrial uses for south african maize 3 page 9 marketing procedures 4 page 11 grain quality of. Despite the decline in production, domestic maize supplies are estimated to be sufficient to satisfy national consumption requirements in the 201920 marketing year mayapril. South africa maize market growth trends forecast 2020. Dec 16, 2015 establishing production potential several methods can be used to determine yield potential.
One interesting remark from someone on twitter following my blogpost about south africas sorghum production was that the crop is of african origin, but is now being displaced by other crops such as maize, which originated elsewhere. It was introduced into east africa by explorers from portugal and the persian gulf, obilana and asnani. Traditional lowinput cultivation willy verheye encyclopedia of life support systems eolss kenya 940 2,289 2,160 2,710 2,928 malawi 815 1,343 2,501 1,983 3,226 south africa see table 1 tanzania 590 2,445 1,965 2,614 3,659 zambia 660 1,093 1,040 1,157 1,366. Maize minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Johannesburg south africas record maize harvest this year is expected to double last years yield after good weather boosted production, a reuters poll of four traders and analysts showed. Two east asian countries that do not have significant domestic industries. Guide for the production of maize in the summerrainfall. Jul 24, 2017 johannesburg south africas record maize harvest this year is expected to double last years yield after good weather boosted production, a reuters poll of four traders and analysts showed. It is estimated that more than 9 000 producers are responsible.
Zambia has one of the most stable and favourable natural climates in southern africa for growing maize. Although one of the largest maize crops in the history of south african farming will be harvested in 2010, farmers struggle with prices. Drought risk and maize production in southern africa girma t. In the temperate highlands of subsaharan africa, wheat and barley are the main staples, complemented by pulses and to a lesser extent tef and potatoes. Jun 15, 2017 south africa could expect its largest maize crop in the countrys history, said the crop estimates committee of the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries daff.
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