Chairperson, South Africa's history shows that white co- operatives played a significant role in the South African economy. In 1993, there were about 250 of these co-operatives with total assets worth R12,7 billion. This was achieved with some government intervention at the time.
Co-operatives, particularly those in the agricultural sector, have long been recognised to play an important role in society. They offer the institutional framework through which local communities gain control over productive activities and from which they derive their livelihoods.
According to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, there were almost 55 000 registered co-operatives in South Africa by the end of January 2012. Forty-seven percent of these were agricultural co-operatives. Despite the important role that these co-operatives play in the economy, smallholder farmers have not been able to establish viable and sustainable co-operatives that contribute significantly to the national economy.
The main challenges facing these co-operatives are the lack of demand for their products due to poor market access and lack of access to formal financing mechanisms in the absence of collaterals. So, what is the problem and how do we tackle it?
Die Nasionale Ontwikkelingsplan identifiseer landbou as 'n sektor wat teen 2030 werkgeleenthede vir 300 000 huishoudings in die kleinboerskemas asook 145 000 poste in landbouverwerking kan skep. Verder is daar ongeveer 2 miljoen huishoudings in Suid-Afrika met toegang tot landbougrond. As hulle sekuriteit vir hul grond kan kry, kan dit met toegang tot finansiering help. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The National Development Plan identifies agriculture as a sector that could create job opportunities for 300 000 households in the smallholder schemes, as well as 145 000 posts in agricultural processing by 2030. Furthermore, there are about 2 million households in South Africa with access to agricultural land. If they could be granted security for their land, it could assist with access to financing.]
Minister Nkwinti, I'm speaking to you.
As daar na hierdie syfers gekyk word, behoort almal in Suid-Afrika saam te stem dat landbou 'n prioriteit vir die regering behoort te wees. [Considering these figures, everyone in South Africa has to agree that agriculture should be a priority for the government.]
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has programmes for the development of small-scale farmers. In fact, the biggest chunk of the department's budget is aimed at the development of small-scale farmers, and correctly so. I'm sure most members would have heard about the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme, Casp, before.
Since 2004, an amount of R8 billion has been spent between all the programmes of the department, which include Casp; Ilima/Letsema; and the Micro-Agricultural Financial Institutions of SA, Mafisa. This is a huge amount of money but, unfortunately, we see little progress, with most small- scale farmers still struggling to survive.
Die hoofoorsaak van hierdie probleem kan gevind word by die swak beplanning en kordinasie tussen departemente. Die linkerhand weet nie wat die regterhand doen nie.
Kleinboerontwikkeling is soos 'n afkophoender. Di van ons wat in die platteland grootgeword het, sal weet waarvan ek praat. 'n Tipiese voorbeeld hiervan is die inspuiting van R1,8 miljard wat vir die biobrandstofprojek op Cradock goedgekeur is. Hierdie bedrag is gegee om te verseker dat daar teen einde Mei 2014 met die vervaardiging van groener brandstof begin kan word. Dit is 'n uitstekende plan en kan baie werkgeleenthede in die platteland bevorder.
Die probleem egter is dat die Departement van Landelike Ontwikkeling en Grondhervorming 'n hele klomp plase in die Cradock-omgewing uitgekoop het sonder dat daar behoorlike skakeling met ander departemente soos, byvoorbeeld, landbou was. Hierdie plase l op di stadium ongebruik en het net tot werkloosheid in Cradock bygedra, aangesien baie van die plaaswerkers daar nou ook werkloos is. Dit sal weer herkapitalisering van die staat vra om die plase weer in 'n werkende toestand te kry.
Daar is in Maart 2012 'n werkswinkel gehou om probleme met koperatiewe te bespreek. Dit was 'n goeie idee, en daar is baie voorstelle gemaak. Dit is egter al wat nog daar gebeur het. Amper 'n jaar later is daar nog geen vordering gemaak nie, en sukkel die meeste koperatiewe nog steeds met probleme soos finansiering en bemarking. Al weer baie praat, en geen aksie nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The main cause of this challenge is found in bad planning and co- ordination among departments. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Small-scale farmer development is like a chicken without a head. Those of us who grew up in the rural areas will know what I am talking about. A typical example of this is the injection of R1,8 billion that had been approved for the biofuel project in Cradock. This amount was given to ensure that the production of greener fuels would start by the end of May. It is an excellent plan and could create many job opportunities in the rural areas.
However, the challenge here is that the Department of Agricultural Development and Land Reform bought out many of the farms in the Cradock area without proper liaison with other departments, for instance with Agriculture. At the moment these farms are lying fallow and are only contributing to unemployment in Cradock given the fact that many of the farm workers there are now unemployed as well. The state will have to recapitalise again in order to get these farms operational.
In March 2012, a workshop was held to discuss the challenges with co- operatives. This proved to be a good initiative, and many proposals were made. Yet, it is the only thing that happened there. It is almost a year later and still no progress has been made, and most co-operatives are still struggling with problems such as funding and marketing. Again, a case of too much talking and no action.]
The DA believes that co-operatives could play a crucial role in the development of small-scale farmers and ensuring food security, especially at local level. But for this to become a sustainable solution, we need dedicated and committed departments with clear programmes. We need a one- stop shop to assist with business plans, financing and training needs. If this is not put in place, co-operatives will stay a talk shop with no action. I thank you. [Applause.]