From Engineering News.

Asia’s changing eating habits, population growth and improved market access helped create 54,000 new jobs in agriculture in the first three months of 2013, South Africa’s Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said Wednesday.

Speaking in the National Assembly on her department’s budget, she told members of parliament that 739 000 people are now employed in agriculture.

China is one of South Africa’s largest export destinations for agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports followed by Indonesia, Japan and India, according to the report.

“Asia’s changing consumption patterns, population growth, structural reforms and improved market access have contributed to an increase in exports from South Africa to the Asian countries,” she said.

Agriculture sustained the growth recorded in 2012 year with 54 000 new jobs between January and March, an increase of 12.7 percent year to date.

Job growth was greatest in provinces where food security intervention was implemented, such as Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.

Read more at Engineering News.