Johann Reyneke  is a Demeter certified Biodynamic producer in South Africa. In Feb 2022 Johan explained  to me via email why South Africa had just two Demeter certified Biodynamic estates: 

“Farming in South Africa is risky and not very profitable: zero government support and a struggling economic sector. People who feel their backs are against the wall financially are very hesitant to try new stuff with probable short term risk and profitability issues. South African farmers are traditionally speaking quite a conservative bunch. Many frown upon the perceived esoteric nature of BD and they’re not as open to change as their European counterparts it seems.

“The organic and Biodynamic movement in South Africa is not strong. We don’t have our own organic standards yet let alone biodynamic ones. To get international recognition we have to get international certification. This is hugely expensive for a number of reasons. We earn Rands but have to pay international certification bodies in Euro’s. Geopolitics play a role: USA and EU recognizes each other’s certification but South Africans need to be both EU and NOP certified in order to export to these different corners of the world. That alone comes in at around R100 000 for Reyneke. Then you still have to pay (in Euro) for Demeter…

“On the bright side there seems to be an improvement of sorts, albeit slowly. Reyneke has grown from 0.24ha to 120ha and wouldn’t have been able to do so without biodynamics. A number of our neighbors have converted to organic and some are starting to experiment with BD as well. 

“Some of the big players in the wine industry are visiting regularly to get a feel for what we’re doing. Quite a number of people have joined the PGSA system which is a local biodynamic body that helps farmers convert to BD without all the exorbitant certification costs. (Unfortunately these won’t be certifiable internationally).

“The consumer is driving behavior. Farms cannot be just production driven anymore and the market is changing to support sustainable and regenerative agriculture more an more. This should influence farming practices as well going forward.”