The first Nation in Conversation panel-discussion for 2025 made it clear that for agriculture to grow, rural infrastructure must be strategically aligned, supported by policy, and scalable. While government systems buckle under pressure, the agricultural sector isn’t waiting.
“Infrastructure is key to unlocking competitiveness,” said Moshe Motlohi of Transnet. “We’re fighting four battles: to upgrade for greener, cheaper transport; to strengthen security; to digitalise; and to make railways safe, not just for workers, but for the people who live near them.”
However, South Africa’s logistics gap is already hurting the sector. Theo Boshoff of AgBiz illustrated how bad things have become: “It’s cheaper to import soya from Argentina to Cape Town than it is to move it from the Northwest by road.”
Despite the odds, agriculture is quietly leading the way. Farmers, agribusinesses and local cooperatives are stepping in to rebuild roads, maintain infrastructure, and keep operations going to mitigate risks.
“Senwes has already scraped and repaired over 3000 kilometres of rural roads,” the audience heard. “At their own cost.”
“It’s not just about money,” Motlohi added. “The private sector brings new energy, new skills. They are forcing the public sector to shake up its act.”
Dr Hubert Joynt of the Infrastructure South Africa the broader impact: “Our logistics costs are 11–12% of GDP — the global benchmark is 7%. And failing infrastructure knocks at least 3% off our national economic growth every year.”
Still, rural areas are quietly outperforming expectations. Joynt shared results from a new Inclusive Growth Index developed with UJ: “Rural agricultural and mining towns scored the highest on inclusive growth, more than metro areas. Everyone talks about inclusive growth, but now we can measure it.”
SANRAL’s Marlize Nel-Verwey echoed the challenges on the road infrastructure front. “We have around 100 to 250 active projects per province — all from one pot of funding. We use software to prioritise: if a project doesn’t show at least an 8% rate of return, it’s not feasible. And even then, it can take up to eight years from identifying the need to finishing the work.”
In a bid to move faster, SANRAL recently established a Business Development Department to find funding beyond the National Treasury. “Road infrastructure is expensive,” she said, “but this could open new doors.”
As the panel concluded, one thing was clear: There are definitely green shoots emerging both on the policy front, and the willingness of the public sector to work collaboratively with the private sector to tackle the infrastructure challenges rural South Africa are facing.