Chair, let me acknowledge all the leadership of the institution, let me acknowledge the Ministers and Deputy Ministers who are here, hon members and MECs who are also present, good morning to all of you.
Thank you very much for affording us an opportunity to participate in today's debate of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Rural Development and Land Reform. We are humbled since it affords us an opportunity to share our vision for creating vibrant, equitable and sustainable communities, provision of food security for all and land care in Gauteng.
We want to share with you how the Gauteng province, through urban agriculture, will unlock the full potential that agriculture and rural development have to enhance the economic and social wealth of all our people in Gauteng.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have indeed embraced a democratic order that has commissioned our resolve to build a nation, eradicate poverty, and create a better life for all our people. We thus commit to this agenda, through our skills, our capacity and resources and a caring humaneness that will ensure that no citizen in Gauteng goes to bed hungry regardless of race, gender, socio-political preference or background. We have declared war on poverty. As we say in Sesotho ... Tlala e ... e fedile. [Ditsheho.] [Hunger is ... is no more. [Laughter.]]
I am honoured to participate in this budget. I did not want to be called to order, hon Chair. I am honoured to participate in this Budget Vote, because I do so sure that, as Gauteng, we also derived the mandate from our manifesto, that identifies rural development, land reform and food security amongst its five-year priority programmes. With this in mind, we are sure that all of us will be able to do as we've been instructed by the President, the Ministers and our Premier of Gauteng.
It is for this reason that our department has adopted a social-activist mentality that should characterise every employee and citizen, particularly if we aim to reverse the devastation of the Natives Land Act of 1913 and its apartheid relatives and the effects of former days.
In the same vein, we are reviewing our operations towards implementation of the development-oriented approach by seeking to effectively expose and utilise the human potential that lies in our communities while we are on course to eradicate dependence on the government.
In order to comprehend our value proposition, it is important to acknowledge the challenges and opportunities that characterise the Gauteng province in its contribution to the overall wellbeing of our country. Let's refresh our memories. Gauteng is over-populated, yet small in size of land and records a high incidence of unemployment.
Our outputs in Gauteng are that Gauteng is the economic hub of Southern and sub-Saharan Africa, which contributes 10% towards continental gross domestic product, GDP; it is the major hub of agribusiness in South Africa and plays a key role in national food security and contributes almost 0,5% of primary agriculture to the GDP. We also contribute to the value chain of secondary and tertiary tiers of GDP. Despite its high levels of urbanisation, Gauteng has 1,393,353 million hectares of land, including smallholdings, mostly in the rural and peri-urban areas of Gauteng, and it is home to almost 4% of the total population of those who are farming.
On the one hand, challenges in agricultural and rural development in Gauteng include increasing food insecurity at household level and increasing risk of animal diseases.
In the allocated budget that has been mentioned by the Ministers, our focus will be more on farmer support and development. As the department, we will continue to provide all those who are starter farmers with infrastructure and we will also make sure that we assist them to be able to participate in the broader economy by making sure that we provide all those smallholder farmers with infrastructure and inputs and make sure that they also participate as commercial farmers.
Smallholder farmers will also be assisted by extension officers, who will be our foot soldiers and will offer advice and other services to help farmers to be successful and to produce quality and nutritious food. Our food security programme is meant to facilitate affordable and diverse food through the delivery of agricultural products at communal and household level. In the coming years, we will be making sure that we develop homestead gardens, school gardens, community gardens and food security awareness campaigns. Our motto in Gauteng is, "One household, one food garden" and will encourage domestic production of food as opposed to illegal mushrooming of backyard and unsustainable dwellings.
Further to that, we will make sure that through our Gauteng Urban Agriculture Plan, we will pursue the National Development Plan's Fetsa Tlala project so that more people have access to food.
Through our Aquaculture Strategy and Aquaculture Action Plan, we will be targeting 500 young people and 500 women in this coming financial year who will assist in producing specialised farmers who will contribute towards stimulating local economies and creating opportunities for others.
In addition, food security will include targeting communities in the 50 poorest wards that will be supported through backyard food gardens and community gardens. Since Gauteng falls within the highly intensive, diversified commercial and subsistence agricultural zones of South Africa, the department will also continue to focus on the Maize Triangle Project, known for its grain cropping, ranching and dairy, poultry farms and piggeries.
Agro-processing will also be one of our specialities and we will make sure that we assist all those who are specialising in farming. In Gauteng, we have four nodal points, namely, Kwa-Sokhulumi, which the Deputy Minister also mentioned, Bantu-Bonke in Hekpoport and in Devon. As the department, we will make sure that we assist and support all those farmers who have been assisted through the national department.
All the departments have to invest in developing public amenities such as public libraries and classrooms, and also make sure that all those households have access to sanitation, but over and above that focus on their task of ensuring that they grow food in Gauteng. The department will continue to facilitate the implementation of the Gauteng Rural Social Compact Plan with stakeholders such as Women in Agriculture and Rural Development, Youth in Agriculture and Food and Allied Workers Union.
In conclusion, may I categorically state that feeding our citizens remains the primary motivator and instigator of all our agricultural activities espoused by the budget that has been allocated to us. I therefore convey appreciation for and embrace the political will of the ANC and its agenda of pursuing equality, justice and freedom as the glue that holds us together in moving our country forward.
I believe ours is a responsibility that knows no empty stomach, be it that of man or animal; it knows no race, colour, creed, or religion, but it is a misfortune that devastates any potential for growth and development. Thank you. [Applause.]