Recent progress made in the development of the agriculture and agro-processing master plan has been welcomed by Thoko Didiza, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. In this episode of the Farmer’s Inside Track podcast, Dr Sifiso Ntombela, chief economist of the National Agricultural Marketing Council, casts more light on this process.
The agriculture and agro-processing master plan is a blueprint strategy that is currently being developed by the different social partners in the agriculture and agro-processing space. This much-anticipated plan is will bolster long-term growth and development in the agriculture sector.
“To date the social partners have managed to conduct research identifying the bottlenecks as well as the opportunities for sustainable growth, the competitiveness of the sector as well as inclusivity of the agriculture value chains,” says Dr Ntombela.
“It is hoped that the different social partners will be able to complete this master plan within the first part of 2021, so that it can start yielding results for a prosperous agricultural development,” Dr Ntombela says.
At this stage the partners will be able to discuss the specific commitments by different social partners in the Master Plan. This includes the targets and timelines, as well as the implementation strategies to ensure all interventions contained within the master plan will be put into action.
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ALSO READ: Didiza lauds strides made in agriculture master plan
Other podcast highlights:
Besides the podcast interview with economist Dr Sifiso Ntombela, this week’s edition of South Africa’s favourite agriculture podcast also has other highlights for the sector:
- In this week’s episode of Farmer’s Inside Track: How to start a farm without money! Yes, it won’t be easy, but it certainly is possible to start a farm from scratch.
Journalist Dona van Eeden unpacks the journey of two brothers, Daniel and Devon de Sousa. Together they started a lucrative urban farming enterprise by using spare land in their hood in the heart of La Lucia, north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. - The Farmer’s Inside Track team chats to Oupa Tshabalala, the human resources manager at Sesisonke Farm in Harrismith in the Free State. Sesisonke has built one of the most sustainable farming systems in Mzansi. Oupa shares some practical tips on building a happy workforce.
- Farmer’s tip of the week: Ludwe Majiza, an Eastern Cape–born permaculturalist shares his top three farming tips.
- Book of the week: Our book of the week is The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. The author explores and explains the “tipping point phenomenon,” which changed how people worldwide think about selling products and sharing ideas.
- App of the week: The Hello Tractor app allows farmers to schedule tractor services with ease. The app’s cool features include service booking, land measurement and weather forecasts. To date, over 500 000 farmers have received services through the more than 3 000 tractors on the platform. Communications Lead at Hello Tractor, Priscilla Asonibare, tells us how to navigate this exciting app.
- SoilSistas: Our brand-new campaign celebrating female farmers across South Africa is back with beekeeper Metsana Kojane. Her Mahikeng-based agribusiness has both the bees and the consumers buzzing. Powered by Corteva Agriscience, SoilSistas highlights some of the extraordinary women who are participating in the Corteva Women Agripreneur Programme 2021, a year-long blended development programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) Entrepreneurship Development Academy (EDA).
- Mzansi Flavour: Food enthusiast Dané Vermeulen, shares why balsamic vinegar is her ingredient of choice for a perfect Mzansi home cooked meal!
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