City of Tshwane mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya said the city’s agriculture strategy is being drafted and should be presented to the mayoral committee in the next three months. She highlighted that the agricultural sector must be consulted through this process.
Moya recently addressed a meeting with different stakeholders on how to make agriculture work in the city, create quality jobs, and bring dignity to those who work in it.
Moya said that the council values the agricultural sector’s contribution to Tshwane’s economy. “We are committed to strengthening this partnership. Agriculture and agro-processing are priority number two in our economic revitalisation strategy. Let’s grow Tshwane.
“The City of Tshwane has agri-parks, and we have to ensure our city assets are utilised by those who need them. The agricultural sector can benefit from the use of our agri-parks,” she said.
Agriculture, agro-processing key priorities
The mayor said agriculture and agro-processing are the second priority in the city of Tshwane’s economic revitalisation strategy, and that goes to show how important the sector is to the administration. They believe it’s key to their goal of achieving 3.9% economic growth by 2029.
“We are proud of the work being done in this sector. We committed ourselves to keeping businesses active and present in Tshwane. That was a massive goal to set for ourselves. We set this target because businesses are the backbone of our economy, they keep our citizens employed, and they help put food on the table,” she said.
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AgriSA CEO Johann Kotze said South Africa needs a food security index that would be active in real time. He said that would help the country understand food security for the future. He urged leaders to think with foresight.
“We need to think for the future, on how the resources that we have will benefit society. We need to know and understand our food security system and be clever about it,” he said.
Food safety at fresh produce market
Francois Knowles from the Agricultural Produce Agents Council said the city should prioritise food safety at its fresh produce market. He said the facility should be better maintained to encourage business participation.
“We are not bashing the municipality, this is a call for all of us to work together, all the role players that are involved must contribute. If we sell produce in a facility that is not clean, we are likely to lose our credibility.
“I can assure you that if we make the place clean, the farmers we work with and those we serve will continue to come back and do business with us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kobela Mokgohloa, the CEO of Korean Farms, told the gathering that he has seen tractors owned by the city that are not being used. He called on the city to make these vehicles available to local farmers.
“There are tractors in the streets of the city, over twenty of them that are growing grass between them, and we all know what a tractor means to a farmer. A tractor creates jobs, increases productivity, and unleashes new potential. I urge the city to release these tractors to the capable hands of farmers, which will benefit the wider community of Tshwane,” he said.
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