Deputy President Paul Mashatile announced that a South African delegation will be returning to the White House to continue negotiations with the United States team over the 30% tariffs that came into effect last month.
Mashatile was speaking at a Nampo Cape sectoral engagement led by Food For Mzansi and Grain SA, where different commodities and key players highlighted both the successes and challenges they face.
Ready to engage
“We were at the bottom of the list to engage with the US, but now we are told that we have been moved up, and on 17 September a delegation will be in the US to discuss minerals but also agriculture.
“We are looking into diversification. We want a plan that not only focuses on one region or province but the entire value chain of the agricultural industry. The sector needs to work for us to be able to feed our people,” he said.
Mashatile added that they were planning to persuade the US to reduce the tariffs, as its impact would be severe on the South African economy and the agricultural sector in its entire value chain.
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“We will negotiate hard to make sure that we are that affected negatively. And for us penetrating the African market is very important and we are looking at diversification. I personally have been to different countries and the interest is there to get produce from Africa so we working to ensure that our produce reach the relevant market.
” We are to give finding new market we are also not going to give up on the US market because we are the biggest exporter to the US so we will want to secure it and yes we are talking to other countries,” he said.
Commodity groupings such as Olive SA, Grain SA, Red Meat Industry Services and Merino South Africa spoke in detail about the need for government to address infrastructure such as roads, railways and the energy supply. Land Bank also outlined its role in supporting farmers through financing and partnerships.
Mashatile called on all three spheres of government to support the agricultural sector, saying he had visited the Overberg area where concerns about water had been raised. He promised that government departments and ministers would deal with these concerns.
“We need to make sure that we protect the agricultural sector; we need to protect food security in our country. We also need to embrace technology. We are living in the digital era, and we need to adapt, otherwise we will be left behind,” he said.
Govt. urged to back farming sector
The Nampo Cape engagement gave commodity leaders and institutions an opportunity to share their concerns and priorities directly with Mashatile and government.
Grain SA’s vice chairman and farmer Jeremia Mathebula called on government to address service delivery concerns, especially in farming communities, as well as rural safety, which continues to be one of the biggest threats to ensuring the safety of farmers and farm workers.
Meanwhile, Land Bank’s chief executive officer, Themba Rikhotso, stressed that the bank is now in a strong position to forge partnerships with farmers and commodity groupings, ensuring that affordable financing remains accessible to drive growth across the sector.
Dewald Oliver, chief executive officer of RMIS, said that their biggest concern was the current Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak. He called on government to speed up control measures to prevent export bans.
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