Mr President, His Majesty the King, members of the Cabinet, Councillor Hloni Zondi, Mayor of Msunduzi, Councillor Obed Mlaba, Mayor of eThekwini, Councillor B N Sithole, Mayor of Umgungundlovu District Municipality, councillors, members of the Diplomatic Corps, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen.

May I, at the outset, thank Mr David Wing for his introduction. The last time I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Wing and, indeed many of the persons that I see here today, was at the official dinner I was privileged to host for delegates attending the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth conference in Durban in 2001. What a wonderful evening that was. Not only did we have the Duke of Edinburgh and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth in attendance, but the combined knowledge and interests of all who attended proved to be an illuminating experience.

I understand that the Royal Show is celebrating its 152nd anniversary, making it not only one of the most long-standing organizations in the province, but also one of the oldest and one of the most prestigious in the Commonwealth.

What is equally fascinating is that an independent report, recently produced by an acknowledged panel of experts, has revealed that the multiplier effect of the activities of this Society creates in excess of 2000 permanent jobs in the Midlands alone and this to complement a significant cash injection - estimated to exceed R150 million annually - into the regional economy. Who would believe that an organization, quietly and efficiently run by unpaid volunteers, without praise or fanfare, and with nothing to gain other than the satisfaction of service - could achieve so much. I say well done to you all.

As a natural result of changing times and whilst the emphasis of the Royal's various activities has evolved to suit the day, the Society has throughout its history provided a base to expose new ideas and simultaneously provide an exhibition and marketing platform for all the province's goods and services.

In the early days and certainly through to the late forties, these famous Grounds were the almost exclusive domain of agriculturally related activities and to this end the Society attracted farmers from far and wide to not only view livestock and produce of excellence, but also to disseminate information and share new ideas. There is little doubt that the respect which KwaZulu Natal agriculture commands, not only nationally but indeed internationally, is at least partly due to the past and on going activities of the Royal.

Although there is a stronger industrial, commercial and service sector presence today, the Society retains its status as being a top-class venue for agricultural exhibits and - amongst mixed exhibition centres in South Africa - is regarded as being second to none. A true feather in the cap of KwaZulu Natal and something in respect of which every one of us can be justifiably proud.

Mr President, I would now like to dwell a little on the subject of the province's economy, with particular reference to agriculture. 

Although the KwaZulu Natal economy is home to over 9 million people, accounting for 21% of South Africa's population, KwaZulu Natal contributed 15% to South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2001, being the joint second largest contributor to South Africa's GDP. A calculation of the Gross Geographic Product (GGP) per capita reveals that KwaZulu Natal is the fourth poorest province in South Africa, with an annual income of R9 713 per person living in the province in 2001. A very exciting feature of the KwaZulu Natal economy, however, is that it has been the fastest growing province during the 1995-2000 period. With an average rate of growth of 4,3% per annum, KwaZulu Natal has outperformed all the other provinces in terms of growth in the post-apartheid period.

From a structural perspective this province's economy differs substantially from the national economy. The most striking difference is that we have a much larger manufacturing sector, contributing 25% to GGP compared to 19% of the GGP for South Africa. Our mining sector is one sixth of the size of its national contribution to GGP. In addition, KwaZulu Natal's transport and communication sector is larger than at the national level as is the agriculture and forestry sector which contributes 4% for KwaZulu Natal compared to 3% for South Africa.

The agriculture and forestry sector of our Province grew impressively by 14,7% between 1995 and 1996, but experienced negative growth between 1997 and 2000, rebounding in 2001 with a real growth rate of 9,8%. Although the agriculture and forestry sector's contribution to the GGP of KwaZulu Natal is relatively small, it accounts for nearly 17% of the sector's national output, which in Rand terms represent some R8,6 billion.

Mr President, the statistics I have referred to in respect to KwaZulu Natal's economy and in particular to its agriculture and forestry sector refers to past performances. Although it is gratifying that KwaZulu Natal has outperformed all the other provinces in terms of growth in the post-apartheid period, my government and I are determined to keep on outperforming the other provinces in terms of growth. The agriculture and forestry sector will play a leading role in this regard. We have coined our programme on unlocking KwaZulu Natal's agricultural potential as the "Green Revolution". 

The Green Revolution is no day dream, Mr President. The possibility of the Green Revolution is based on scientifically established data which shows that South Africa's highest agricultural potential lies in KwaZulu Natal, as well as parts of the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. It is important to state that KwaZulu Natal has by far the greatest unutilised potential. It is conservatively estimated that KwaZulu Natal's agricultural potential could be increased by 366% compared to present if all agricultural land were to be farmed to its full potential. Such an increase would raise the value of agricultural production in KwaZulu Natal from the current R8,6 billion I referred to earlier, to some R30 billion.

I wish to repeat, our Green Revolution is no day dream. It was similar agricultural revolutions which drove India and China to their current levels of development. They set out with no more, in terms of climate, soils and water resources than we have.

The second thrust in the Green Revolution is land reform and new farmer settlement. The objective of this thrust is to create a new category of large scale farmers from the previously disadvantaged, who will be settled on state land or on existing commercial farm land, which becomes available on the willing seller/willing buyer basis, in terms of the national programme of Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development.

The third thrust in the Green Revolution is the encouragement of agri-industry. The beneficiation of our agricultural products provides employment, provides ready markets for both large and small-scale growers, creates entrepreneurial opportunities in contracting and sustains all kinds of service industries.

Mr President, I am appealing to all role players and interested parties to join hands with my Government to ensure that our efforts to further unlock KwaZulu Natal's agricultural potential through the Green Revolution succeeds.

May I conclude by wishing all individuals and organizations participating in the Royal Show every success.

I now have great pleasure in declaring the 2003 Royal Show open.