Focus on growing our future
Cooperation with all stakeholders crucial for province’s farming development
ENGAGEMENTS between government, business and farmers on all levels were crucial if agriculture was to thrive in the Eastern Cape, industry leaders said. Organised business and farmers agreed that meeting Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane for a post-policy speech breakfast on Friday had helped them to better understand the state of agriculture in the province.
The business breakfast was hosted by The Herald and the department at the Protea Marine Hotel in Summerstrand.
Qoboshiyane, along with his top management, addressed the large group of commercial and emerging farmers and leaders in Nelson Mandela Bay business sectors, detailing the government’s plans for the sector in the 2017/18 financial year.
He emphasised the need for farming to grow commercially, changing the perspectives from traditional farming to enterprise development.
“Agriculture is a normal traditional practice without fusing in the element of enterprise.
“But now we need to find ways to add value and change the processes to reach this industry’s full potential,” Qoboshiyane said.
He explained how his department’s total budget of R2.24-billion would be spent within the various sectors of agriculture.
The budget, he said, placed much emphasis on youth empowerment, as well as plans to grow already established sectors in the province, such as livestock and citrus.
Effort would also be placed in sectors that had the potential to contribute substantially to the economy, such as aquaculture along the province’s vast shoreline.
Humansdorp Co-op BEE coordinator Deon Heyns said the agricultural industry needed to develop models for sustainable farming in the Eastern Cape.
He said engagements such as the business breakfast were crucial to bring all role-players together.
“We listened to the MEC and his policy speech and it is like we can hear ourselves thinking. Some of the things he spoke about are precisely what we are trying to achieve from our side on a commercial level.”
Heyns said partnerships where commercial farmers formed relationships with emerging farmers to share knowledge and resources – while the government assisted with input and funding – were the only logical way to develop agriculture to its fullest potential.
Representing farmers from the Uitenhage, Despatch, Rocklands, St Albans and other outlying areas in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mutsie Thelejane said he looked forward to what the government had planned for farmers in these areas.
Thelejane said their organisation (Udgro) believed they could benefit from more engagements with Qoboshiyane and his team.
“They came to see us last year, and some promises were made that we have not received any feedback on.
“But thanks to this engagement session we were able to get some clarity on those matters. We now look forward to seeing what will come in the near future,” he said.