WATCH LIVE | Eastern Cape Agriculture Indaba on August 20 2021

Agriculture and agro-processing has been identified as an important sector for growth and job creation in SA.

As the 2019 National Treasury strategy argues, “several features of agriculture make it important in the pursuit of inclusive, labour-intensive economic growth”.

These include rural linkages, the ability to absorb less-skilled labour, large multipliers due to extensive links with the rest of the economy, globally competitive labour productivity, and export-led growth. 

Minister of agriculture, land reform & rural development Thoko Didiza announced the release of up to 9-million hectares of agricultural land for reform, presenting an opportunity for inclusion of a wider range of players to enter the sector, as well as for stakeholders and supporting businesses to expand their work.

The Eastern Cape Agriculture Indaba, hosted by Nascence Advisory in partnership with the FM and Transnet, follows the successful agriculture online summit held in June 2020.

Speakers include:

• Thoko Didiza: minister of agriculture, land reform & rural development;
• Portia Derby: Transnet CEO;
• Wandile Sihlobo: chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA;
• Aron Kole: FarmSol Holdings MD;
• Mokete Tshiame: SA Grain Farmers Association; and
• Sylvester Mpandeli: Water Research Commission

The indaba is part of a series of economic reconstruction dialogues designed to contribute to improving engagement between the public, official government sector, investors, local business and other partners in driving economic recovery. 

Envisioned outcomes include:

• developing additional insights on growth and investment opportunities and challenges;
• strengthening links between investors and authorities;
• facilitating global trade and investment channels for targeted provinces and districts; and
• anchoring all main role players around a central objective of driving growth, recovery, investment and economic opportunities.

The indaba is designed as a three-tier process set out as the following:

• An industry development workshop to bring together participants in the value chain including emerging farmers, food manufacturers, retailers, financial and market support entities;
• The lekgotla, as the main event, will be a convening of high-powered stakeholders and decisionmakers to discuss outcomes of the development workshop, and build insights and commitments to identified challenges, gaps and opportunities; and
• Produce an insights report based on the preceding engagements.

Transnet’s involvement is a reflection of its commitment to support economic growth through a sector-focused and stakeholder-driven approach. Transport and logistics have been identified as a key challenge in agriculture, particularly with regards to the competitiveness of the sector and viability of new and emerging players.

Event details:

Date: August 20 2021
Time: 9am — 12pm