Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites.
The Free State province is the top contributor to food security in the country in spite of the tragic neglect by the Free State Provincial Government. Agriculture is also the only industry in the province that continues to weather the economic crises facing the province and the country.
Statistics South Africa indicated that, while all economic sectors showed considerable economic decline in the second quarter of 2020, the agricultural sector grew by 15,1%. This growth in 2020 is expected to continue while all other economic sectors are shrinking. The construction industry shrank by 76,6%, manufacturing by 74,9%, mining by 73,1%, and trade by 67,6%.
While agriculture also had the lowest number of job losses in the second quarter of 2020 compared to other industries, this industry received very little recognition or support from government. The Statistics South Africa Commercial Agriculture Census Report of 2017 indicated that the Free State has the highest number of commercial farms in the country at 7951 followed by the Western Cape with 6937. These farms continue to sustain our rural communities by providing valuable income and jobs.
The report also indicated that the Free State was the second highest agricultural income generating province at R36 billion per annum after the Western Cape at R64,4 billion per annum. The Thabo Mofutsanyane District is the third biggest agricultural income generating district in the country, while the Lejweleputswa District was South Africa’s top producer of maize, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
While it is important to ensure that support is given to subsistence and emerging farmers, experience has shown that much of government’s financial support has ended up in the pockets of implementing agents and not with the intended beneficiaries. The MEC of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development admitted recently that only 7% of the Department’s R814 million budget for 2020, which comes down to R57 million, is invested in commercial agriculture in the province.
The provincial government should be supporting agriculture that continues to be the most reliable source of economic growth and with the most potential for increased job creation in the province. Our commercial farmers and their employees in the Free State continue to be reliable sources of food security in the country, in spite of huge security threats and negative political rhetoric. Investment by government through drought and disaster relief when it is needed would be a good start and could save many farming businesses and jobs. The DA will continue to fight for the equitable and the most economically sensible distribution of government resources between the commercial, subsistence and emerging farming sectors.