PREMIER'S ADDRESS
Master of ceremonies
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
I feel extremely honoured to have been asked to be part of your congress.
Master of ceremonies I am told your aim at this congress is to, among others, map out strategies to give the agricultural sector that hefty push into the new millennium.
The past few years have seen rapid change in the farming sector. It is very encouraging to see the dynamism and adaptability shown by so many in the sector.
By new farmers who are taking up the challenge; by established commercial farmers who have responded rapidly to radical changes in the established order; by the private sector, large and small, which is undertaking new functions for new types of clients.
And by staff of national and provincial agriculture departments who are closely involved in this process of change. Much remains to be done to achieve this vision of pushing agriculture into the new millennium.
All participants in the sector - farmers, the private sector, government - all have a shared task, and success will be to the great benefit of all citizens.
Allow me Master of ceremonies, to take a closer look at what I believe is a sector of agriculture that has great potential - small-scale agriculture.
The concept of small-scale agriculture in South Africa is laden with subjectivity and has been associated with non-productive and non-commercially viable agriculture.
In recent years, some effort has been made to find a socio-economically-accurate definition of a small-scale farmer that was relevant to South Africa. As government we are eager the access of small-scale farmers to resources, thus redressing the inequities created by past apartheid policies.
The reality faced by farmers - especially black farmers, whether small scale or not, is that they have limited access to land and capital, and have received inadequate or inappropriate research and extension support. This has resulted in chronically low standards of living and reliance to a greater or lesser extent on subsistence production.
To achieve the Government's objectives of black empowerment and poverty alleviation, policy must address problems faced by black farmers in general and resource-poor farmers in particular effectiveness of its support.
As government we will seek to strengthen the efficiency of service provision by targeting those most in need of support, principally the resource-poor and emerging farmers.
The Government's intention is to ensure that agriculture is able to contribute to achieving national economic and social objectives.
Agriculture has a central role to play in building a strong economy.
It also has the ability to reduce inequalities by increasing incomes and employment opportunities for the poor, while nurturing our inheritance of natural resources.