Sowing seeds for emerging farmers

THE link between the president’s State of the Nation address and the Finance Minister’s Budget speech created a posture that the government is hard at work – making South Africa a better place for all who live in it.

The juxtaposition of the two speeches within the advent of political and economic uncertainty spoke in one voice that we need to plant anew towards prosperity.

As both speeches alluded to, we must not be critics who count how the strong man stumbles and point out how the doer of deeds could have done them better; as South Africans we must all put our shoulders to the wheel and work hard to sow the seeds of renewal and growth.

The budget speech planted anew and sowed the seeds of renewal.

The R3.7 billion set aside to assist emerging farmers seeking to acquire land for farming, is a seed that the government is sowing today to propel emerging farmers to prosper.

This allocation will assist 250 000 emerging farmers who are working the land and need support to fully develop their businesses.

The R1.8bn allocated for the implementation of 262 priority land reform projects over the next three years, will be a shot in the arm for the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to expedite land reform projects.

This further echoes the president’s remarks that an accelerated programme of land reform has the potential to expand agricultural output and promote economic inclusion. THEMBA MZULA HLEKO

Pretoria