After being paralysed by drought during a bad year for farmers in 2019, international organisations brought optimism about the country’s maize harvest for 2020. However, what remains a concern is the weather, as not much rain is predicted between now and March.
Although the weather forecasts from last year have been similar to this week’s as the country’s summer weather system pushes on, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo said two major agricultural organisations had positive forecasts for SA’s maize production.
“The US department of agriculture [USDA] and the International Grains Council (IGC), released their views about South Africa’s 2019/20 maize crop.
“The USDA anticipates a maize harvest of 13.3 million tons, while IGC sees a slightly bigger crop of 13.5 million tons. This far outpaces the 2018/19 season’s harvest of 11.8 million tons. This expected increase is supported by the anticipated expansion in area plantings.
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