Chairperson, hon Ministers present, Deputy Ministers, hon members, colleagues and the guests, first of all I would like to congratulate hon Minister Joemat-Pettersson on her appointment as Minister of Agriculture, as well her Deputy Minister, Dr Pieter Mulder. A big thank you to the department, as well, for briefing the committee on the budget; thank you very much.
This is a newly formed department, as it was previously the Department of Agriculture exclusively, but now includes the Forestry and Fisheries components. The vision of the Department of Agriculture is to strive for a united and prosperous agricultural sector with the aim of supporting sustainable agricultural development.
The total contribution of agriculture to the economy increased from R27 billion in 2001 to R36 billion in 2007. South Africa's duel agricultural economy comprises a well-developed commercial sector and a predominantly subsistence-orientated sector in rural areas.
About 12% of South Africa's surface area can be used for crop production. High potential arable land comprises only 22% of the arable land area. Some 1,3 million hectares are under irrigation, which amounts to about 1,5% of South Africa's agricultural land.
The most important factor, of course, limiting agricultural production is the availability of water, as rainfall is distributed unevenly across the country. Almost 50% of South Africa's water is used for agricultural purposes. Primary commercial agriculture contributes about 2,6 % of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and about 8% to formal employment. However, there are strong backward and forward linkages into the economy so that the agro-industrial sector is estimated to comprise some 12% of the GDP.
Although South Africa has the ability to be self-sufficient in virtually all major agricultural products, the rate of growth in exports has been slower than that of imports. Despite the farming industry's declining share of the GDP, it remains vital to the economy, development and stability of the Southern African region.
The budget for the department for 2008-09 was R2,819 billion and reduced to R2,792 billion. The major decrease in expenditure are: programme 2, production and resource management; and programme 5, food supply and viable security - which are questionable as these programmes are linked to social reform programmes increasing food security and poverty alleviation.
The DA supports a united and sustainable agricultural sector in South Africa. Land and agrarian reform requires a well placed, efficiently managed and adequately funded plan and must be implemented with minimal disruption to food security.
More field extension officers are required and better training for existing officers is necessary, as was alluded to by our Minister, particularly as the "use it or lose it" factor will no longer be applicable. We must overhaul the failure of our land reform programmes by ensuring that the new land beneficiaries have adequate financial and other support.
The issue of biofuels, if handled well, could increase income and employment in rural areas without threatening food security. Possibly sugar cane could be used for biofuels in certain areas.
The budget allocation for Water Affairs and Forestry was increased from R7 billion in 2008-09 to approximately R7,9 billion in 2009-10 financial year, an increase of 12,2% in nominal terms. Some 23% of South Africa's rivers are in poor condition and 30% of sewerage plants require immediate attention. There is a shortage of capital, skilled operational and maintenance staff at most sewerage and water installations around the country. Poor maintenance of pipes causes thousands upon thousands of litres of water to be lost annually. Sewerage continues periodically to spill into rivers and wetlands causing outbreaks of cholera from time to time. Is it not time that municipalities are made to allocate a minimum amount from their budgets for maintenance and replacement of ageing infrastructure? Some of this funding is supposedly to come via municipal infrastructure grants, local government equitable share and the capacity- building grants.
Whilst the basic free water supply programme is well-established, the eradication of the bucket system has caused problems, especially in my home province, the Free State. Many people in the rural towns will not accept the VIP toilets and insists on flush water-borne toilets.
Water is a precious commodity and every attempt must be made to conserve our water resources, particularly in view of the climate change and our ever-growing population. Thank you. [Applause.]