World Geo Essay

Submitted By Kjelkins1
Words: 787
Pages: 4

5 Dec. 2012
South African Agriculture South Africa has numerous traits and features that make it one of the top countries in Africa. Agriculture, being a value asset to the success of the country, has many factors that go into making it such a vital part of South African culture. Unlike several other countries in Africa, South Africa contributes a lot of time and effort into making agriculture a primary focus for the success of the country. South Africa has been doing very well lately in many different spectrums of the economy. Agriculture just happens to be one of the departments with some of the most potential for future growth. The South African climate is what sets the basis for a majority of what gets grown and produced in the country. The climate in the country varies from coastline to coastline. In the northern region of the county, the Highveld is better watered, and saved by its altitude from subtropical extremes of heat. Winters are cold, though snow is rare. The southern coast, part of which is known as the Garden Route, is rather less tropical but also green. The south-western corner of the country has no freezing temperatures and is mainly wet in winter. The summers tend to be hot and dry. Its most famous climatic characteristic is its wind, which blows pretty much off and on all year round, either from the south-east or the north- west. In contrast, the eastern coastline is lush and well watered. There, you will find most of the tropical beaches and tourist attractions. South Africa’s unique physical features are another major contributor to the inventory the country is able to stock. Not differing from the rest of the continent, South Africa lies most of its landscape on a plateau in the heart of the country. The interior plateau consists of a series of rolling grasslands that stretch from the very south-western corner to the furthest north-eastern border. Segments of coastal lowlands surround the base while a series of mountain rages edge the perimeter of the country before dropping to sea level. These mountains, known as the Great Escarpment, range between 2,000 meters and 3,300 meters in elevation. The coastline is fairly regular and has few natural harbors. With South Africa’s population growing at almost 2% per year, the population of 49 million in 2009 is expected to grow to 82 million by the year 2035. Food production and imports must more than double to feed the expanding population and production needs to increase using the same or fewer natural resources. Fortunately, South African agriculture is on the rise and shows no relevant sign of slowing. Prices of agriculture products since 2001 have increased by 13%. Prices of field crops rose by 23%, horticultural products by 6%, and prices of livestock products by 11%. Agriculture contributes about 2.6% to South Africa’s gross domestic product and formally employs almost 9% of the labor force. The dairy and wine producers contribute the most for job placing in agriculture. Both have over 4,000 producers and employ more than 60,000 people. South