South Africa
Key policy factors for promoting agribusiness Enhancing agricultural growth in Africa for agribusiness It was already mentioned that agricultural production as a share of gross value added (GVA) has been declining. Figure 8.11 shows the large relative decline between 1961 and 2008. This is a reflection of the changing structure of the South African economy. However, in real terms (constant 2005 prices), agricultural output has increased over the same period. Figure 8.11: Share of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing in GDP and Gross Value Added
Source: SARB 13
This shows that although other sectors, such as financial services and manufacturing, have become more important for the development of the South African economy, the output of the primary sector has been steadily increasing. Figure 8.12 below shows how food production (in real terms) has increased between 1975 and 2008.
SOUTH AFRICA
Figure 8.12: Volume of Agricultural Production (calendar year): Food production (for the year 2000 = 100)
Source: SARB
The question that needs to be asked is about the relationship between agricultural growth and growth in agro-processing; Figure 8.13 shows that there has been a growth trend in both, although 13
Figure is based on data compiled by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB, various years).
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