Agriculture: Market Intelligence Report 2016

The report argues that rising input costs, water scarcity, and international market pressure are driving a transition toward green agriculture in South Africa. It highlights specific opportunities in energy efficiency, solar PV, conservation agriculture, precision agriculture, biological control, and biogas, while noting barriers such as high import costs, regulatory delays, and a lack of technical skills.

• The primary drivers for adopting green technologies in South African agriculture are increasing costs for inputs like fertilisers, pesticides, energy, and water, alongside limited arable land and water availability.
• Climate change and water scarcity are critical pressures, with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) predicting a water deficit in South Africa by 2025. In the Western Cape, a slow-onset drying trend is predicted, with the Swartland area already showing year-on-year rainfall declines.
• South Africa faces significant land constraints compared to global competitors; it has 0.25 hectares of arable land per person, whereas Russia has 0.85, Argentina 0.93, and Australia 2.
• Energy efficiency is a high-priority opportunity because the agricultural sector consumes approximately 3% of South Africa's total electricity. In the Western Cape's fruit subsector, significant energy is used in packhouses and cold stores, where natural ventilation could reduce usage by nearly 50%.
• Solar PV adoption is increasing, with over 10% of South African solar PV installations located in the agriculture sector. In the Western Cape, installing solar PV in packhouses or cold stores can lead to average electricity bill savings of 27%.
• Conservation Agriculture (CA) is presented as a viable alternative to conventional tillage, which is the leading cause of soil degradation. While 80% of grain farmers in the Western Cape have no-till machinery, there are opportunities to further reduce soil disturbance to improve yields.
• Precision Agriculture (PA) could provide R1.2 billion in savings and create up to 2,400 new jobs in South Africa. An example is the FruitLook portal in the Western Cape, which has helped 60% of surveyed users reduce water consumption by 10% to 30%.
• The use of drones in agriculture is a growing market following the establishment of legislation and licensing processes in July 2015. Applications include aerial mapping, crop surveying, plant stress detection, and livestock censuses.
• The global biopesticide market is growing due to consumer demand for pesticide-free food, valued at US$54.8 billion in 2013 and expected to reach US$83.7 billion by 2019. In South Africa, growth is potentially driven by stringent environmental regulations in export markets.
• South Africa has a potential electricity generation capacity of close to 2300 MWe from biogas. While the country has 300 biogas plants, this is low compared to China (17 million) and India (12 million), indicating high growth potential.
• Key barriers to the uptake of green technologies include a lack of awareness, regulatory hurdles (such as delays in Environmental Impact Assessments), a weak exchange rate making imports expensive, and insufficient R&D funding (currently <0.8% of GDP).

APA

GreenCape (2016). Agriculture: Market Intelligence Report 2016. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Agriculture-MIR-2016-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Agriculture: Market Intelligence Report 2016. 2016. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Agriculture-MIR-2016-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Agriculture: Market Intelligence Report 2016 |date=2016 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Agriculture-MIR-2016-3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2016agriculture, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Agriculture: Market Intelligence Report 2016}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2016}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GreenCape-Agriculture-MIR-2016-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }