Two bills passed by NCOP to impact agriculture

Two bills that will impact the agriculture sector have been passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). During its hybrid plenary at the end of November, the NCOP passed the Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill and the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill. The Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill aims to amend the Agricultural Product Standards Act of 1990. The amendments include provisions for conducting audits on products to assess management control systems. Additionally, the bill introduces measures allowing assignees to establish tariffs on a cost-recovery basis. The bill also makes provision for the minister to make regulations pertaining to audit and management control systems. According to Moloto Mothapo, spokesperson and division manager for Parliament, the bill seeks to tighten the control systems in areas of labelling claims on products for sale. “This will ensure that the public has access to accurate and reliable information regarding the products that they consume. Additionally, the bill is expected to improve quality assurance and advance food safety in South Africa. It will further ensure that all agriculture products sold and exported from South Africa meet certain quality and safety standards, and the regulatory framework for agriculture production, health, and food safety is strengthened,” Mothapo said in a statement.

The National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill seeks to amend the National Veld and Forest Fire Act of 1998 by providing for, among others, the establishment of Fire Protection Associations (FPAs) by a municipality or a traditional council. It also seeks to amend the title of the act to the National Veldfire Act, according to Mothapo.

“The adoption of the bill means that traditional leaders can facilitate the formation of a FPA in a bid to better prepare the country for veldfires. An FPA’s purpose is to predict, prevent, manage and extinguish veldfires. An FPA must apply for registration to the minister and once the minister is satisfied the FPA can perform the duties imposed on it in terms of the act and is representative of the owners of the area. The minister will register the FPA.

“This will give them the ability to deal with all aspects of veldfire prevention and firefighting in their areas.”

The two bills have been sent to the president for assent. –