South Africa has an average annual rainfall of less than 500 mm. According to the United Nations Council on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) system for defining dry lands, more than 80 percent of its land surface is classified as semi-arid to arid. Only 18 percent is classified as dry sub-humid and sub-humid. Rainfed crop production is concentrated in the latter two zones, as well as in the central and eastern reaches of the semi-arid zone, where favourable soil characteristics occur.
The total land area of South Africa is 127 million hectares of which 82 percent (100 million hectares) is agricultural land. Only 14 percent of the latter (14 million hectares) receives sufficient rainfall for arable crop production, while the remainder is used for extensive grazing, forestry and wildlife/nature conservation. Only 1.35 million hectares (less than 10 percent of total arable land) are under irrigation but they produce a significant proportion of the country’s total agricultural output, notably in horticultural and vegetable production and viticulture.
South Africa’s total gross value of agricultural output in 2003/04 is estimated at R72 000 million. The contribution of agriculture, fishing and forestry to Value Added in 2003 was R42 000 million, which represents 3.8 percent of the Total Value Added (R1 100 000 million) to the economy. However, when forward and backward linkages are taken into account, agriculture’s contribution to GDP (Value Added) is estimated at 13 percent.
South Africa’s total population (2000 census) is 44.7 million. The current annual population growth rate is estimated at 1 percent or below - down from 2.1 percent in 1991 and 1.4 percent in 2001.
Approximately 40 percent of the population, or 18 million people, can be classified as living in poverty. While the country is self-sufficient in food production, 43 percent of households are vulnerable to food insecurity (National Treasury, 2003). Poverty is more pervasive in rural areas, particularly in the former homelands. Alleviating food insecurity will therefore require more effort being directed towards subsistence agriculture and developing smallholder agriculture. Fertilizer application in these sectors can have a significant impact on raising smallholder agricultural productivity, especially in view of declining soil fertility levels which have become synonymous of subsistence agriculture throughout Africa (Machete et al., 2004).
South African agriculture is dualistic in nature, consisting of the less developed/subsistence sector referred to above and a well developed commercial sector. The number of commercial farmers is estimated at between 50 000 and 60 000. They produce more than 95 percent of total marketed agricultural output.
Since the democratic elections of 1994, major policy initiatives supported by legislation have been introduced to address the historical distortions in agriculture. These initiatives include the marketing of agricultural products, water policies, basic conditions of employment, skills development, land reform and trade policy reforms. Although these policy changes have resulted in significantly reduced formal support mechanisms for commercial farmers, agriculture as a whole and the fertilizer sector in particular, are still dominated by the commercial sector. Consequently, the focus in this study will be on fertilizer use in the commercial system.
