Durban - There was a new vision for agriculture in the province, MEC Cyril Xaba said on Tuesday.
At the heart of it was a co-ordinated approach - and a plan to create a million jobs by 2030.
Xaba was speaking at a meeting between his department and various commercial agricultural organisations and roleplayers when they discussed issues such as land distribution and how they could forge a working relationship.
“This is a historic meeting. For the first time, the provincial government has met the agricultural sector. One of the first tasks I set out to do when I became MEC was to forge links with commercial agriculture. I am pleased with their willingness to engage with m.”
The meeting took place at the South African Sugar Association auditorium in Mount Edgecombe.
Xaba outlined his vision for the province and his department’s new approach to agrarian reform and the government-backed redistribution of agricultural land.
Land distribution was the main concern at the gathering.
“They raised concerns of the slow pace of process and land being taken away from agriculture and the failure of post settlement farms. We are speeding up the process. There will continue to be a balance of the national interests of land restoration, economic development and food security,” he said.
A census was now being carried out in the agricultural sector in KZN.
“We have not sufficiently measured the input of emerging farmers. The census will give us productivity measures and guide the efficiency of the sector. It will help us understand what exists and what can be.”
The department’s new approach to agrarian reform was that KZN had potential.
Representatives from various agricultural sectors were invited to talk about their industries, including the challenges they faced and strategic proposals on areas of co-operation.
The meeting heard that the forestry industry had 1 300 commercial timber farmers and 20 000 small scale timber growers on their membership roll, said representative Roger Godsmark.
“There are many challenges facing us on a national level, like obtaining water use licences; poor road infrastructure and increasing costs of doing business. The ownership pattern of plantation forests will change dramatically through land reform.
“The vast majority of new forestation in the province (about 40 000 ha) will be undertaken by small-scale growers on communal land. To sustain land reform programmes in KZN, we need farmer development and support,” he said.
The re-opening of land claims in the sugar industry resulted in overlapping claims, said Anwhar Madhanpall, South African Sugar Association land reform and rural development manager.
The sugar industry had 125 000ha under claims, he said.
The MEC heard that bananas were among the most important commercial sub-tropical fruits grown in South Africa, with gross sales exceeding R1 36 billion in 2013.
Since 2010, total hectares in the country had decreased by 1 080ha with 920ha in KZN alone, to 10 280ha, while Mozambique had increased by 2 409ha to 3 500ha, said Blaine Peckham, chairman of the South Coast Banana Growers’ Association.
“The industry’s most serious threat to its future is the major increase of bananas being exported from Mozambique to South Africa, driving the price down by 18.5 percent the last three years, threatening jobs and the sustainability of the local industry,” he said.
Daily News