BUDGET VOTE 12
2006/2007
PRESENTED TO THE NORTHERN
CAPE LEGISLATURE
BY
MEC FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND
REFORM,
MS TINA JOEMAT-PETTERSSON
THURSDAY, 15 JUNE 2006
Madam Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Premier
Colleagues in the Executive Council
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee
Honourable Members of the House
Mayors and Councillors
Traditional Leaders
Heads of Departments and other Managers in
Government
Management and staff of my Department
Representatives of the Business Sector
Distinguished Guests
People of the Northern Cape
Compatriots, Comrades and Friends
Today marks the eve of the 30th
commemoration and celebration of the 1976 youth uprising. June 16 symbolises
and epitomises the contribution and sacrifices the youth made during the
struggle to defeat apartheid. Madam
Speaker, the role of our youth in reclaiming our lost agricultural heritage at
a time when we are advancing our return to the land is indeed out beacon of
hope for improved agricultural performance that is based on poverty
eradication, the restoration of human dignity, economic development and growth.
The 30th
anniversary of June 16 takes place exactly 12 years into our freedom, which has
presented many opportunities for our youth.
It is further no co-incidence that this budget speech takes place when
we have just celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the adoption of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
We have just emerged from free and fair local government elections in
March this year. The election results
may have been the culmination of a long and hard-fought campaign. But more than anything else, they are the
start of a new era in local government.
What takes place after an election is far more important than what takes
place before. For this reason, we will
focus on some of the key tasks and challenges faced by the Department of
Agriculture and Land Reform in the fulfilment of its mandate to make local
government work better for all.
Madam Speaker, allow me to welcome the women who are making
us proud in participating in the agricultural sector. A special welcome to the winners of the national female farmer
awards of last year who have proudly represented the Northern Cape Province.
Ø Ms Felicity Fillies who won the 1st prize in the
Informal Markets Category
Ø Ms Colene Grievelink, 1st prize winner in the
National Markets and an Overall Winner of the Competition
May I also express my warmest appreciation to members of the
agricultural industry for gracing this Budget Vote with their presence.
Madam Speaker, allow me to
also use this opportunity to once again congratulate and take pride in the
Suid-Bokkeveld Landcare project in Calvinia, which won gold for last year’s
Premier Service Excellence Awards. This
shows our people’s commitment and dedication to employ resources that
government offers to them.
Madam Speaker, our spending and development for 2006/07 will
be focused on the Agriculture Programme of Action, through which we will endeavour
to meet our commitments as stated in the Provincial Growth and Development
Strategy, the Agriculture Sector Plan and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of
South Africa (ASGISA) which offers a renewed intervention of a National Shared
Growth Initiative.
Allow me then to go into some details about our departmental
allocations and commitments as also outlined in our strategic plan over the
MTEF period.
Madam Speaker, the overall departmental budget allocation for
the 2006/2007 financial year is R 128,446 million. In comparison to the original allocation of the 2005/06 financial
year, this represents a 7% increase on equitable share funding and a 35%
increase on the conditional grant allocation.
The total conditional grant funding is
R 24,782 million and
has been allocated as follows:
·
CASP R
15,777 million
·
Landcare R 5,785 million
·
Provincial Infrastructure Grant R 3,220 million
The budget according to the departmental programmes has been
allocated as follows:
An amount of R 30,290 million has been allocated for Programme 1: Administration. An amount of R 288 000 has been included in
the allocation as earmarked funding, for the upgrading and improvement of the
management information systems in the Department.
Programme 2: Sustainable
Resource Management will receive an amount of R 14,544 million. This total allocation includes conditional
grant funding of R 5,785 million for Land Care.
The sum total of R 47,154 million will be spent on Programme 3: Farmer Support and Development. R 15,777 million of this allocation is
earmarked for the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme and R 1,720
million for the provincial infrastructure development.
Programme 4: Veterinary
Services will receive an amount
of R 18,322 million. An amount of R 1
million has been set aside for the upgrading of Veterinary Offices in the
Province.
Programme 5: Technical
Research and Development Services will benefit by R
14,979 million. This allocation
includes R 700 000 earmarked specifically for technical research and R 500 000
for infrastructure development at the Research Stations.
Programme 6: Agricultural
Economics has been allocated R 3,157 million, which represents a 51%
increase owing to R 1 million earmarked allocation for improvement of
agricultural support in pursuit of provincial economic growth.
Land reform
The Province has renewed
the mandate of the Land Reform Co-ordinating Committee. One of its key tasks is to ensure
coordination based on the Land Summit resolutions. In particular, government needs to enhance its capacity in
targeting beneficiaries for land reform.
We ought to identify and acquire land for redistribution and to support
beneficiaries with an array of mechanisms that would enable them to become
independent commercial farmers.
The Department of
Agriculture and Land Reform is working with the Northern Cape Provincial Land
Reform Office and the Regional Land Claims Commission on a plan for proactive
land acquisition. We will collectively work
towards meeting the Northern Cape’s redistribution target of 625 000 ha per
annum.
Reflecting on our
previous year’s (05/06) performance, 62 333 ha of land has been
redistributed. This is made up of 39
projects, ranging from LRAD, Equity Schemes, Commonage, Settlement and Tenure
Upgrade. 53 ha are in Frances Baard, 21
105 in Siyanda and 34 253 in Namakwa.
One of the commonage projects was a contribution towards the Integrated
Sustainable Rural Development Program in Kgalagadi measuring 6 808 ha and
benefiting 60 people. Land measuring
112 ha was purchased for the settlement of 22 households in Pixley Ka Seme.
Subsequent to the
provincial land summit of July 2005, the Provincial Land Reform Office
facilitated the resuscitation of the District Assessment Committees in Siyanda,
Frances Baard and Namakwa. The committees will, among others, look at
integrated land reform delivery, including the co-operation of various
stakeholders with regard to the implementation of the Extension of Security of
Tenure Act (ESTA), as part of addressing evictions.
In terms of state land
delivery, a total of 314 state properties were recommended for vesting and 18
for disposal through the facilitation of the Northern Cape State Land Disposal
Committee. 8 356 ha of state
agricultural land was allocated to 7 emerging farmers for commercial livestock
production. 5 108 ha are for women
farmers.
Madam Speaker, in moving
towards the restitution deadline of December 2008, the Regional Land Claims for
Northern Cape and Free State has settled 2 101 claims out of the total of 2
905, with 760 claims outstanding.
Smauswane and Kakamas have been resolved as well as the 1st
phase of Sydney-on-Vaal i.e. Vaalbos National Park. The community has secured and paid for an alternative land for
the relocation of the park. The 2nd
phase involves land that is still being mined and negotiations are currently on
with the owner. Discussions are at an
advanced stage with Ga-Segonyane Municipality with regard to Dikgweng. Negotiations on the sale agreement will be
completed as soon as the Council’s resolution on the release of the municipal
land is received. With regard to Pniel, the Commission has
made a submission to the Director General of Land Affairs to take over the
Administration of the CPA. For
Droogfontein, case valuation amounts are still being verified.
We will, through the
Land Reform Co-ordinating Committee ensure that:
·
The
necessary support is provided for the settlement of the outstanding claims, and
post-settlement support thereof.
·
All stakeholders participate in the development of the
post settlement support strategy, which process has received R 10 million from the Belgian
Embassy through the Commission on Land Restitution.
·
Municipalities
are provided the necessary support with regards to the by-laws related to the
keeping of animals and food safety aspects
·
We
address issues raised during the NCOP visit at Moshaweng in March 2006, which
are mainly around land, water and agricultural support. The Northern Cape Provincial Land Reform
Office will have a sub-office opened in Kgalagadi by the end of this financial
year. This will assist in addressing
the land needs in that area.
Madam Speaker, linked to the issue of
accelerating land and agrarian transformation, has been the question of driving
the core objectives of the government as set in 2004 to halve poverty and
unemployment by 2014.
The Department of
Agriculture and Land Reform has identified programmes and projects and has furthermore
explored agricultural corridors and hubs with a view to streamline resources
for agricultural development in the province.
This would be done in line with national initiatives, particularly the
Agriculture Programme of Action that serves as a catalyst towards achieving the
6% growth target set for our country’s economy.
Seven (7) hubs, namely,
Vaalharts, Hopetown/Douglas, Prieska/ Groblershoop, Upington, Orange River
corridor (for 4 000 ha of water rights), Namaqua and Kgalagadi will form part
of the Industrial Strategy for Agriculture in the Province.
The following are some
key programmes and projects which have been identified as anchor projects in
the hubs:
·
The
Orange River Emerging Farmer Settlement Programme aims to broaden access for previously
disadvantaged communities along the Orange River through the allocation of the
new water rights and irrigation development. The Programme will as well
contribute towards the target of 50% increase of the irrigation land in RSA as
per the ASGISA targets. Preliminary investigations have indicated the potential
of soil for irrigation farming from the Karoo through to Namaqualand. Projects with water rights are receiving
assistance in terms of further development.
·
Vaalharts
irrigation scheme has been identified and classified as one of the anchor
projects within the Vaalharts development hub.
To this end a programme has been developed that is intended to
rehabilitate the irrigation system by addressing the water logging and
salinisation problem, upgrading the canal and putting in measures for efficient
and sustainable use of agricultural water. In collaboration with farmers and
other stakeholders the project will further look at alternative crops of high
value that will increase profitability in the Vaalharts scheme, empower black
farmers and contribute to sustainable jobs in the area.
R 250 million has been
allocated through the National Department of Agriculture for the rehabilitation
of irrigation schemes over a ten year period.
Assessment has started and a scoping plan will be completed by December
2006. The programme will also advance
the agri-tourism purpose in the area, following on the identification of olive
production and processing as one of flagship projects in the province
·
With
regards to the commercialization of the goat industry, 76 Cooperatives, which
involve emerging farmers, have been established to participate in the
commercialization of goats programme.
This programme aims to formalize the production and marketing of goats
in the province. Through collaboration
with the Agri-SETA, 320 Co-op members received training on goat management at
one of our research stations. The
Department further distributed Goat management kits to the value of R 300 000
to Co-operatives for animal husbandry.
Furthermore, funding has been secured for goat production by
cooperatives and to link production with the processing and market of meat
products. The project will also involve
the participation of members of the Kgalagadi Dipudi Enterprise.
·
The
department is currently engaging with various role players on the new bio-fuel
initiative and further information will be communicated once there is general
agreement on the way-forward.
Madam Speaker, integral to
ASGI-SA is the acquisition of skills. Much headway has been
made in our partnership with the South African Agri-Academy and the two other
Cape provinces in the training of our economist, veterinary officials in areas
of marketing, traceability and laboratory skills. As envisaged in JIPSA, province has established a database of
retired agricultural engineers and other agricultural specialists who would be
drawn to assist where necessary. In the next three months we will be recruiting
unemployed graduates such as animal health technicians and researchers. Furthermore, artisans, extension officials
and other agricultural officials will be put through a learnership programme
this year.
Human
Capital
Whilst we continue to re-align
our Department’s organisational structure to meet the new demands of our
strategic plan, we continue to recruit and develop suitably qualified and
skilled personnel who will assist us to deliver on our mandate to provide
improved livelihoods for our people.
To support this effort during
this financial year, the department will be filling 63 vacancies both in the
provincial office and at our regional offices.
All our appointments will be guided by our equity targets. These
positions range from management to technical and professional positions.
Retention: For many years we have lost
most of our technical personnel including vets to other provinces, most if not
all that we took effort in developing.
They in all cases left the province because other provinces were pitching
these positions at a higher level. Today, we are pleased to announce that through MINMEC we resolved
to standardize these positions in an effort to allow stability in and between
provinces. These technical positions
will be upgraded as from April 2007.
This will assist in our retention capacity of scarce skills as well as
reduce the amount of competition amongst provinces for these scarce skills thus
improving the performance and output in provinces.
As a way of improving communication and
information sharing by the Department with stakeholders, we will be launching
our new website, establishing a new GIS unit for the upgrading of agricultural
database and publish our service delivery charter during this financial
year.
Madam Speaker, the drought conditions
experienced in the last 3-4 years and the recent discussions on global climatic
change, should be regarded as warning bells that the Northern Cape might be
adversely affected in the near future, and all people involved in the farming
sector must be prepared. The Department
in the last year (Dec 2005-March 2006) received R 20 million for implementation
of the drought scheme of which 1 303 communal/emerging and 2 468 commercial
farmers benefited through purchase of fodder for their animals
It is in this light Madam speaker,
and in response to the year 2006 being declared as the International year to
combat Land degradation and desertification, that we as a department will use
the allocated funds to:
v
Review the
programme to include all aspects relevant to land care and agricultural risk
management. Further development will
include appropriate communication with farmers on agricultural risk,
recruitment of young agricultural engineering technicians and finalising our
database on engineers outside government that could assist with various
projects
v
Landcare
budget has increased by 66% this year.
The R 5 million will be spent on
creating awareness among farmers, municipalities and public on land care,
establishment of land care committees and land use planning. The civil society mobilisation is currently
taking place in various districts and I would like to urge the farmers to
attend. The allocation is as follows:
Ø
Awareness
programme (Provincial) R 560
000
Ø
Siyanda R
845 400
Ø
Kgalagadi R
300 000
Ø
Pixley Ka
Seme R
765 000
Ø
Namakwa R
3 089 300
v
Finalise
in collaboration with all stake holders, the drought, floods and veld fire
management plans in line with the Disaster Management Act of 2002.
AgriBEE
and MAFISA
I would like at this stage to
thank all role players who participated in submitting inputs for the national
steering committee to finalise the AgriBEE document. The AgriBEE charter and score card have been finalised and we are
awaiting the signature and gazetting of the document in the near future. I would like to urge particularly the
emerging farmers to take a keen interest in the document and ensure smooth
implementation in collaboration with the commercial sector
In collaboration with
the National Department of Agriculture, we have developed a roll-out plan for
Micro Agricultural Finance Institutes of South Africa (MAFISA) in the Northern
Cape. The plan, with recommended
institutional arrangement, was presented to the Economic Cluster of the
Province and was endorsed.
Implementation will start in the Kgalagadi District as our pilot, and
will be extended to other parts of the province in the third quarter of this
year. Discussions with role players
have already started. This intervention
will certainly revitalize the rural economy and contribute towards rural
development.
Comprehensive
Agricultural Support Programme (CASP)
Conditional grants are
bringing meaningful change in the lives of beneficiaries in that they are able
to implement best farming practices and creation of jobs.
Northern Cape has
received R 15,777 million for 2006/07.
1 524 people will benefit and 366 jobs created through the
implementation of the approved 13 projects.
Madam Speaker, 70% of CASP allocation
will be spent on land and agrarian reform projects and we have this year
included commonages, particularly in Namaqualand.
Frances Baard District will
receive R 3,507 million for the construction of irrigation systems, overnight
storing facilities, upgrading of stock and watering systems and fencing. Kgalagadi district will receive R 3 million for upgrading of
irrigation equipment, chicken housing facilities for egg production, improved
livestock production, training and marketing; R 5,838 million goes to Siyanda
for land and irrigation infrastructure development. The allocation for Pixley ka Seme is R 543 000 for infrastructure development to ensure
optimal utilisation of the resources and Namakwa will receive R 530 000 for
marketing and stock farming infrastructure.
Madam speaker, we took note of
the plight of the Onseepkans farmers who were recently settled on new
plots. We will this year assist them
with the development of business plans for CASP funding in 2007/08 financial
year. By acquiring mechanisation
(tractors & implements) they will certainly make their farming more viable.
Food
Security
Food security still remains an
integral part in terms of our responses to diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Furthermore, the prevailing drought
conditions throughout the country compel us to increase our efforts in
addressing the food insecurity, particularly at the household level. To this end the Department has set aside R
4,9 million, which will be spent as follows:
·
R 439 000
for starter packs (R 84 000 for households, R 250 000 for schools and R 105 000
for clinics/health centres). This year
we have included milk goat starter packs for schools. 5 schools have been identified.
·
R 285
000 will go for goats management starter, which includes 30 rams to the value
of R 75 000 and goats management kits worth R 210 000.
·
R 2,4
million will be spent on the implementation of 10 projects throughout the
province.
·
R 1
million is for agro-processing projects
·
R 300
000 is for world food day celebration and R 100 000 has been set aside for
school food garden competition.
We will continue to mobilise
resources at out disposal and to ensure the effective implementation of the
Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programme. Madam Speaker, it is through the concerted efforts of the
Interdepartmental structure that the Province successfully hosted the national
celebration of the World Food Day on 16 October 2005. We have received accolades from the Country Representative of the
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations.
Agro-processing
Linked to food security
initiatives, the Department will continue its engagements with TetraPak to work
on a plan for the processing of fruit, vegetables and milk for production of a
nutritious drink, which is targeted at the integrated school nutrition
programme. The project will also
address the problem of markets that is experienced by most of our emerging
farmers, but most importantly, promote participation by PDIs in the agriculture
value chain.
Furthermore, as a response to
the Minister’s new initiative the Department has developed a plan on
agri-tourism for Vaalharts area. 180
hectares of land has been identified at our Vaalharts research station, which will
be allocated to 12 emerging farmers for olive production. The project will link with other current
agri-tourism ventures in the area.
Veterinary Services
Madam Speaker,
the recent outbreaks of avian influenza and general discussions on bio-security
and bio-safety, trade requirements and food safety, necessitate that we must
take a re-look at Veterinary Services and its budget.
The funds will be
used to:
v
Create
emergency preparedness unit. Already 11
jobless qualified Animal health technicians have been appointed and will undergo
extensive training
v
Continuation
of census and sampling for animal disease surveillance. This exercise was unfortunately stopped in
2005/6 a result of concentration on dealing and assisting other provinces with
outbreaks of Avian influenza and Classical swine fever. We therefore have to finish the exercise in
order to understand our animal disease status and participate in international
markets. Animal disease surveillance will include:
Ø
Trapping
of mosquitoes for African Horse sickness
Ø
Continuation
of Avian influenza survey to maintain our export status
Ø
Typing of
TB in Meerkats in Kgalagadi area to establish source of infection
Ø
Border
control and inspections
Ø
Full
staffing of the Lab in Kimberley and officially opening the lab
Ø
Export
readiness of emerging goat and Nguni cattle farmers
v
Continuation
of Food safety campaigns which will include:
Ø
Abattoir
inspections
Ø
Assisting
Municipalities and Health Dept, with food safety aspects within Butcheries
Ø
Illegal
slaughters
v
Establish
a new state Vet office in Prieska/Douglas area
Madam speaker for
once in the Northern Cape, we will have all field State Vet posts filled by
August 2006
Technical Research and
Development Services
This programme will focus
on the following:
v
Nguni
cattle production especially in Frances Baard and Kgalagadi Districts. An agreement with IDC and University of Free
State was signed on the 8th June 2006 in this regard. This will include Establishment of a trust,
Allocation of R500 000 per annum for the next 5 years for the purchase of
pregnant Nguni cows/heifers and quality bulls and, identification of emerging
farmers/communities to participate in the project
v
R 700 000 earmarked specifically for
infrastructure development at the Research Stations
v Purchase machinery for the
research farms. We started to replace
old tractors in the last financial year but it will take us another 2 years to
fully replace old dilapidated equipment.
We will work with FARM Africa and other NGO’s and NAFU in identifying
farming communities who need farming equipment.
v Quality research outputs that will
include research on small animals, veld and pasture management, participation
in the bio-fuel endeavour and research on various crop cultivars
Export
readiness
Madam speaker the preparation of our
emerging farmers for the export markets has been further strengthened this year
through an agreement with SA Agri Academy and NIHE in the Province to:
1.
Establish
portal system for emerging farmers to have access to export markets
2.
Train 15
more farmers on export requirements. A few of this farmers will be further
taken on an overseas tour as part of their training
3.
Train
agricultural technicians and lecturers on export markets
Intergovernmental
Relations
The importance of
intergovernmental relations as set out in the Intergovernmental Relations
Framework Act can never be over emphasized.
The Department has also participated in the assessment of the Integrated
Development Plans of municipalities.
Our participation as a department in these engagements was to ensure
that agriculture programme of action is captured in the IDPs of municipalities,
enabling us to provide the necessary support to municipalities in an endeavour
to revive the local economies.
In conclusion, Madam Speaker despite the challenges that
confronts us, we commit to spend and deliver on our mandate and, we are hopeful
and confident that our interventions and strategic programmes will make a
meaningful contribution to economic growth of our province and impact
positively on the lives of our communities.
I also wish to express my utmost gratitude to the following:
§
HOD of the Department Mr. Viljoen
Mothibi, The Commissioner for the Regional Land Claims Commission, Mr. Sugar
Ramakarane, The Head of the Provincial Land Reform Office Mr. Obed Mvula, and
their Senior Management and staff
§
The ministerial staff
§
The Chairperson of the portfolio
committee Mr David Rooi and fellow members particularly the farmers in the
Portfolio committee for their insightful guidance and expertise.
§
The financial institutions (Land
Bank, Standard bank, ABSA and FNB), NCEDA, Farm Africa and agricultural sector
at large
For their unflinching support.
It is my hope Madam Speaker that with these comments we have
set the tone for a developmental paradigm in Land and Agrarian Reform,
competitive agricultural development and a sustainable use of our natural
resources.
I thank you,
Kealeboga,
Baie dankie,
Ndiyabulela,
Asante Sana
