How agricultural economists can support the sector

> Agriculture is a key sector of the South African economy. Research institutions play a crucial role in generating evidence that can inform decision-making across this critical sector.  Introduction Agriculture contributes about 2.5% to national GDP (Stats SA, 2024). It is a dynamic system driven by farmers, consumers, financial institutions, processors, and retailers. Research institutions play a critical role by generating evidence that supports decision‑making across agricultural value chains (Laurie et al., 2017). Within this landscape, agricultural economics stands out as a discipline focused on farm efficiency, farmer and consumer welfare, market performance, and policy design that ensures a fair and competitive environment (Rahman, 2015). The discipline has more than 60 years of history in South Africa and continues to expand through investment in applied and policy‑focused research (Maredia & Byerlee, 2018). These themes dominated discussions at the 62nd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa, held in Pretoria late last year.   The conference theme, “ Market Concentration and Competition Law in Agriculture: Experience and Lessons, ” provided an important opportunity for reflecting on structural challenges affecting agricultural markets and value chains. Rather than simply presenting research outputs, the conference highlighted broader concerns regarding market power, trade policy, and digital transformation in agriculture. Agricultural economists, represented by the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), convened the annual conference to share insights on emerging challenges in the sector (AEASA, 2025). Held in Pretoria, the 62nd Annual Conference brought together researchers from across the continent to reflect on competition law, market concentration, and agribusiness transformation. Research participation  The 2025 conference attracted 129 research paper submissions from univers