南非几乎所有主要农产品都自给自足，以商业和自给农业为特色。七个气候区域为涵盖基本市场和利基市场的多种作物提供了机会。
贸易协定
自 1994 年以来，南非放松了对农业产业的管制，取消了所有政府补贴。为管理价格风险，成立了南非期货交易所、约翰内斯堡证券交易所农产品期货市场等专业支持机构。
与南非发展共同体和欧盟的自由贸易协定允许降低跨境关税。
南非还通过《非洲增长与机会法案》与美国享有优惠贸易协定，该法案降低了关税并取消了配额。欧盟国家以及加拿大、捷克共和国、匈牙利、日本、挪威和瑞士给予南非普惠制（普惠制）地位。
顶级作物
South Africa produces several major crops, including grains, which account for 25% to 33% of the country’s gross agricultural production. The main grain crop is corn; grown by more than 9,000 commercial producers and several thousand small-scale producers, corn is the main staple crop for South African people. The second largest area of cropland is planted to wheat, followed by sunflower seed.
South Africa is the world’s 10th largest producer of sunflower seed and 13th largest producer of sugar. Sugarcane is grown in 15 different areas across the country, yielding about 2.5 million tonnes of sugar every season. Cotton is grown by small shareholders, with 75% of the crop harvested by hand.
Vegetables are planted on a smaller scale, with potatoes as the main crop at about 40% of vegetable farmers’ income. Tomatoes, onions and sweet corn — particularly green mealies — make up another 38%.
The wide climatic and geographical range in South Africa also allows for growth of many varieties of fruit, including citrus, pineapples, avocados, mangoes, bananas and guavas. As the world’s ninth largest wine producer, South Africa has over 110,000 hectares (ha) of grapes, with over 300 million vines.
生物科技国度
南非于 1996 年采用转基因 (GM) 作物，从那时起种植转基因玉米、大豆和棉花。截至 2009 年 2 月，该国在生物技术国家中排名第 8，种植了超过 180 万公顷的转基因作物。
种植面积继续增长，2008 年玉米增加了 10,000 公顷，大豆增加了 40,000 公顷，棉花增加了 2,000 公顷。孟山都目前正在测试 YieldGard 的抗螟虫能力；抗旱品种；以及提高氮利用率的品种。