Saai sounds alarm over collapse of South Africa’s agricultural input system

SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s national network of family farmers, Saai, has raised urgent concerns over the dysfunction of the Registrar under the Fertilisers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1964.

The farmers are confronting a mounting crisis as the system that regulates agricultural inputs continues to fail, leaving them without essential fertilizers, animal feeds, and veterinary products.

For over a decade, farmers have endured long delays in registering new products and technologies, with some applications pending for up to six years. Saai warns that these delays block the introduction of essential alternatives, restrict innovation, and threaten the sustainability of the sector.

“Farmers are growing deeply concerned about the Department of Agriculture’s failure to intervene,” said Francois Rossouw, CEO of Saai. “It seems as though a six-year wait to register agricultural and veterinary medicines has become accepted as the norm. It is everything but normal.”

The situation mirrors warnings issued in 2011 by a Ministerial Task Team formed after litigation against the then Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. That report highlighted the department’s inability to process registration applications efficiently. Saai says the recommendations have not been fully implemented.

“We urgently need a clear and honest account of what has been done by the Department, what remains outstanding, and a credible plan to fix the system. Farmers’ livelihoods, animal welfare, and our national food supply are at risk,” Rossouw added.

Impacts on farmers and animal health

Saai members report that critical agricultural and veterinary products remain stuck in the backlog. “Many of these applications involve proven technologies and alternatives to older remedies that are already approved and widely used in other countries. These are not extraordinary or untested substances requiring years of evaluation. The real issue is that in South Africa, these applications aren’t even being processed. This is not just a delay – it is a total administrative breakdown that blocks progress, sustainability, and competitiveness in our agricultural sector,” Rossouw explained.

The effects are visible in the field. In the Kakamas–Augrabies region of the Northern Cape, an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever threatens local livestock. A vaccine developed by Design Biologics has been stalled in the backlog for years, despite approval by international regulators.

“Design Biologics is but one example of how regulatory failure is endangering animal health, livelihoods, and food security,” Rossouw said.

“We are working with them and several other agri-input producers who, like them, have pending applications for modern, safer and more advanced alternatives to current agricultural and veterinary products that are either no longer available or urgently needed. However, instead of progress, we are watching real outbreaks unfold while essential remedies gather dust in filing cabinets and on kitchen tables at the Registrar.”

Rising input costs add pressure to farmers. According to Saai’s Farmer Input Cost Index, costs for fertilizers, crop remedies, animal health products, fuel, and electricity have been increasing at nearly double the rate of consumer inflation. Modern, efficient alternatives remain inaccessible because of administrative delays.

Saai has demanded that the state provide a full report on the implementation of the 2011 recommendations, a time-bound plan to modernize systems, and an immediate roadmap to restore the functioning of the Registrar’s office. Attorneys are prepared to explore legal action if the government fails to act decisively.

“We are falling behind the rest of Africa, never mind the world,” Rossouw warned. “The regulatory vacuum puts the entire agricultural value chain – and with it the public’s access to safe, affordable food – in serious jeopardy.”

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