Stop hoping for jobs in agriculture: Figures show that the agriculture sector lost 45 000 jobs in the second quarter of 2024. This decline can be attributed to increased productivity, which requires fewer but more skilled workers.

According to an article in Farmer's Weekly, the agriculture sector in South Africa lost 45,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2024. This decline is attributed to increased productivity, which requires fewer but more skilled workers. The largest decrease in agricultural employment occurred in the Western Cape, followed by North West, the Northern Cape, and Gauteng. However, there was job growth in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga. The article also discusses how farmers aim to use the optimal combination of production factors to maximize wealth creation, and as they adopt more advanced technology, their requirements shift from unskilled laborers to highly skilled operators. The article emphasizes the importance of profitability for farmers to sustain a smaller but skilled workforce. Additionally, it highlights the positive economic multipliers of the agriculture sector, as one job in the primary sector leads to nearly two jobs in upstream and downstream industries. [Extracted from the article]