Cereal Production in Africa with the Focus on South Africa

Abstract

Abstract Cereal production in Africa, compared to the rest of the world, is very low and the wheat crop being grown is less then 2 percent of all wheat being grown in the developing world. About 80 percent of the wheat crop is produced by the Republic of South Africa and Ethiopia. Wheat and barley are grown in South Africa as grain crops but most of the other cereal crops are pasture crops. The South African production environment is very variable and wheat is grown as a spring as well as a winter crop under dryland and irrigation. Wheat production has dropped during the past few years mostly because of the effect of market deregulation but focus on new varieties and better production circumstances have improved yield per hectare. The seed trade in South Africa is highly commercialized, regulated and protected by law. Success can mainly be attributed to cultivar releases, the introgression of marketable traits into new varieties and the existence of a market structure for the seed business. South Africa c...