SA agriculture shows promise, boosted by weather and logistics

Encouraging reports on the prospects for La Niña-induced rainfall during the 2025-2026 summer season have continued.

- Wandile Sihlobo

Most regions of South Africa have received excellent rain since the start of October.The latest forecasts from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University indicate a high likelihood of La Niña-induced rains continuing until February 2026.

Better rainfall prospects are beneficial to field crops as well as the livestock and horticulture subsectors. For the livestock subsector, improvements in the grazing veld at a time when feed prices are also falling are a welcome development, as the industry has struggled with financial pressures because of foot-and-mouth disease.