Policy Budget Speech by the MEC for Agriculture, Rural development and Land Administration Hon Mr MT Malinga tabled to the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, Nelspruit

11 August 2009

Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier, Mr DD Mabuza
Honourable Members of the Executive Committee
Honourable Members of the Legislature
Baholi bendzabuko, emakhosi etfu
Balimi nabosomabhizimisi basemakhaya
Organised labour
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Honorable Speaker, let me start by stating that the vision of the Agriculture Sector Strategy in South Africa has been to build a united, productive and prosperous Agriculture. This assertion is inspired by the belief that the prosperity in humanity is possible mainly through the access to the land that is used productively with everyone having the same right and access to it. As in the Freedom Charter of 1955, land is considered as the basis of the development of all humanity. From this glorious document further explain the fact that: “Restrictions of land on a racial basis shall be ended, all the land shall be re-divided among those who work it, to banish famine and land hunger; the state shall help the peasants with implements, seeds, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist the tillers”.

Francis Blanchard, The then Director General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) once said: “ The main burden of development and employment creation will have to be borne by the part of the economy in which Agriculture is a predominant activity- The rural sector.”

Grunnar Myrdal, Laurete in Economics added: “It is in the Agricultural sector that the battle for long term economic development will be won or lost”

Hall and Tordaro argue for Agricultural progress and Rural Development, because: “ …the vast majority of the world’s poor people are also located in rural areas and engaged in subsistence agriculture” since they “...have been bypassed by whatever economic progress has been attained”

But, Hall and Tordaro also argue that: “If Development is to take place and become sustainable, it will have to start in rural areas in general and the agricultural sector in particular” and that for its success, “an Agriculture and employment–based strategy” need to be considered”
What do these Authors seem to suggest?

To appraise the success of the approach the following questions need to be answered:

This is meant to indicate that any strategic intervention to be successful must not arise through an act of accident or thumb-suck, but from a thorough consideration of its frameworks and tools for monitoring progress, derived from well grounded research information.
Honorable Speaker, let me again indicate that from the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) we have also been given ten medium term strategic framework priority areas to deliver on.
We take cognisance of the fact that we have to respond to all of them. We however would like to elevate some of the priorities that are of direct significance to us.

We will elevate the following strategic priorities:

1. Comprehensive development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform and food security.
2. Speeding up growth and transforming the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods
3. Strengthen our skills and human resource base
4. Sustainable Resource Management and Use.
5. Building a developmental state including improvement of public services and strengthening democratic institutions

Performance of the Previous Budget

Honorable Speaker, before I continue with the presentation of our performance as the department, please allow me to talk to our most successful programme of Female Farmer of the year as we celebrate the women month in an agricultural and rural development way. I would like to extend my appreciation to all those who participated in the 2009/10 Female Farmer of the Year which was held on 6 August 2009 at Steve Tshwete.

I would like to congratulate the winners and they are Me A Jacklin and Me T Sibiya both from Gert Sibande District, Me A Mathebula from Ehlanzeni District, Me H Sebiloane and Me R Mahlangu both from Nkangala. These women will be representing the province in the upcoming national event in Bloemfontein at the end of the month. I would also like to congratulate our young emerging farmers, Vukuzithathe vegetable project who have scooped the provincial prize as the best Young Aspirant Farmers. Kutimisela kwalabantfu labasha kulandzela ligama lenhlangano yabo kuphindze kusinikete litsemba lelikusasa lelihle kutemkhakha wetekulima.

Honorable Speaker, we continued to utilise the budget of R799, 6 million to strengthen the processes aimed at building unity and prosperity for all our people in the Mpumalanga Province.

We have directed most of our resources towards driving strategies and programme aimed at addressing the priorities as identified by our government.

As our province is largely rural and agrarian, we noted that there is no way in which agriculture could grow and develop without the involvement of the rural communities and structures.

Agriculture Sector Plan

Honorable Speaker, it gives me much pleasure report to this august house on the progress made in developing the Provincial Agricultural Sector.

We have managed to develop an Agriculture Sector Plan. This was done through an intensive process of consultative meetings and workshops with key stakeholder in the agricultural, business and civic sector. The plan is currently been circulated among the key stakeholders who directly or indirectly had an input to its development for further endorsement.
Xikongomelo xa mano lawa I ku nyika maendlelo la ya kungu hatiweke la way a nga ta kobisa ndlela ya ta matirhele ya ta vurimi exifundzeni, ngopfu laha vanhu va akeke kona.

We envisage that it will assist all stakeholders involved in the agricultural sector to work in partnership towards improving farming at all level including the small-scale farming.

I would like to thank the following, but not exclusive, the National African Famer’s Union (Nafu), Agri-Mpumalanga, National Emerging Red Meat Producer Organisation (NERPO), Land Bank, Transvaal Sugar Limited (TSB) and Mpumalanga Labour Market Forum and the others for their unwavering support. 

Masibuyele Emasimi

Hon Speaker, though the intensive Masibuyele Emasimini programme, we strive to stabilise food prices in an endeavour to prevent inflation surges, ensures food security and combat hunger in rural communities. I must indicate that since the introduction of this programme, it has proven to respond positively to the plight of the poor in all areas where it has been implemented with vigour.

As part of promoting integrated rural development and responding to the food price crisis, the department had to revise the Masibuyele Emasimini budget from R35 million to R90 million during the 2008/09 financial year.

We managed to purchase a total of 101 tractors and implements that were used to till and plant the fields of the deserving beneficiaries. This programme has multiple benefits for the local communities. From this programme a total of 245 local people benefitted in terms of decent jobs. At least 186 tractor operators, six mechanics, 22 site managers, and 31 security guards were employed. This programme contributed in the provision of job opportunities among the rural poor and promotes other off-farm entrepreneurship and overall rural development.
Honorable Speaker, we take pleasure in announcing that through this programme, a total of 19 960 households constituting about 114 525 beneficiaries benefited directly from this programme. About 29 234 hectares of land was cultivated and 7 291 hectares were supported in terms of production inputs.
Linked to this programme, is another intervention called the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programme whose primary focus is also on poverty alleviation and food security for the people in the province. Through this programme we were able to established 2 800 food gardens for the most vulnerable households using the
Agricultural Starter Pack (ASP). The intervention of this programme translates to 20% of the total targeted area over the next 5 years. The intervention has reached about 11% of the deserving population of Mpumalanga.

Honorable speaker let me pass my gratitude to my colleagues in the Executive Cabinet who on recognition of the impact that this programme had on our communities, have up-scaled the Masibuyele Emasimini project to be a programme. The programme now has full provincial equitable share and dedicated staff. The programme has benefited from this by having it’s originally gazetted budget of R40 million been revised to R96, 6 million. 

Agricultural Infrastructure Development

Honorable Speaker, as pointed out in the previous years that for us to effectively and efficiently intervene in improving the lives of the people in the province, we had adopted a focused and integrated approach to agriculture. This gave rise to the concept of Anchor Projects in the department. It is an approach that has seen us fostering the consolidation of resources to achieve maximum impact on poverty and unemployment. The government support has been mainly on the development of agricultural infrastructure which is one of the prime movers of development. We assisted the farmers to derive economic benefits from the land reformed farms through this capital investment.

This approach addresses the MTSF strategic objective of Comprehensive Development Strategy linked to Land and Agrarian Reform and Food Security. It also speaks to Speeding Up Growth and Transforming the Economy to Create Decent Work and Sustainable Livelihoods.
We continued to support Anchor Projects in Ehlanzeni District Municipality areas (which included macadamia, horticulture, sugarcane and poultry production); in Gert Sibande District Municipality areas (we gave support to apple, soya bean, poultry and cattle production); and in