The agricultural sector recently welcomed DA leader, John Steenhuisen, as its newly appointed minister of agriculture. In a Farmer’s Inside Track podcast episode, he addresses the buzz surrounding his appointment, the priorities he aims to tackle in his new position, and more.
Steenhuisen highlights the importance of agriculture in the country’s economy and expresses his commitment to maximising the sector’s potential for growth and job creation. He shares his background in agriculture and why he has taken an interest in this portfolio.
“My grandfather farmed in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). For a very short period of a couple of years, I owned a lavender and kiwifruit farm in the Natal Midlands in KZN. I believe that agriculture contributes to the South African economy in a number of ways, particularly if one looks at the type of economy that we have at the moment with a large, unskilled, unemployed population.”
Focus on implementing the master plan
He emphasises the need to accelerate the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, as well as address key focus areas like biosecurity, phytosanitary processes, and extension services.
Steenhuisen says he aims to strengthen partnerships between commercial and small-scale farmers, improve agricultural colleges, and explore new markets for South African agricultural products.
“I am not an expert in agriculture. I think we are very blessed in South Africa to have a highly organised agricultural sector with agricultural organisations, unions, and a conglomerate of farming groups that make it easy to form partnerships.
“I have said very clearly from the beginning, my office intends to have an open door and an open hand to agriculture in South Africa so that we can sit and have a constant feedback mechanism where we can do this,” Steenhuisen shares.
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Steenhuisen also expands on his strategy for his term as minister of agriculture.
“The minister of agriculture is going to have to have a bigger role than just simply focusing on agriculture. I am going to have to be knocking on the door of the police minister to deal with the issue of rural safety. I am going to be knocking on the door of the cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister to deal with the collapse of municipal infrastructure in rural areas, as well as the infrastructure minister dealing with roads, rail, and ports.”
In this episode, Steenhuisen also addresses:
- The separation of the agriculture and land reform ministries;
- Concerns about prioritising commercial agriculture over smaller operations and more.
Want to know more? Dive deeper into the episode and gain insights from the award-winning Farmer’s Inside Track, officially recognised as Africa and the world’s best podcast at the 2024 Digital Media Awards presented by WAN-IFRA, the global press organisation.
Option 1: Click here to listen on Spotify (all mobile and other devices)
Option 2: Click here to listen on any Apple device
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