The African proverb is far from losing its meaning when it says: "When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." From the agricultural perspective, the global agricultural market will be directly affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.

The African continent imports grains and oil seeds such as maize, sunflower and soya beans from the trouble-torn countries of Ukraine and Russia. It is naïve not to watch closely SA’s trade links with Russia and Ukraine, more especially the agricultural market and oil price's escalations.

SA benefits from exporting fruits to Russia. In the year 2020, Russia accounted for 7% of SA citrus exports in value terms and 12% of SA’s apples and pears, making it SA’s second largest market. On the other side, SA is heavily dependent on its wheat imports.

On a positive note, the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development stands a good opportunity to rise above Russia-Ukraine dependency on imports such as wheat, grains and oil seeds by bringing in more black farmers to the rare market and to unlock the full potential of agricultural economic growth.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict challenges the department to be more effective in its efforts to massify the production of the affected products; while discovering the lost opportunities in provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Western Cape, to involve black farmers in the production of wheat and barley.

Farmers in Mpumalanga and Gauteng have demonstrated a huge appetite for involvement in the production of sunflowers. The department, as an important role player in the growth of the economy, should double its efforts on implementing its programmes to address the country’s shortcomings.

There is no shortage of evidence that proves that the awaited disruptions of export activities are yet to unfold fully once the sanctions imposed on Russia gain momentum.

Mphahlela M Rammutla, Pretoria