Agriculture’s basket of solutions

THE rural population is directly or indirectly, dependent on agriculture and agrarian activity for its livelihood. The Eastern Cape, with its vast territory, rivers and greenery has great agricultural potential as the food basket of southern Africa. Agricultural development is key to food security, employment and critical skills.

In Scandinavian countries where agriculture is a critical sector, 2% of the population lives below the poverty line. However, in some African countries unemployment is high as 35% yet there is vast resource potential for agriculture.

World Bank research stresses that agriculture is the key to developing rural areas and eradicating poverty.

In fact, the agricultural sector is key to rural economic development and can be a catalyst for fair income distribution. Indeed, empirical evidence has proven that developing agriculture is an effective strategy against poverty.

The development of rural areas and small villages through agriculture can help stymie the exodus of people from rural areas to the big cities and towns in search of jobs.

Our province is seriously looking into policy to stimulate agriculture and spur economic growth in rural economies for food security purposes and to overcome poverty.

Our province should be no different to the Scandinavian countries which use agriculture as a base for economic development.

As provincial government we should use agrarian reform as well as agriculture itself to assist in eradicating poverty in the rural areas, to contribute to the preservation of land, water and other natural resources for food security and other community needs.

In a quest to tap our agricultural potential, we are implementing policies and strategies for:

Investing in rural and agriculture infrastructure to support the expansion of production and employment opportunities, including small-scale farming and rural development generally;

Building infrastructure for storage and processing of agricultural products, including abattoirs, dairy infrastructure, aquaculture incubation schemes and rural tourism infrastructure;

Supporting initiatives for the establishment of agri-parks, cooperatives and clusters in the poorest agriculturally active district municipalities in order to transform rural economies;

Working with communities to ensure land is redistributed and shared equitably amongst those who work and ensuring its contribution to GDP growth;

Implementing the Rural Development Strategy and meeting the target of cultivating 300 000 hectares by 2019;

Adding to the two rural enterprise development hubs at Mqanduli and Ncorha, established at a cost of R45-million each. The hubs already hold 1 500 to 1 900 tons of mealies in storage. In the 2015/16 financial year two more hubs will be established at Ludeke in Mbizana and at Mt Arthur in Lady Frere;

Working on a sustainable plan to revitalise the Magwa and Majola tea estates given the economic potential of the two entities. There will be a focus on diversifying the economic value add of the two estates through tourism promotion initiatives, amongst others;

The Tsolo Agricultural Research and Development Institute to focus on training animal health technicians has been opened. We intend using links with Fort Cox Agricultural College for training and skills development.

Agriculture’s contribution to the economic growth of our province is:

More than 17 503 hectares of land were ploughed this year alone. This is compared to 12 888 hectares ploughed over the past three years;

More than 12 395 households benefited from food security and nutrition initiatives such as Siyazondla, Letsima and homestead food gardens across the province.

In the 2015/16 financial year 42 500 hectares will be cultivated.

There are plenty of untapped agrarian opportunities in the countryside which could allow us to solve the problems of poverty, hunger, rising prices and food security.

In light of the country’s current socio-economic climate, both the government and private sector should look to increasing investments in provincial agriculture in order to create more jobs, secure food supplies and help combat poverty in the countryside.

With the right investments and the right support structure in place, we can create more opportunities for our people to earn a decent living, improve food production and achieve food security.

The Eastern Cape is still largely an agricultural and agrarian economy. If we cultivate the right mindset and channel resources to this sector, we could realise the vision for self-reliance and a better life for all, including through developing export opportunities for domestic and foreign markets.

Phumulo Masualle is premier of the Eastern Cape