(MnG) Subsistence farmers get a hand

Subsistence farmers get a hand
TINA JOEMAT-PETERSSON: COMMENT - Apr 23 2010 16:46

More than 60% of South Africans who live in rural areas are in the former homelands. The majority of them are abjectly poor. While not all of them participate in agriculture, agricultural resources are the most palpable means of production immediately available to them.

It is potentially cost effective to invest in this and, with adequate support, can lead to the renaissance of these areas. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is well positioned to make a contribution to this revival.

This year we will launch an extensive mechanisation programme to provide tractors to small-scale and subsistence farmers. R100-million has been allocated to Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal for mechanisation and in the remaining term of government the rest of the provinces will receive R50-million each.

The government will support local fresh-produce markets, processing facilities and additional market access for the surplus produce of subsistence and smallholder producers. This will require the full support of traditional leaders, and their ownership of the process, for it to reach its full potential and make an impact.

This is in line with the Freedom Charter's call to help those working the land with seeds, implements, tractors, infrastructure for irrigation, fencing and other forms of material support.

The department of public works is ready to work with us in this regard. We will upgrade the sector's marketing research and analysis to advise the provinces and other agencies involved in agricultural production.

We plan to develop viable co-operative businesses for subsistence and small-scale farmers to enable them to participate in both the domestic market and the lucrative global markets. This is one of the ways in which we can link small players to the established markets of commercial agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The government plans to improve the functioning of the Agri-BEE and Forestry Charter councils and establish the Fisheries Transformation Council by the end of this financial year. After consultations, we will legislate Agri-BEE targets.

We are happy to announce the creation of a R6-billion development agricultural fund that has been initiated by Old Mutual. Half of this will be invested in this country. The other will be for projects elsewhere on the continent.

This fund will invest in crop production, livestock and skills development, as well as marketing and market access. Through this partnership and with the collaboration of Old Mutual, experts with critical skills, such as agro-economists, will be seconded to the department. This developmental partnership must be celebrated and emulated.

To improve skills development, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will work with the department of higher education and training to re-open all agricultural colleges. Discussions about this are at an advanced stage.

A new funding model supported by the Industrial Development Corporation, Land Bank, African Development Bank and Development Bank of Southern Africa is in place. We want to promote equity-sharing schemes that will involve equal ownership between land-reform beneficiaries and white commercial farmers with the government providing the equity, although the land will not be a part of the shareholding investment.

When the business is running profitably, the commercial farmers can sell their shares and leave the arrangement.

The aim is to assist 50 000 black subsistence producers to become smallholder producers. Their numbers will be increased from 4,07% to 10% by 2014.

We encourage the participation of women in agriculture with the Female Entrepreneur of the Year awards. This expanded initiative (building on the former Female Farmers of the Year awards) will soon include the stimulation of the participation of young people and people with disabilities in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors. Our programmes will include support -- inputs and support packs -- for these groups.

Through a developmental partnership with the ASDA chain (a commercial chain of Wal-Mart US holdings operating in the United Kingdom), we will assist women, young people and the disabled to place their products in supermarkets in the UK.

The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme has allocated R577,6-million for food security and agrarian reform.

While the concept of food security is generally about the technical capacity of a country to feed itself, we must go beyond this. We have to talk about the ability of every family to put food on the table.

In this respect, it is not enough for the domestic food industry to pay fines when price-fixing and collusion are exposed. It is not enough for them to apologise.

What we want to see are concrete steps by the industry to address the challenge of hunger in our society. For now we are saying that they should sell bread at cost price or very close to it. That would display a true sense of remorse and a step in the right direction.

Tina Joemat Petersson is the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries