The number of commercial farming units in South Africa decreased from about 58 000 to about 46 000 between 1993 and 2002, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday.
Paid employment in the sector dropped from 1 093 265 to 940 815 over the same period, Statistician General Pali Lehohla told reporters in Pretoria.
The market value of farming assets dropped from R139-billion to R98-billion, but income rose from about R39-billion to about R53-billion.
There had been a slight decrease of about 3% in farming debt, and gross income nearly doubled from R670 000 to R1,2-million per farming unit, Lehohla said.
Expenditure rose from about R34-billion to just more than R45-billion, and employee remuneration at constant 2002 prices from R5,7-billion to R6,2-billion.
Lehohla was unveiling some of the results of Stats SA’s 2002 census of commercial agriculture. A full report with more data will be released in December.
According to Lehohla, the census results show agriculture had grown in real terms. Employment stayed at almost the same level, taking into account the growth in casual labour.
While a drop of about 25% was recorded in full-time farming employment, the percentage of casual workers employed rose from about 40% to 50%.
The study also revealed a drop in the agriculture sector’s contribution to gross domestic product, from 4,2% to 3,4%.
Census project manager Moses Mnyaka said this could be explained by growth in other economic sectors, including the public service.
The survey only examined farms registered for value-added tax. Forestry, ocean fishing and agricultural services were also not included.
Director General of Agriculture and Land Affairs Bongiwe Njobe welcomed the census as the start of a process to end ”the agricultural information drought”.
”Since 1993, we’ve been thumb-sucking and speculating on how many white farmers are there, how many black farmers are there, what the employment figures are and what the returns are in the sector.”
The new data will help measure effectiveness and improve competitiveness in the sector, Njobe said.
A study will have to be done, she added, regarding the extent to which the new figures represent newly settled black farmers. Further research will also be needed into the employment figures, including an interpretation of trends such as the increase in casual labour.
Lehohla said Stats SA is considering doing a similar census every three years from now on, increasing its scope to include the entire agricultural sector in the next few years. — Sapa