Impact of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Automation on Agricultural Employment in South Africa

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has introduced modern, high technologies that are automated, such as precision farming, to enhance agricultural production. However, this comes at the cost of human labor being replaced by machines that are deemed efficient. This study investigated the impact of 4IR automation on agricultural employment in South Africa, spanning from 1990 to 2024. To analyze this, the study employed the Johansen test for cointegration and the vector error correction model to test for long-run and short-run dynamics. Stationarity was achieved, and the Johansen test confirmed cointegration. The vector error correction model results revealed that both long-run and short-run relationships between 4IR automation and agricultural employment exist, indicating that human labor is particularly at risk of being replaced by automation, such as advanced agricultural machinery. The results imply that, although automation improved agricultural productivity, it caused an increase in agricultural unemployment within South Africa. Therefore, to balance the advancement of technology and agricultural employment, the study recommends skills improvement and government intervention for enhancing human labor within the agricultural sector.