Extreme weather hitting South Africa’s farmers

South African commercial corn farmers plan to cut plantings to the smallest area since 2019, squeezed by higher input costs and expectations of a drought during the nation’s summer months.Farmers intend to plant corn on about 2.4 million hectares of land in the 2027 season, down 12.4% from the previous year and roughly 10% below the five-year average, the Crop Estimates Committee said in its first report on intentions to plant for the next season released on Tuesday.