Corporate social investment and agriculture in South Africa

A large market that is not growing in real terms

Estimated CSI spend rose from R12.7 billion in 2024 to R13.1 billion in 2025, a 3.3% nominal increase that only matched inflation. Education still takes the largest share at 44% of average allocations, followed by social and community development at 14% and food security and agriculture at 13%, now the third-largest category.

Where the money comes from

Spending is concentrated: the top 100 companies account for about 79% of the total, and the 26 largest funders spend close to R300 million each on average. Nonprofits are funded by 97% of surveyed companies and receive about 68% of CSI budgets.

What funders now ask for

Funding is increasingly strategic, outcome-based and tied to business priorities. Cold applications rarely work on their own: only 1% of companies relied solely on applications, with most combining them with projects they identify themselves. Most will not fund reserves, loans or unrestricted costs, and outcome-dependent funding is growing while average spend on monitoring and evaluation remains about 1%.

A credible proposition answers four questions: how delivery risk is managed (selection criteria, technical support, a season plan and risk controls), how impact is measured (baselines and annual targets for hectares, yields, income, jobs and participants), how the market is secured (an offtake arrangement and pricing approach), and how the money is governed (fund flow, partner roles, conflict controls, financial reporting and independent oversight).

Section 18A: the decisive distinction

Registering a non-profit company does not by itself create tax-exempt or Section 18A status. The organisation must separately hold SARS approval for the relevant public benefit activities before it can issue a Section 18A receipt. A qualifying donation is then deductible from the donor's taxable income, generally up to 10%, with any excess carried forward. A payment made for a material commercial return is not a donation, so donations, sponsorships, procurement and investment each need to be contracted as what they are.

Where agriculture fits

Agricultural projects can connect CSI to food security, rural livelihoods, local procurement and enterprise development. The funders most likely to engage are food retailers, banks, insurers, agribusinesses, logistics companies, mining operations with host-community obligations and B-BBEE community trusts. This is the model behind The Original Grain NPC: funding ring-fenced in a non-profit, field delivery with a buyer signed before planting, and evidence reported to the funder each season.