Agb Voorsitter, agb Minister en Adjunkminister, agb lede van hierdie Raad, primre boerdery is lankal reeds 'n waardetoevoegingskakel in die voedselproduksieproses.
Hierdie proses is, met vryer handel en mededinging in 'n globale markomgewing, aan al hoe meer invloede en vereistes onderhewig wat deur boere, hulle insetverskaffers, voedselprosesseerders en bemarkers in 'n vennootskapsverhouding verstaan moet word. Die staat speel ook 'n belangrike rol om suksesvolle ontwikkeling en mededingendheid te verseker. Die rol wat spelers in die waardeketting speel om pryse vir die verbruiker te verhoog, moet ernstig oor toesig gehou word.
Infrastruktuur en diensverskaffing moet koste-effektiwiteit verseker. Navorsing en regulatoriese ondersteuning moet volhoubaarheid, mededingendheid en voldoening aan omgewings- en verbruikersvereistes verseker.
Bowenal moet 'n beleidsbedeling vertroue inboesem, sodat rolspelers aangemoedig sal word om Suid-Afrika as die voorkeurbestemming vir investering te beskou.
Dit was met teleurstelling dat die primre landbouproduksie nie deur die Minister se department, by wyse van sy begrotingspos, as van die uiterste belang vir die land se ekonomiese groei en stabiliteit uitgesonder is nie. Die belangrikheid van die landbousektor as voedsel- en veselverskaffer, asook as werkgewer en verdiener van buitelandse valuta, is in die verlede nooit deur die ANC-regering ernstig opgeneem nie.
Die gesegde lui dat enige land wat sy landbou misken, uiteindelik tot mislukking gedoem is. Zimbabwe is 'n uitstekende voorbeeld hiervan. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows).
[Dr L L BOSMAN: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister and hon members of this Council, primary farming has been a value-added link for a long time in the food production process.
This process, with free trade and competition in a global market environment, is subject to more and more influences and requirements that need to be understood by farmers, their input suppliers, food processors and marketers in a partnership relationship. The state also plays an important role to ensure successful development and competition. The role of players in the value-chain to increase prices for the consumer should be under serious surveillance.
Infrastructure and service provision must ensure profitability. Research and regulatory support must ensure feasibility and competitiveness, and meeting the requirements of the environment and consumers.
Above all, a policy dispensation must instil confidence to encourage role- players to view South Africa as the preferred destination for investment.
It was disappointing to note that the Minister's department, through his Vote, did not deem primary agricultural production essential for the economic growth and stability of the country. In the past the ANC has never paid serious attention to the importance of the agricultural sector as food producer, employer and earner of foreign exchange.
There is a saying that any country that undervalues its agriculture, will ultimately be doomed to failure. Zimbabwe is a sterling example of this.]
Hon Minister, the DA supports a united, competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector in South Africa. We believe that it is critical for our food security, and that South Africa needs to be the food exporter that it once was.
Apart from ensuring South Africa's food security, the primary agricultural sector is one of the largest employers in the country. According to Statistics SA 2007, it currently employs a workforce of 796 000, consisting of just under 432 000 full-time and 365 000 part-time workers, or 8,8% of the total workforce. It is in this context that we can support some of the goals of the Department of Agriculture's Medium-Term Strategic Framework, and I quote, "... to promote agricultural productivity and profitability through the identification of opportunities, sustainable use and protection of land, water and genetic resources and infrastructure development, to ensure household food security".
However, with the greater emphasis - as we have just heard - on transformation issues and a lack of focus first and foremost on the economic viability of the sector, I am afraid to say that this will be difficult to achieve.
As a result of government's confrontational stance towards commercial agriculture, we have seen huge disinvestment and a decline in employment, as well as an exodus of producers from this important sector. The threats from government to do away with the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle and the now shelved Expropriation Bill also certainly contributed to the decline in investor confidence. We cannot afford to repeat these mistakes.
Some of the challenges that we now face to restore confidence and improve production are the following. Government must have a clear regulatory framework based on the free-market system to regulate and enhance investment in the sector. As early as 1961, Johnston and Mellor argued that agriculture could make important contributions to the structural transformation of economies. For example, it could provide labour, capital, foreign exchange and food for the growing industrial and urban sectors, as well as a market for domestically produced industrial goods.
A further challenge for agricultural growth and development is not only to produce more food, but also to create employment and thus income for poor people inside and outside of the sector. The declining contribution of agriculture to overall gross domestic product is frequently misinterpreted as a decline in its role in the country's economy.
However, agriculture's real value to the economy is embedded in several other, not so obvious, economic functions. These include agriculture's forward and backward linkages, its ability to earn foreign exchange, its employment ability and its role as provider of food for the nation.
As far as transformation is concerned, we will have to overhaul the failure of our land reform programmes by ensuring that the new land reform beneficiaries have adequate post-settlement financial and other support. We need to identify people with an interest in farming. We need to train them and have proper mentorship programmes with former landowners to ensure a smooth skills transfer.
The department's extension services have completely collapsed in the past, and needs to be rejuvenated as a matter of urgency. I took note, with interest, of the department's extension recovery plan, which is reported to have recruited 384 extension personnel, trained 1 200 officers in generic, technical and computer skills, and provided ICT equipment to a further 1 230 personnel.
With my experience in this field, I believe that the extension services should be strengthened by commodity-based mentorships, through which great successes have been achieved in the past. I am, therefore, pleased that agreements have been signed with 11 commodity organisations to support the development of emerging farmers.
More money will also have to be put into research and development, as well as into the use of biotechnology to its fullest possible extent to enable producers to increase production.
The impact of climate change - and you also referred to this, Minister - and droughts on production and food security should be recognised. The availability of water of good quality is becoming more important for maintaining production.
Rainfall is unevenly distributed, and South Africa is periodically affected by severe droughts. We will have to focus on strategies to mitigate the adverse impact, especially on water availability and adapted plant biodiversity.
Proper management of natural disasters is critical for the long- term sustainability of this sector. We need to accelerate the promulgation of a disaster management Act. Currently, the management of disaster aid is ad hoc and it takes far too long to be implemented.
We also need to revisit our trade and tariff policy in order to align it with the policy space allowed for in the Doha round of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, agreements in order to make sure that our local production remains competitive and profitable. Market access is of vital importance for small-scale producers to secure adequate prices for their products.
Daar is 'n behoefte aan 'n landbouhandelsbeleid wat beter na Suid-Afrika se belange sal omsien. Dit sal 'n beleid wees wat balans moet teweegbring tussen die vraagstuk van voedselbekostigbaarheid, enersyds en die meriete daarvan om die effek van onregverdige owerheidsondersteunde invoermededinging, met toepaslike invoertariewe, te neutraliseer.
Beleidsvoorstelle hiervoor is geruime tyd gelede reeds gedoen, maar dit word nie prakties toegepas nie, vanwe 'n gesloer op regeringsvlak. Om toereikende beskerming teen gesubsidieerde mededinging te vra, is vir seker nie onbillik nie. Deur dit nie toe te staan nie, benadeel die regering investering in plaaslike produksie wat sou kon bydra tot beter voedselsekerheid, werkskepping, landelike ontwikkeling en selfs uitvoere.
Uit ervaring blyk dit in elk geval dat voedselinvoere nie laer voedselpryse tot gevolg het nie. Is die gesloer met die toepassing van die aanbeveelde beleid nie 'n voorbeeld van waar sogenaamde sosiaal maatskaplike voordele voorrang bo ekonomiese ontwikkelingsgeleenthede geniet nie? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[There is a need for an agricultural trade policy that will serve the interests of South Africa better. The policy will strike a balance between the question of the affordability of food, on the one hand, and the merit of neutralising the effect of unfair government-supported import competition supported by government with appropriate import tariffs, on the other.
Policy proposals in this regard were submitted a long time ago, but not practically implemented, because of delays on government level. It is certainly not unjust to request sufficient protection against subsidised competition. By not granting this, government is damaging investment in local production that could have contributed to improved food security, job creation, rural development and even exports.
Experience seems to show us that food imports do not lead to lower food prices in any case. Is the delay with the implementation of the recommended policy not an example of where so-called social benefits are given priority above economic development opportunities?]
South Africa is currently a signatory to various trade agreements other than those with the World Trade Organisation. Most notable of these are the Southern African Customs Union, the Southern African Development Community and the South Africa-European Union Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement.
South Africa, within the ambit of Sacu, is also currently in the process of negotiating various different bilateral trade agreements. This raises the question as to how much trade policy space South Africa actually has for its agricultural sector.
A study by Sandrey et al in 2007 provides answers to this question. They conducted research to assess the amount of policy space that is actually available to extend tariff protection to South African agriculture, and concluded that although, in general, space available is limited, 19% of all imports have some policy space subject to WTO tariff rate quotas, or the so- called TRQs.
The agricultural trade development strategy basically addresses the four pillars of trade intervention, that is trade support, tariffs to be part of a development policy, regulatory support, and bilateral and multilateral negotiations as instruments to improve market access. It is, therefore, in my opinion, necessary to implement a trade and tariff policy for South Africa to give substance to the above issues.
In conclusion, the DA looks forward towards a more co-operative relationship with the Minister and her department in order to take agriculture development, food security and our country forward. I thank you. [Applause.]