PODCAST: Agriculture Master Plan is ripe for implementation
09 June 2023 - 14:36
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May 2023 marked a year since SA's Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan was completed and launched. This plan offers the government and the private sector framework to grow the sector, build competitiveness, attract more investment, improve inclusion, and create jobs. This year should mark the start of the implementation phase.
But progress so far remains limited, as the focus shifted to energy security at the beginning of the year because of the intensified load-shedding.
With various interventions such as the load-curtailment, extension of diesel rebate, and Agro-Energy Fund under implementation, the sector should refocus its attention on the Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan and explore means of implementation. Admittedly, the operating environment in the sector is more challenging than when the plan was drafted. Still, neglecting or delaying implementation will only allow the present challenges to worsen.
The growth constraints such as biosecurity, infrastructure, widening of export markets, registration of new crop protection chemicals, and various commodity-specific and regionalised plans are some of the aspects that the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan reflected on.
Notably, the broad sector support behind the plan could wane over time if the implementation is slow, and we may again find ourselves with another “good on paper but not implemented plan”.
Getting out of this state of inertia requires the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to reconvene the social partners with an implementation proposal at hand to propose.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
PODCAST: Agriculture Master Plan is ripe for implementation
May 2023 marked a year since SA's Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan was completed and launched. This plan offers the government and the private sector framework to grow the sector, build competitiveness, attract more investment, improve inclusion, and create jobs. This year should mark the start of the implementation phase.
But progress so far remains limited, as the focus shifted to energy security at the beginning of the year because of the intensified load-shedding.
With various interventions such as the load-curtailment, extension of diesel rebate, and Agro-Energy Fund under implementation, the sector should refocus its attention on the Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan and explore means of implementation. Admittedly, the operating environment in the sector is more challenging than when the plan was drafted. Still, neglecting or delaying implementation will only allow the present challenges to worsen.
The growth constraints such as biosecurity, infrastructure, widening of export markets, registration of new crop protection chemicals, and various commodity-specific and regionalised plans are some of the aspects that the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan reflected on.
Notably, the broad sector support behind the plan could wane over time if the implementation is slow, and we may again find ourselves with another “good on paper but not implemented plan”.
Getting out of this state of inertia requires the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to reconvene the social partners with an implementation proposal at hand to propose.
We discuss more in this week's podcast segment.
WANDILE SIHLOBO: SA’s agricultural growth story
WANDILE SIHLOBO: The agriculture sector is now ripe for action
WANDILE SIHLOBO: Agriculture master plan is slow out of the blocks
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Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.