Rainfed Farming Systems in South Africa

Abstract

Rainfed farming systems form an important part of South Africa’s agricultural sector, despite being constrained by the country’s socio-political history, local and international economic forces, physical environmental factors such as inherently poor quality of soils, low and variable rainfall as well as limited amounts of arable land. About 85% of the potentially arable land is under freehold tenure. This supports a dynamic, commercial agricultural industry of mainly summer and winter grains that accounts for 95% of the marketed output. The remainder of the arable land is in the former homelands. These communal lands contribute to the food requirements of the 2.3 million households, with some small-scale commercial farming. Maize is the most important crop; it is produced mainly in the Interior Plateau, often in rotation with other summer crops such as sunflower, sorghum and soybean. Wheat is also grown in the rotation during the cool dry winter months of the summer rainfall areas but only on soils with a shallow water-table and using bare fallow. Rainfed sugar cane is grown in the humid and sub-humid coastal areas in the east of the country. Winter cereals, predominantly wheat, are produced in the winter and all-year rainfall regions, in rotation with annual or perennial legume pastures and, on a smaller scale, in rotation with canola and lupins. Livestock, mainly cattle in the summer rainfall areas and sheep in the winter and all-year rainfall areas, form an important component of many rainfed farming enterprises and contribute to the sustainability of the commercial farming systems. Livestock are also important in communal farming systems, contributing significantly to food security and sustainability.