Statistician-General Mr Risenga Maluleke presented the Census of Commercial Agriculture (CoCA) 2017 results to Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thokozile Didiza, on Tuesday.
He said that South Africa has 40 122 commercial farms.
South Africa’s largest crop outputs in commercial agriculture by volume are maize, sugarcane and potatoes.
The Western Cape generates the most income from commercial agriculture, generating R64.3 billion (19,3%), followed by Free State at R46,9 billion (14,1%) and North West at R39,7 billion (11,9%).
In 2017, cattle were the top-selling animal with over 3.6 million sold.
This was followed by sheep and pigs with over 3.1 million and 2.2 million respectively.
Maluleke said that nationally, 77% of farming land is owned by the farmer.
In Western Cape, he said, almost 187 000 people are employed in commercial agriculture, making the province the biggest commercial agricultural employer.
Eastern Cape is goat country. Half of the nation’s goat population resides in a single district of Sarah Baartman.
Free State sells the most cattle and Gauteng produces 35% of all the country’s carrots.
KwaZulu-Natal is the sugarcane capital and Limpopo grows the bulk of our tomatoes.
Mpumalanga is a banana country. The province produces over two-thirds of the nation’s crop.
Sheep rule the Northern Cape and the province has the biggest sheep population. North West is the top beetroot
