Nonceba Kontsiwe, MEC for rural development and agrarian reform, outlined an ambitious policy agenda aimed at transforming agriculture and rural development in the Eastern Cape for the 2024-25 financial year.
Her policy speech, delivered in the Eastern Cape legislature, highlighted a commitment to address food security, economic growth, and sustainable practices. She set a high bar for the province’s agricultural aspirations.
“Our primary goal is to guarantee food security in the province,” Kontsiwe began, emphasising the department’s dedication to supporting local communities in cultivating land, regardless of its size, to enhance food production.
Transforming rural food production
She outlined a comprehensive plan to establish rural food hubs throughout the province, aimed at enabling subsistence and home-based vegetable producers to better collect, store, and process their produce for local markets.
“These hubs will be instrumental in improving food access and income for our rural communities,” she said.
Kontsiwe highlighted several key initiatives, beginning with a focus on sustainable agriculture, water conservation, and youth entrepreneurship. “Investing in our people will reduce living costs and promote self-sufficiency, thus enhancing community resilience,” she said.
The department’s strategy includes significant expansion of household food production in rural and peri-urban areas. This will involve setting up small-scale vegetable nurseries to supply high-quality seedlings, reducing production costs for local farmers.
The MEC announced a collaboration to support 42 000 households. “Thirty thousand households will benefit from the Siyazondla programme, and 12 000 from PES3,” Kontsiwe explained. This effort aims to facilitate household food production and tackle food insecurity and malnutrition across the province.
Kontsiwe also addressed the urgent need for improved water access, stating, “We are fast-tracking the spring water protection program to ensure villages have reliable water sources for food production.”
For the 2024-25 fiscal year, the department plans to implement ten spring water projects in five districts, including Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi, and OR Tambo. Last year’s efforts had already seen the successful completion of ten projects, installing 290 taps across 12 villages, which benefited 2 263 households and created 729 jobs.
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Fostering innovation and community involvement
Innovation and technology were central to Kontsiwe’s vision for modernising agriculture.
“Embracing innovation and technology is crucial for reducing production costs and mitigating the impact of climate change,” she stated. The department will launch a pilot programme installing 14 tunnels with 3 720 climate-smart boxes across all districts and colleges. This initiative aims to enable year-round vegetable cultivation in controlled environments, encouraging more youth and women to engage in agriculture.
Kontsiwe also stressed the importance of broad community involvement in food production.
“We invite people of all ages, including elders, churches, schools, health facilities, and traditional leaders, to support and promote community food production,” she urged.
The department will work with the private sector to assist households in growing their own food, ensuring that these initiatives are meticulously planned and executed with available resources.
Reflecting on broader economic goals, Kontsiwe highlighted Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane’s emphasis on the role of black farmers in driving food product development.
“The premier stated that black farmers are not confined to subsistence or primary production but are pivotal in developing food products for both domestic and international markets,” Kontsiwe noted.
To support this, the department has developed a commercialisation programme for agriculture aimed at integrating black farmers into sector value chains.
The importance of the master plan
The MEC also discussed the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) approved by the national government.
“The AAMP aims to boost economic growth, inclusivity, and employment in the agricultural sector,” she said, describing the Eastern Cape’s adoption of the Agriculture Investment Framework (ECAIF) as a strategy to revitalise the province’s agriculture sector.
Despite its significant livestock population, the province currently contributes only 8% to the country’s livestock GDP. Kontsiwe emphasised the untapped potential of over 10 000 hectares of irrigable land in irrigation schemes, which could significantly enhance sector performance.
Kontsiwe addressed the challenges faced by smallholder farmers, who make up 91% of the farming population but face high barriers to entry.
“Smallholder producers face high fixed costs, inadequate infrastructure, limited funding options, rising input costs, and poor logistics,” she explained.
The department’s strategy involves repurposing the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency to support these farmers, including entering into commercial agreements with 100 farms across various sectors like citrus, wool, beef, and grain.
The MEC’s speech also highlighted plans to revitalise irrigation schemes, which have been underutilised due to poor infrastructure and conflicts. “We are developing an infrastructure business plan to invest R3 billion into ten irrigation schemes,” Kontsiwe announced.
This includes partnerships with entities such as Amadlelo Dairy and efforts to enhance water availability for dairy production. The department aims to support irrigation schemes through repurposing ECRDA as a trade and business aggregator.
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