Mhlali ngaphambili, ngokusebenzisana sisonke singenza okuninzi. [Chairperson, together we can do a lot.]
Ek wil die agb lid Pretorius, wat ek al 'n kwarteeu ken, gelukwens met sy nooienstoespraak en ook sy kennis oor die rels en regulasies van hierdie agbare Huis. Die agb Minister en die Adjunkminister, ek wil u gelukwens met u nooienstoesprake in hierdie hoedanigheid. Ek het opdrag van die mense in die landbougemeenskap, dis nou werkers, boere, opkomende boere en almal, dat ek u albei hartlik gelukwens met hierdie pos en vra dat u 'n oopdeurbeleid sal volg en altyd bereidwillig sal wees om na standpunte te luister, al verskil daardie standpunte van di van ons regering.
Voorsitter, ek het aandagtig geluister na van die toesprake hier, en u weet, ek glo ook dat as daar 'n nooienstoespraak hier gemaak word, wil 'n mens nie baie graag daarop reageer nie, maar my goeie vriend mnr Lourie Bosman het onder andere gepraat van voedselsekerheid en dat daar toepaslike invoertariewe behoort te wees ten opsigte van die invoer van kos. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I want to congratulate the hon member Pretorius, with whom I have been acquainted for a quarter of a century, on his maiden speech as well as his knowledge of the rules and regulations of this honourable House. Hon Minister and Deputy Minister, I want to congratulate you on your maiden speeches in this capacity. I have been charged by the people from the agricultural community, which include workers, farmers, emerging farmers and everyone else, to heartily congratulate both of you on your posts and ask you to keep an open-door policy and always be prepared to entertain points of view even though these may differ from those of the government.
Chairperson, I listened attentively to the speeches here, and you know, I believe that if a maiden speech has been made here, you don't really want to respond to it, but my good friend, Mr Lourie Bosman, has, among other things, spoken about food security and that we should have applicable import tariffs as far as the import of foodstuffs is concerned.]
I would like to say that we need to be very careful when we import foodstuffs that are being produced here and can be produced here, and when we should actually be building on that production. A small example is the following: every time you import a kilogram of, say, Brazilian chicken, you are importing with it a kilogram of maize because that chicken has consumed a kilogram of maize in that country. This means that we are run short of a kilogram of maize for every kilogram of chicken that we import. Our industry suffers as a result thereof.
We need to nurture our industries. We need to develop them and build them further. And, mind you, as far as the broiler industry is concerned, there are tremendous possibilities for up and coming people. Of course, it is a highly capital-intensive industry, and, of course, Madam Minister, I have come here today with a wish list on behalf of our constituency outside: that your department look very favourably at assisting our people in getting into that industry because, again, the surveys say that more and more people are eating white meat and less red meat, and then I and many others here will be suffering.
Then, of course, the hon newly elected member Carter spoke about the fact that one must force the hand of business when it comes to food pricing. I think the National Agricultural Marketing Council, NAMC, has conducted some studies and it has come forward with certain facts and figures.
En wragtig, agb Minister, moenie dink dat hierdie groot kapitaliste, die eienaars van die groot kettingwinkels, vir die volk van Suid-Afrika en die arm mense van Suid-Afrika 'n guns bewys nie. Dit gaan alles om hul eie winste. Dit gaan alles om wat die hoof uitvoerende beampte van daardie maatskappy kan kry - hoeveel miljoen rand aan die einde van die jaar. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[And really, hon Minister, don't believe for a moment that these arch- capitalists - the owners of the large chain stores - will do the people of South Africa and the poor people of South Africa a favour. It is all about their own profits. It is all about what the chief executive officer of that company can get - how many millions of rand at the end of the year. [Applause.] ]
Therefore, I trust that just as Sasol, an organisation related to us as government, was hoodwinking the farming sector last year by colluding in terms of fertilizer prices - many of us paid R9 000, R10 000, or R12 000 for a ton of fertiliser, which a year before had cost about R2 000 to R2 200 per ton - we need to see that problems like collusion in pricing are curbed.
So, I agree with hon Carter there, but then she spoke about South African farmers who are seeking greener pastures in the DRC and that we are in danger and that we are in trouble. I want to assure the hon member Carter that my information is that those people are diversifying; they are not putting all their eggs in one basket. They are still farmers in this country but, you see, they have children that are growing up and those children must be exposed to Africa. And why shouldn't we, if our farmers are willing to help our fellow Africans grow food, participate and encourage them to do so? [Applause.]
As far as allocating more funds towards land reform is concerned, assisting beneficiaries and seeing to it that this whole programme succeeds, I want to tell the hon member Carter that I disagree that allocating more funds, as she says, is not the way to go. We need to say - and I agree with colleagues who have spoken before - that our budgets are not aligned with international commitments that we have made as a country. We need to see to it that agriculture gets more money so that we can grow the sector and especially the emerging sector.
Andersins gaan hierdie land onder - nie net die boere nie, die hele land... [Otherwise this country will suffer - not only the farmers, but the entire country ...]
... if we cannot grow food and assist that particular sector. And may I say, hon Minister, that what is important is for the department to have mechanisms and systems in place so that every rand we have is spent optimally, so that there is no wastage, so that where it is necessary for two officials to be flown somewhere, that two and not 20 fly and we spend unnecessarily.
Mrs Dudley spoke here of a budget for consultants. I must say that we need to look at that aspect as well. It is a cause for grave concern. The hon chairperson of my portfolio committee spoke about the Land Bank, calling for a moratorium on action to be taken against people who, in many cases, through no fault of their own, are unable to service their loans. I understand that upward of 800 such cases are being pursued by the Land Bank. It is a pity that in the heart of winter last year the Department of Agriculture lost control of the Land Bank. I make bold to say this - in spite of warnings from the portfolio committees at that time, and one of my former chairpersons is also sitting here - about the way the bank was being run and the way business was conducted.
However, we must now appeal through the Minister that we assist those people in whatever way we can. Perhaps the loans can be extended, the terms can be extended. But, then again, our problem is that the interest rates of the Land Bank and the way they do business are not farmer-friendly. Farmers go through extremely difficult periods. If there aren't droughts, then there is too much rain. If there isn't too much rain and it is dry, then there are veld fires. The farmer has a great deal on his plate to counteract.
With regard to some of the reform projects and redistribution projects in which agriculture has to be of assistance, at least 14 farms in the sugar- producing area of Heatonville near Empangeni, which were redistributed, produced reasonably good sugar cane crops in the first year after redistribution, but deteriorated in the second year and were a disaster in the third year. The cumulative effect of this failure is that an average of 50 workers per farm is now without work, with the United Nations norm of there being seven dependants.