Agbiz says that this announcement follows draft regulations published in April for public comment, that merely proposed raising the exemption from 1 MW to 100 MW. It submitted written inputs last month, proposing a more substantial change akin to that announced by the President. According to Agbiz CEO, Dr John Purchase, the announcement comes at a timely hour when improvements in the policy environment are desperately needed for agribusinesses. Agbiz, amongst others in the business sector, will monitor the Government Gazette for the revised Regulations.

The recent outbreak of livestock diseases in both poultry and cloven-hoofed animals in terms of Avian Influenza and Foot-and-Mouth Disease, will not likely dent the expected overall agriculture GDP output for 2021. This is according to Paul Makhube, Senior Agricultural economist at FNB Agri-Business. Makhube was reacting to the recent GDP figures that was released for the first quarter of this year, which showed the agricultural sector's GDP shrank by 3.2%. Makhube further added that this reflects normal seasonal trends as activity is relatively low in the agriculture sector, with crops already on the land and in the growth phase. He adds that they expect a rebound in agriculture GDP numbers in the subsequent quarters, given the huge supply outlook, improved economic activity, and strong exports.

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Farmers are encouraged to report all stock theft cases. This request has come after the National Stock Theft Prevention Forum has noted a sharp decline in the reporting of stock theft cases in South Africa. According to Denene Erasmus, editor of Farmer's Weekly, the forum reported that even though there was a decrease in stock theft cases for the year 2020/21, figures show a near 13% drop in cases reported – with the largest decreases recorded in the North West, Free State, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.

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