Foreign farmers flocking to South Africa WRITTEN MY MALCOLM LIBERA

[Nat Quinn]

 

 

Foreign farmers flocking to South AfricaWRITTEN MY MALCOLM LIBERA

Farmers and agricultural workers are flooding into South Africa from neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, and Mozambique.

This data was detailed in a recent Parliamentary Q&A, where the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) was asked for the total number of work permits issued in the last financial year.

In response, the DEL explained that it provides recommendations on corporate work visa applications regarding the availability of local labour in various categories.

“This role is prescribed in the Immigration Act,13 of 2002, Regulations 18 (3) 21(1) and includes the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Department of Trade and Industry and Competition,” it said.

The DEL added that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) takes final decisions or waives any recommendation made by these three Departments.

“The DHA makes its decision after following their final internal processes or after consulting further with other Departments, such as those in the Security Cluster,” it said.

“The DHA is not obliged to provide final statistics to any of the departments,” it added. However, the DEL provided data on the work visas it received and processed in 2024.

According to the department, it received 60 corporate work visa applications covering 6,255 migrant workers.

Of these, the DEL negatively recommended (rejected) 5,383 (86%) and positively recommended (approved) 872 (14%).

The approved visas included workers from several countries, including China, India, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Pakistan, the UK, Israel, and Zimbabwe.

The various sectors included agriculture, education and training, manufacturing, mining, maritime, wholesale, and retail.

However, 91% (796) of the recommended approvals of work visas from the Department of Employment and Labour were for farmers and agricultural workers.

Most of these foreign agricultural workers came from neighbouring countries, Zimbabwe (445), Lesotho (250), Namibia (70), and Mozambique (30).

Why they are coming to South Africa

The chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), Wandile Sihlobo, told BusinessTech that these migrant farmers and workers are moving to South Africa for better opportunities and pay.

“South Africa’s agriculture is robust and growing. We had about 924,000 people working in primary agriculture at the end of the last quarter of 2024.

“There are workers in the sector from neighbouring countries who are attracted by competitive wages in South Africa’s agriculture,” he said.

“The revised agricultural Minimum Wage in South Africa is R28.79 per hour. In Namibia, the sectoral determination for farm workers is at R10 per hour.” This makes work in South Africa attractive, he said.

In some instances, Sihlobo added that farmers also provide lodging, which assists. Some, such as Lesotho, bring unique skills in sheep shearing, amongst other aspects.

However, Sihlobo stressed the importance of ensuring that South African workers receive primary work opportunities and that neighbouring countries supplement them when necessary.

He noted that despite some green shoots for the agricultural sector in South Africa anticipated in 2025, risks still remain.

Agbiz’s economic note of the sector, given the resilience of recent quarters’ job performance, indicated that it is possible that we may see a recovery in employment conditions in 2025.

“This is assuming that there aren’t pressing trade-related challenges that will weigh on the sector’s profitability in the near term,” it said.

The report added that the mild increase in the minimum wage this year while challenging for some commodities and adding to already higher input cost pressures, may also not be a major hindrance.

However, it noted that while the sector is recovering this year from a production perspective, there are heightened risks associated with international trade.

“The AGOA duty-free access to the US market and generally fractured geopolitics are areas that we continue to watch closely as these matter for the exports of agricultural products, farm profitability, and, ultimately, the sustainability of agricultural jobs,” it said.

“Beyond the global factors, port inefficiencies, poor rail and road infrastructure, crime and stock theft, and worsening municipal service delivery remain significant risks to agriculture’s long-term growth prospects,” it added.

 

SOURCE:Foreign farmers flocking to South Africa – BusinessTech

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