Agro-processing Output and Agricultural Sector Employment: Evidence from South Africa

This paper empirically examined the relationship between agro-processing sub-sector output and agricultural sector employment in South Africa by using time series data from 1975-2015. The study employed ARDL-bounds testing approach to examine the existence long-run equilibrium relationship. The result of the ARDL test confirmed the existence of long-run relationship among the variables examined. The long-run estimate result revealed that the relationship between agro-processing output and agricultural sector employment is negative in the long-run. The study further examined the causality between agro-processing output and agricultural sector employment using TYDL causality test and it observed a unidirectional causal relationship running from agro-processing output to agricultural sector employment. While it is deduced that agro-processing sector output is found to be unable to promote agricultural sector employment, this study recommends stimulation of agricultural export for agricultural sector employment generation in South Africa