Butterworth

Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonceba Kontsiwe, says the province has adopted the Agriculture Investment Framework to revitalise the agriculture sector.

Commenting on the commercialisation of Eastern Cape’s agriculture, Kontsiwe noted that despite having the highest livestock population, the province only contributes 8% to the country's livestock Gross Domestic Product.

There are over 10 000 hectares of irrigable land with water rights in irrigation schemes that have the potential to produce dairy, vegetables, fruits, grains, and fodder.

“However, this land is not fully utilised, and optimising its use could greatly enhance sector performance in terms of growth and employment,” Kontsiwe said.

She said commercial farmers constitute 9% of the farming population, generating 71% of the income and employing 60% of the agricultural labour force, significantly driving the agricultural sector's performance.

On the other hand, she said, smallholder producers, representing 91% of the farming population, generate 29% of the income and provide 40% of the jobs.

“The growth of smallholder farmers is impeded by high barriers to entry, including high fixed costs (land, equipment, and operations), inadequate on and off-farm infrastructure, limited funding options tailored to their needs, rising input costs, and poor logistics.

“The challenge is how to effectively commercialise land owned by Black farmers to enhance the economic performance of the agricultural sector to build industries for inclusive growth,” the MEC said. 

Policy

Kontsiwe said government has approved a progressive State Land Lease and Disposal Policy, aimed at releasing land to land reform beneficiaries to attract investment, improve productivity, and enhance competitiveness on their farms.

She reported that out of all the farms distributed in the Eastern Cape, 100 were classified as commercially viable in various agricultural sectors.

These include citrus in Amathole and Sarah Baartman; deciduous in Sarah Baartman; wool and beef across the province; and grain in OR Tambo, Alfred Nzo, Joe Gqabi, Chris Hani, and Amathole.

The department’s strategy for commercialising 100 farms involves repurposing the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA) to serve as a trade and business aggregator for various commodities.

“The ECRDA will be empowered to enter into 10-year commercial agreements with all 100 farms to provide holistic support to them and provide them with offtake contracts to supply their produce to ECRDA processors, which are planned to be located in RED Hubs and industrial parks such as Queens Industrial, Butterworth Industrial Park, Fort Jackson, and Dimbaza.

“These processors will process primary produce into food and feed products for domestic markets. For export-oriented products, the ECRDA, supported by the ECDC, will aggregate produce from these farms and explore trade opportunities in African, Chinese, and Middle Eastern markets,” Kontsiwe explained.

The MEC added that the department will partner with other sector departments to facilitate private sector investment by securing water rights for irrigation, obtaining environmental authorisation, acquiring title deeds, or securing long-term land use rights.

The department will also work towards consolidating and coordinating government investments towards land reform farms.

The targeted departments include Agriculture; Land Reform and Rural Development; Forestry, Fisheries and Environment; Water and Sanitation and Economic Development, Environment Affairs and Tourism.

“The department will collaborate with the Regional Land Claims Commission to secure Land Development Grants for 38 properties in land claims settlements [and] this will benefit communities in areas like Ncora, Magwa, Dwesa-Cwebe, Mkhambathi, and more. 

“The department will develop an infrastructure business plan to access funding and unlock R220 million from the Land Development Grant,” Kontsiwe said. – SAnews.gov.za

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