Agda celebrates five years of agricultural transformation

The Agricultural Development Agency (Agda) recently celebrated five years of fostering inclusive growth and transformation in South Africa’s agricultural sector.

Since its establishment in 2020, Agda has positioned itself as a trusted convener, uniting diverse players across the agricultural value chain, from agribusinesses and commodity organisations to government, financiers, commercial producers, and new-era farmers.

Speaking at Agda’s annual member and stakeholder engagement at the Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel in Centurion, board chairman Dr Matthews Phosa reflected on the agency’s journey from concept to a credible institution.

Strength in collaboration

“Agda’s greatest strength lies in its convening power. Few institutions in agriculture have the neutrality, trust, and credibility to bring together diverse stakeholders into one collaborative platform. From the government, to DFIs, agribusiness, commodity organisations, commercial producers, and emerging farmers,” Phosa said.

Today, Agda’s network spans 45 000 farmers, 50 agribusinesses, 26 financiers, and seven commodity organisations, collectively covering around one million hectares of farmland. This vast network has become the foundation for turning shared goals into concrete actions that promote transformation and sustainability in agriculture.

Shaping agriculture’s future

Gauteng MEC for agriculture and rural development, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, delivered the keynote address, emphasising the importance of unity and action across the sector.

“We speak often and write about the importance of partnerships. We draft strategies, we sign memorandums, and we host dialogues on collaboration. Yet too often, we continue to move in silos, and we continue to talk across each other rather than to each other in rooms like this. And I will own it, I think as a government, we are particularly guilty of doing that,” she said.

Highlighting the urgency of tackling food insecurity and malnutrition, Ramokgopa noted that inclusive growth must translate into real impact for vulnerable communities.

“Inclusive growth looks like the 28% of people in Gauteng who currently have no food, having food. If a child is sitting in a classroom on an empty stomach, what type of future do they have? What kind of growth do we anticipate? It cannot be,” she remarked.

She urged stakeholders to embrace a collective and forward-looking approach to shaping South Africa’s agricultural future, emphasising that it will require collaboration across departments, organisations, and individuals.

Vital support to farmers

Agda CEO Leona Archary outlined several key milestones that demonstrate the agency’s tangible impact. One of these is the Blouberg Agri-Services Hub, a public-private partnership that supports potato and vegetable farmers in Limpopo through access to mechanisation, finance, training, and post-harvest facilities.

“In the past three years, we have brought 200 new hectares of potatoes into production, and it is a great partnership that is emerging together with De Beers, Potato SA, Lima, VKB, Kgodiso Fund and other stakeholders that are in that area,” Archary said.

More than 36 farmers are currently supported in the potato and vegetable value chain, gaining access to production finance to expand and sustain their operations.

New collaborations are further strengthening Agda’s reach. Partnerships with Synergy and Digiforte will give members, farmers, and farmworkers nationwide access to HR and labour compliance solutions, streamlining administration and workforce management.

Looking ahead, Archary said Agda remains focused on building partnerships that drive unity and progress across the sector.

“Agda is not a competitor; we play different roles of being an aggregator, a facilitator, a coordinator, and an implementer in this particular space,” Archary said.