Ramaphosa signs important new laws for South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa assented to the Plant Health Bill, which sets out measures to combat plant pests that are of concern to domestic agriculture.

The new laws may also have an impact on South Africa’s ability to export agricultural products.

Among its various impacts, the Bill signed by the President repeals the Agricultural Pests Act (APA) of 1983, which has regulated the national plant health (phytosanitary) system until now.

At the time the APA was promulgated, the focus was not really on trade. Instead, the focus was on the control of pests within South Africa.

However, South Africa now trades with its counterparts in other countries, and for that to happen, there needed to be a relationship between South African laws and the laws of other countries, which the new Act fulfils.

The laws were signed by the president in December 2024.

According to the presidency, the new law also responds to concerns that the introduction and spread of potentially damaging pests in South Africa could significantly negatively impact South African biosecurity, agricultural production, food security, and market access.

The laws provide for phytosanitary measures to prevent the introduction, establishment and spread of regulated pests to safeguard South African agriculture and plant natural resources.

It also provides for the control of regulated pests and regulation of the movement of plants, plant products and other regulated articles into, within and out of the country. This has major implications for imports and exports.

“The law brings South Africa into compliance with the World Trade Organisation Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as well as the International Plant Protection Convention,” the presidency said.

“This compliance will support South Africa’s efforts to enter new markets and maintain current export markets, which will have a positive impact on the South African agricultural sector in terms of job creation and sustainable use of land and other natural resources.”

One aspect the new laws will assist with is how to deal with travellers bringing in unsanctioned plants or pests.

During deliberations on the laws, the Agriculture Department pointed out that South Africa could only confiscate fruit, produce, or any other relevant materials from those who brought them into the country without a permit—it did not have any legal follow-up mechanism.

In other countries, if someone was found to have controlled products without a permit, people could be jailed and charged large fines. Australia is a notable example of a country with extremely strict laws and regulations in this line.

However, under the ASA, South Africa did not have the legal provisions to impose fines to serve as a deterrent.

The department said that travelling was unintentionally a source of pest introduction and that tourism was found to be one of the most challenging areas for the agricultural sector because it was through tourism that pests and diseases were introduced.

The new laws now make provision for the Minister of Agriculture to prescribe various control measures, establish a National Plant Protection Organisation, regulate various import and export controls, and declare various levels of quarantine related to pests.

The laws will provide structure and certainty as South Africa continues to battle pests on several fronts.

While invasive pests like the ‘tree-kiling’ polyphagous shot hole borer beetle continue to put local plantlife at risk, the country also has to be mindful of how it handles these pests, with the European Union taking a harsher stance on pesticides and agricultural chemicals, which could have serious implications for South Africa down the line.

The full laws can be read below: