Sifiso Ntombela | A bright spot as food costs soar: the rise of the rural farmer

Despite bleak news for food prices and input costs for farmers, there is a bright spot: SA's rural and small-scale farmers are reporting real benefits from government support, says Sifiso Ntombela. 

There is radiating excitement among small-scale and subsistence farmers as they expect a large crop size in the 2022 harvest, following good rains at the back of government support with seeds, fertilisers, and inputs.

In the first week of March 2022, I and my colleague from the National Agricultural Marketing Council, Bonani Nyhodo, visited some farms in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. In both provinces, we were hosted by officials working at provincial departments of agriculture.