A new dawn for South Africa’s farmers?

Cooperation between the new GNU ministers of agriculture and land reform and rural development is vital to the upliftment of the sector

After a tireless tug-of-war behind the closed doors of the newly formed government of national unity, the cabinet was finally announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, one composed of political parties with varying political ideologies, aims and objectives. From these parties, ministers were appointed to office, each aimed at putting people first and ensuring their social protection, especially the poor. 

One appointment that has sparked debate is that of the Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen, as the minister of agriculture. With this unity government, the agriculture ministry was separated from land reform and rural development. It is important for the two ministers Steenhuisen and Mzwanele Nyhontso to work together to ensure that available land for use is released to respective beneficiaries that have been selected, thus allowing the inclusivity of the agricultural sector.

But the new relationship between the two ministers got off to a rocky start, with the DA opposing Nyhontso’s argument that the only way land reform will be a success is if Section 25 of the Constitution is scrapped. “These comments are counterproductive and contrary to the spirit of the Statement of Intent that underpins the GNU,” the DA said. 

Agriculture provides employment for approximately 40% of Africans and is closely linked to food security and poverty alleviation. This makes it crucial to understand the effect the new agricultural and land and reform ministers can have on food production and farming policies. For the agricultural sector to thrive it is crucial to have ministers that put the people first.

The department has a number of goals.

One is to accelerate land reform “to meet the National Development Plan and sustainable development goals through rolling back the challenges by scaling up the delivery of land, legally secure tenure, food security, economic growth and land/rural development”.

Another is to catalyse rural development by ensuring “the creation of agro-processing, manufacturing industries and construction for domestic and global markets”. The abundance of maize, tomatoes, citrus fruit, vegetables, and livestock products in the rural areas can support sustainability.  

The implementation of the District Development Model to ensure equitable development includes: 

• Creating access to markets for smallholder and established farmers to service off-take agreements and create employment in the process.

• Decentralisation of Industrial Development Zones and Special Economic Zones with high potential for labour-intensive programmes which could counter the declining mining sector.

There are aims to improve agricultural production through the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative. The agriculture and land reform departments “identified 131 595 subsistence producers to be supported with agricultural production inputs for commodities like vegetables, crops, poultry, small and large stock, through an e-voucher system”.

Economic development will be stimulated by increased job opportunities and development of skills through the National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) programme. Infrastructure development is required to support rural economic transformation.

Food security will be achieved through the Farmer Production Support Unit, a rural outreach and capacity-building unit that links farmers with markets.

Opportunities for the youth will be created by “investing in skilled and employable youth in the agricultural sector and a number of new students enrolled at the agricultural training institute”, which will “drive the NARYSEC that provides social organisation, youth development and economic upliftment”.

It is commendable that the department has the following goals, but mitigating climate change is not listed as a major goal. Drafting policies that will provide financial assistance to farms that may have fallen victim to climate change (for example Limpopo farms that were ravaged by black frost) is essential. On the other hand, policies that ensure that smallholder/small-scale farmers are provided with essential tools for their businesses were not included in the main goals.

Small-scale agriculture plays a crucial role in the lives of most township and rural communities. Establishing a local food economy centred around small-scale farmers can yield social, economic, and environmental benefits for these areas. But to ensure the sustainability of such enterprises it is essential to leverage relationships within local food production to diversify delivery methods and promote food security, sovereignty, and sustainability.

Although there are policies such as the Agriculture and Agroprocessing Master Plan, it is up to the new administration and ministers to continue the job of previous ministers to develop new policies that will ensure that the growth of the sector is achieved not only through inclusivity of small and large-scale farms but social justice as well.

Sanele Khakhu is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg.