Johannesburg — THE agricultural sector is losing jobs because processed products are being imported, instead of being produced and manufactured locally, Lindie Stroebel of the Agricultural Business Chamber said last week.

In a report released last week, Ms Stroebel, an economic intelligence manager at the chamber, said that historically SA was a net exporter of primary agricultural products, but since 2006 it has become a net importer of processed products.

The lack of employment opportunities in the agribusiness industry is directly linked to deficiencies in local value-adding and manufacturing.

Although Statistics SA figures indicate that the formal sector lost 129 000 jobs and the informal sector gained 115 000 jobs in the second quarter, Ms Stroebel said the recession is only now starting to take its toll on primary agriculture's employment figures.

Lower commodity prices also place pressure on farmers, while less favourable and often costly labour regulations are contributing to lower employment on farms. According to Stats SA, the primary agriculture sector lost 32 000 jobs in the second quarter. Almost 100 000 jobs have already been lost in primary agriculture in the past year, bringing total employment in the sector down to 618 000. "This is a 13% loss for primary agriculture's employment, compared to the total economy's loss of 5%," she said.

Economist Mike Schussler said in July that the social grant system acts as a disincentive to work, saying the situation is not sustainable because 12,8-million people are working, while 13,8-million people receive welfare payments.

Over the past 10 years, the South African population has grown by almost 13%, while the labour force has expanded by only 4,3%, "which shows that population growth has completely outstripped the rate of employment", Ms Stroebel said.

The Agricultural Business Chamber, in its agribusiness confidence index, listed a lack of skills and professional workers as one of the main factors inhibiting the sector's competitiveness.