Old Assembly Chamber : 17th June 2009

Chairperson, Honourable Minister and Members

I would firstly like to congratulate the Minister on being appointed to this position. While agriculture has an important role to play in the economic and social development of South Africa it has an especially important role to play with regard to the upliftment of emerging farmers and rural communities and I look forward to seeing you promote emerging farmers and in improving the plight of subsistence farming so as to ensure food security.

Farms that were purchased by government under its land reform programme were meant to improve the lives of those who were the beneficiaries of this land and to provide employment for those who were to work on the farms. The reality, however, is that some of these farms are now unproductive and have been neglected. This not only has a negative effect on the lives of the beneficiaries and local communities but also on food production and food security as these farms could have made a contribution in this regard.

One of the reasons for this sorry state is the lack of support, both technical and financial, for beneficiaries. Farming is an expensive exercise as you need certain equipment, fertilizers and chemicals amongst other things. You also need to have the necessary skills to know, for example, how and when to plant your crop as well as how to plough and prepare your land. This support has not been forthcoming to emerging and small scale farmers as well as to the farmers who got farms from the land reform programmes, and this must be addressed as a matter of urgency. The troubles with the Land Bank have been well documented and the efficient operation of this institution is very important to the success of the farming sector and the development of emerging and small scale farmers, so these troubles must be sorted out as soon as possible.

The relationship between farmers, the Land Claims Commission and this Department is very important. This relationship must not be adversarial, there must be greater co-operation and open, honest communication between the various role-players in the agricultural sector. It is also important to realise that that farmers have the skills needed to assist emerging farmers and beneficiaries of the land reform programmes so government and this department in particular must build a good working relationship and use the expertise of these farmers.

The development of rural agriculture is very important to the upliftment of our rural areas and we in the IFP believe that rural agriculture must be given greater attention. While I am aware that rural agriculture is a line function for the provincial government, I would like to ask the Minister if there will be continuous support in the form of conditional grants to provincial agriculture departments; and if so whether the monitoring and evaluation of the use of those funds is going to be given the highest priority? The 2007/08 Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture, for example, shows that KwaZulu Natal spent less than R3,5 million of the R68,3 million that it received as a conditional grant for the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme for the year ending 31 March 2008. This trend of under spending is not isolated as the Annual Report shows under-spending of other grants by this province during the period under review.

Another area of great concern is the availability of dipping tanks in the rural areas. The Minister must ensure that there are enough of these built to service the needs of the various communities.

We, in the Inkatha Freedom Party have been calling for the separation of the department of agriculture and the department that deals with land reform into two separate Ministries as agriculture is a science and land reform and restitution is a political imperative. We are therefore glad that this separation has taken place.

Agriculture as a means of economic development and sustainable job creation has always taken centre stage within the IFP for we believe that it has the potential to create a sustainable livelihood, particularly in the rural areas. These areas have not been fully supported by our government. We trust that with your leadership and experience, Minister, you will bring change into this department.

Lastly as a traditional leader I live amongst the poor. This is my first time in a political arena and I hope that my participation will add value.

The IFP supports this budget vote.

I thank you.

Contact:
Liezl van der Merwe
083 611 7470.