NEW DAWN FOR AGRICULTURE, IF WE GET IT RIGHT

THE agricultural sector has seen a number of important developments over the past few months that are set to change the landscape.

On September21, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a panel of experts made up of a cross-section of experienced agricultural sector players. This panel will provide technical support to the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Land Reform chaired by Deputy President David Mabuza.

On the same day, the president also unveiled a stimulus package and economic recovery plan for the country, with a major focus on reprioritising spending to drive job creation, transformation and growth in the agricultural sector.

At its core, the stimulus package includes specific interventions to increase access to established value chains for black commercial farmers, lengthening lease periods to 30 years to better enable farmers to mobilise funding for agricultural development and beefing up funding to export-oriented crops that are highly labourintensive to drive both growth and jobs.

These developments, coupled with the recently concluded jobs summit and this week’s investment summit, will no doubt impact on the agricultural sector, though the extent of which sector analysts are still trying to understand.

In response to all the developments in the agricultural sector, it is perhaps an opportune time for the government to establish a stand-alone land and agricultural fund.

With money already pledged to agricultural development via the president’s ongoing international investment drive, greater clarity on how this investment is apportioned and aligned to agricultural sector job creation, growth and transformation imperatives such as the NDP, must now be a priority.

It’s perhaps an opportune time to establish a standalone land and agricultural fund

With accelerated land reform on the horizon, we need the Treasury, the IMC and line functions to be on the same page in translating this economic stimulus into an operational plan that will address the sector’s pressing demands.

The government should ensure that a certain portion coming in from investment pledges is set aside for agricultural reforms that will result from land expropriation without compensation, the administration of which could come via this separate land and agricultural fund.

These investment pledges will be unlocked based on projects submitted to investors through government.

Aquaculture, as an example, has been identified as an area with huge potential to benefit communities residing in the coastal areas of the country.

As the backbone of the Blue Ocean economy and with targeted investments into growing its reach, aquaculture could play a key role in boosting agricultural GDP figures and creating access for new entrants into the sector.

Accordingly, funding for a comprehensive farmer support programme aimed at creating value from expropriation of land without compensation should form part of this submission process.

While developments over the past 18 months could be interpreted as somewhat of a new dawn for the agricultural sector, the real test will be whether the institutional capacity and will exists for us to get it right.