SA, Cuba in R&D deal for animal and plant health

The recent outbreak of avian influenza that crippled the South African poultry industry has compelled the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to seek structures to avert and shield the industry from the disease in the future.

As a result, an agreement to collaborate on research between Cuba and South Africa to form development strategies to support plant and animal health came before DALRRD’s Portfolio Committee recently.

Department deputy director general Kwena Komape said Minister Thoko Didiza of the DALRRD and the ambassador of Cuba to South Africa, Enrique Orta González, signed the agreement in July 2022.

The objective of the agreement was to co-ordinate, promote and develop co-operation programmes between South Africa and Cuba.

The agreed-upon programmes would advance bilateral relations in matters of animal and plant health.

According to DALRRD’s presentation, if the objectives of the agreement were achieved, it would have a positive spinoff for South Africa’s Agriculture and Agroprocessing Master Plan, which aimed to unlock the economic potential of the agriculture industry’s value chain.

Komape said while the agreement had already been ratified by Cuba, South Africa had yet to do so. As such, the accord has now been brought before the committee for ratification, to make it a binding instrument.

The agreement identifies the following areas of co-operation: ȊȲInformation on animal diseases and plant pests; regulations on diseases originating based on pests requiring quarantines and pests that are controlled without the necessity of quarantine, from the territory of one party to the territory of the other party; and ȊȲThe exchange, whenever possible, of information about measures for the control and prevention of pests and diseases; and providing mutual assistance for training programmes and in the research of animal and plant health problems.

In November 2023, the minister requested the speaker of the National Assembly and chairperson of the National Council of Provinces to table the agreement for ratification.

Komape said once South Africa ratifies the agreement, the Joint Working Committee Action Plan will be drafted and identify the possible project for implementation. There would also be possible visits by both sides to have an overview of each other’s agricultural sectors.

The deal would strengthen bilateral relations with Cuba and create a new market for South African agricultural products. “It will afford the county an opportunity to achieve the objective of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, which focuses on strategic value chain development and expanded contribution to the economy,” Komape said. –