Programme Director
The CEO of Dube Trade Port Corporation, Ms Saxen van Coller
Members of the DTPC Board
Honoured Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and gentlemen
All protocol observed
On behalf of the provincial government of KwaZulu‐Natal and the people of this province, we wish to express our greatest delight for being part of this occasion where we are unveiling yet another critical pillar of our biggest investment in the province, the Dube Trade Port.
Programme Director, agriculture has always been a key component of KwaZulu‐Natal's economic mix and with the growing need to ensure continued food security in South Africa, this is a sector which must be regarded as being of extreme importance. This is a sector of our economy which must openly embrace advanced farming methods in order to ensure competitiveness and to meet and exceed future demand.
With reliable rains, ours is the best watered province in the country and our fertile soils give us some of the highest quality agricultural land in South Africa.The agricultural sector here has emerged to become extremely productive and our Province is widely known for its specialist capabilities in a number of farming‐types.
As the KwaZulu‐Natal government we believe that this province is, therefore, perfectly positioned to play a critical role in substantially growing this economic sector going forward. We already enjoy a diversity of agriculture, from crops such as sugar and maize to the horticultural production of sub‐tropical fruits, including pineapples and bananas, as well as cashew nuts and potatoes, and from an array of vegetables to forestry and animal husbandry, inclusive of beef, sheep, pigs and poultry.
Programme Director, the agricultural sector is of key strategic importance given the comparative advantages that KZN has with regard to its land and labour resources. As a primary sector, agriculture contributes about 4.4% to provincial GVA (Gross Value Added), according to the KwaZulu‐Natal Growth and Development Plan.
However, KwaZulu‐Natal produces almost 30% of national agricultural output and hence contributes significantly towards creating formal and informal employment, while providing food security in South Africa.
Further, over 30% of Provincial GVA in the manufacturing sector can be attributed to the ‘food, beverages and tobacco, and ‘wood and paper’ industries, which are directly related to outputs from the agricultural sector. Additionally, there are numerous inputs into the agricultural production chain that contribute to economic growth, including the procurement of local capital equipment and consumables.
At present, Programme Director, the primary agricultural sector contributes over 7.5% to total employment within all districts besides eThekwini and Amajuba, specifically contributing just over 12% to total employment in uMzinyathi and Sisonke, almost 11% in iLembe, and around 9% in Ugu, Zululand, uMkhanyakude, and uThungulu.
If appropriately harnessed, the agricultural sector in KZN has the potential to create a substantially higher number of jobs in a shorter time frame. Over the short to medium term the agricultural value chain can support labour intensive absorbing activities generating large‐scale employment. This in turn contributes towards addressing food security and enabling sustainable livelihoods.
Notwithstanding the above, this sector currently faces severe constraints which have resulted in a significant decline in production and has contributed towards increased job losses. These constraints, according to the Provincial Growth and Development Plan include:
- inadequate access to funding for infrastructure.
- lack of agri‐industries.
- ineffective linking of graduates to commercial farms.
- increased competition due to subsidisation of international farming; land reform process.
- Access to Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) Land for agricultural production.
Additionally, a dramatic decline in the scientific base within the agricultural sector has led to a position where the province is under‐capacitated to undertake scientific research and identification of agricultural potential. Accordingly the Provincial Growth and Development Plan proposes the following:
- Increasing total employment within the agricultural sector from the current estimated baseline of 108 838 jobs in 2012 to 194 912 jobs in 2020 and to 349 058 jobs in 2030.
- Increasing the value of agricultural contribution to the economy from the current baseline of R 11 781m to R 23 174m in 2020 and to R 45 587m in 2030 (Real Rands, 2005).
- Developing emerging commercial farmers from the current baseline of 38 000 to 54 700 farmers in 2020 and 78 700 in 2030.
It is because of this reason that today’s launch of the agricultural platform in the Dube Trade Port is more than laudable. Dube AgriZone is Africa’s first integrated perishables supply chain and hosts the continent’s largest climate‐controlled growing area under glass. It focuses on short shelf‐life vegetables and cut flowers requiring immediate post‐harvest airlifting.
The AgriZone comprises greenhouses, as well as the facilities that we are launching today, off‐set by ‘green’ initiatives including rainwater harvesting, solar energy usage and the growth of indigenous plants for site‐wide rehabilitation. In the current 16 hectares of greenhouse cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and cut flowers are currently be grown. We have developed export markets for the cut flowers in the Netherlands and the Middle East and Dubai for the produce.
We are in the early stages of implementing these export sales as the AgriZone is not even two years old for some greenhouses. Dube TradePort’s strategy has always been to service existing local markets before we can be ready for the stringent and more competitive markets. This in place and we plan to be exporting at least 25% of produce by next year (year 3).
The Farmwise Packhouse and Distribution Centre and Dube AgriLab complete the first phase of Dube AgriZone's development, in the process creating South Africa's most advanced farming area. Such has been the impact of this development, that Dube TradePort Corporation is already at an advanced stage of planning for the development of the second phase of Dube AgriZone. The Dube AgriZone is also a wonderful example of a public‐private partnership in action.
Programme Director, our goal, in creating Dube TradePort, is to provide for the private sector a world‐class integrated trade and logistics platform, paving the way for new local and global business opportunities, whilst simultaneously stimulating the economic growth of KwaZulu‐Natal.
The reality is that the precinct, inclusive of Dube AgriZone does, indeed, enjoy the support of both the public and private sectors.Such alliances are, we believe, an economic imperative today. We are therefore proud of the fact that our infrastructural development here has opened the door to public and private co‐operation and co‐ordination.
Farmwise (Pty) Ltd., working in co‐operation with our own Dube TradePort Corporation, here in the Dube AgriZone, is the epitome of the partnership concept of which we speak. From a public perspective, we have successfully provided the very necessary agricultural infrastructure to attract a respected company capable of delivering the vital know‐how and expertise to operate a private business as an integral part of the seamless agricultural process from farm to end‐user.
And for that, ladies and gentlemen, the Provincial Government of KwaZulu‐Natal is most grateful to Farmwise for its confidence in Dube AgriZone and its recognition that its facility here can and will make a fundamental difference to the way of agriculture and its associated supply chain processes into the future. It is especially pleasing to note that already and in spite of only having commenced operations in Dube AgriZone recently, a number of local markets have already been secured for the Farmwise Packhouse and Distribution Centre's services.
In this regard, Farmwise’s involvement at the Dube AgriZone have already seen the establishment of some 100 new jobs. As all of us know, the challenge of unemployment is one of the critical challenges facing our country. And any project that begins to make a dent at unemployment in the country is most welcome.
At this stage, Programme Director, allow us to address an issue that would be critical for the future success of the Dube Agrizone. We are aware that the Agrizone’s entrance into the agricultural market may have threatened some traditional and largely, small farmers, within the sector who would perceive it as having an unfair advantage over them.
In dealing with this matter, we have engaged with local farmers and undertook an independent study to establish if the complaints were true. The research found no proof as the AgriZone farmers were serving their pre‐existing markets mostly.
Notwithstanding this and also because we want to grow the province’s agricultural sector in its entirety and make it competitive, we will continue to monitor the situation on a continual basis as we do not want any detrimental impact on the local industry.
Having said this, all of us and player in the agricultural sector that, in order to grow and with the introduction of new interventions and programmes into the sector, all of us will have to adjust, adapt and grow. In this regard, our government is always available to assist and listen to all the players within the sector.
Programme Director we are particularly pleased to be able to share with you now the fact that Dube AgriLab, which is part of this project, currently has an Intellectual Property Agreement with the wellknown and acclaimed South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI).
It is, accordingly, working in close collaboration with this august body. Dube AgriLab's role will be to produce commercially‐proven cane varieties which will ensure good crops and high yields for the benefit of KwaZulu‐Natal sugar cane farmers. At the same time, Dube AgriLab is also involved in bulking up trial varieties for SASRI for their Variety Improvement Programme.
In addition, Dube TradePort Corporation is also presently collaborating with role‐players in the Provincially‐important banana industry. It is our aim to appreciably expand such collaborations, giving consideration to how best Dube AgriLab might work with other market sectors into the future.
In the final analysis, Dube TradePort Corporation's objective is to strive towards securing additional contracts in the medium‐term. That would most certainly enable this plant tissue culture propagation resource to maximise its capacity, potentially expanding to afford it the capability of producing up to 5 million plantlets per annum, dependent on materials being produced.
It is envisaged that Dube AgriLab will be perfectly positioned to undertake complex research and development work within the next five years, once it has firmly established itself on this country's commercial landscape. In this regard, Dube TradePort Corporation would look to forming additional partnerships with such bodies as tertiary educational institutions, research councils, such as the Agricultural Research
Council (ARC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as well as biotechnologyplatforms, such as the Technology Incubation Agency (TIA) Programme Director, the World Economic Forum, understanding the importance of agriculture to the world economy, has called for the New Vision for Agriculture by transforming this sector through collaboration.
In its report, the World Economic Forum states that:
“Over the past three years, food security and economic crises have highlighted both the urgent need and the potential for developing sustainable agricultural systems. Nearly one billion people – one out of six globally – lack access to adequate food and nutrition. By 2050, the global population will surpass 9 billion people, and demand for agricultural products is expected to double. At the same time, the world’s agricultural systems will be increasingly challenged by water scarcity, climate change and volatility, raising the risk of production shortfalls. “
This, therefore, means that in order to face the challenges of the future we have to ensure that we develop agricultural methods that are at the cutting edge of technological innovation. This project begins to ensure that KwaZulu‐Natal is placed at the apex of provinces in our country and beyond which are leading in exploring future forms of agricultural methods.
Lastly, ladies and gentlemen, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those responsible for creating a model agricultural environment and supply chain system of which we all feel justifiably proud. We have no doubt that this will go a long way towards positioning KwaZulu‐Natal at the very forefront of cutting‐edge, future farming methodologies and techniques in South Africa and beyond.
Thank you.
