L Xingwana: Graduation ceremony of Masters Mentors

28 September 2006

Programme Director,
Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs,
The Director-General,
Agricultural commodity organisations,
Chief Executive Officers present,
The Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of AgriSETA and FOODBEV,
Representatives of Agri-SA, National African Farmers' Union (NAFU) and
Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU),
Heads of provincial departments of agriculture present,
Members of parliament present,
Members of the media,
Senior management of the Department of Agriculture,
Officials from other government departments present,
The CEO of the Land Bank,
The President of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC),
Our celebrities of today,
The graduates,
Esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

The Skills Development Act (Act No 97 of 1998) and its twin sister the
Skills Development Levies Act (1998) ushered in an unprecedented skills
development revolution in South Africa. I am glad that as this revolution gains
a crescendo of acceleration, the agricultural sector has achieved the necessary
momentum to move on par with these developments.

On 20 September 2006, a watershed workshop between my department and about
45 agricultural commodity organisations was held in Tshwane to consider
mentorship as the most viable capacity building proposition to assist in
achieving some of the ideals of Agri-Black Economic Empowerment (AgriBEE). As
we all know, the AgriBEE framework robustly spells out capacity building and
equity targets optimising the participation of blacks in agri-business and
commercial agriculture.

It was during this workshop that an agreement was reached between my
department and the agricultural commodity organisations on the implementation
of a commodity-based, sector wide mentorship programme. Consensus was also
reached on the implementation methodology, the scope of the target group
through the value chain and the time frames. The invaluable input and
contribution of these commodity organisations must be acknowledged and
appreciated. It was out of this workshop that even the implementation tools of
the programme were developed.

One such tool, for example, is the mentorship implementation guide which has
thus far successfully guided the programme implementation. Flowing from the
tenets of this workshop my department organised the training of 163 individuals
deployed by agricultural commodity organisations such as Master Mentors. The
accredited training programme was based on "train the trainer".

Once declared competent these Master Mentors would then be deployed by their
respective commodity organisations to develop mentors in their various
commodity sub-sectors. Such mentors would then mentor our people towards
advanced levels of participation in agri-businesses and commercial
agriculture.

It is this context, Programme Director, that today we are witnessing this
achievement the graduation of competent Master Mentors.

As Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, I would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate them. I am aware that those who went through the
training were 163 but it is those who are sitting in front of us who have been
declared competent. This means that these persons have worked hard to be able
to meet the assessment criteria.

I am even more delighted, Programme Director, to say that this is not the
end of the road but rather the beginning. I have been made aware that the real
work begins here. Our partners who deployed these graduates for the Master
Mentor training have already submitted business plans to the department
outlining how these competent master mentors will roll out the real mentorship
within their respective commodity sectors. It will be the responsibility of
these esteemed ladies and gentlemen, with their respective organisations behind
them and of course my department centrally involved, in developing mentors who
in turn will mentor the previously disadvantaged individuals into advanced
levels of participation in their commercial ventures.

It must be remembered, Programme Director, that the objectives of AgriBEE
are to eliminate racial discrimination in the agricultural sector through
implementing initiatives that mainstream black South Africans in all levels of
agricultural activities and enterprises along the entire agricultural value
chain by:

* promoting equitable access and participation of historically disadvantaged
individuals in the entire agricultural value chain
* deracialising land and enterprise ownership, control, skilled occupations and
management of existing and new agricultural enterprises
* unlocking the full entrepreneurial skills and potential in the sector of
historically disadvantaged individuals
* facilitating structural changes in agricultural support systems and
development initiatives to assist our people in owning, establishing,
participating in and owning agricultural enterprises
* socially uplifting and restoring the dignity of our people within the
sector
* increasing the extent to which communities, workers, co-operatives and other
collective enterprises own and manage existing and new agricultural
enterprises, increasing their access to economic activities infrastructure and
skills training
* increasing the extent to which our women, people living with disabilities and
youth own and manage existing and new agricultural enterprises, increasing
their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training
* empowering rural and local communities to have access to agricultural
economic activities, land, agricultural infrastructure, ownership and
skills.

It is flowing from these objectives, Programme Director, that the
established industry undertook to:

* by July 2005 develop a mentorship programme by means of existing and
retired knowledgeable experts and entrepreneurs as one of the mechanisms for
transferring skills to new black entrants. Such a mentorship programme will
have clearly defined guidelines and criteria for participation as well as an
effective monitoring system.

Furthermore, in keeping with the Employment Equity Act and the Skills
Development Act all enterprises in the agri-industry undertook to:

* proactively employ our black people in senior, middle and junior
managerial positions
* provide primary education and training. This includes literacy training. The
State, in conjunction with the governing bodies of educational institutions and
similar structures, must ensure that quality is offered by all primary,
secondary and tertiary institutions
* agricultural training at schools and colleges of agriculture should be aimed
at the requirements for the black economic empowerment (BEE) agenda for
agriculture. A focused, formal agricultural training system that would equip
future farmers for farming practices should receive specific attention
* promote agriculture as a career and will in 2005 undertake a review of the
effective demand for human resources in the agricultural sector
* lead and co-ordinate targeted programmes in collaboration with education
authorities, farmer organisations and the agricultural private sector to review
existing education and training curricula in order to enhance the technical,
entrepreneurial and management skills for black entrants into the sector by
2006
* ensure the inclusion of a substantial number of black persons from the sector
as the nucleus of strategic partners in government foreign trade missions,
technical assistance, study visits and training opportunities
* functional literacy should be promoted and encouraged through Adult Basic
Education and Training (ABET) programmes
* institute a sector-wide young professional employment and mentoring programme
which targets black unemployed and underemployed graduates in all disciplines,
starting in 2005.

Mentorship programmes shall be accredited by the relevant Sectoral Education
and Training Authority (SETA) or other agreed authority. These targets,
Programme Director, are geared towards achieving a representative management
outlook in all enterprises by the year 2014. It must be emphasised that the
department's initiative of a commodity-based mentorship programme is within
this spirit of the AgriBEE.

In terms of enterprise ownership and equity, the framework argues that
historically, the interpretation of ownership in agriculture has been
understood to be dependent upon ownership of land. The AgriBEE framework
distinguishes between land and enterprise ownership. In this regard the
established industry undertook to ensure that there is 35 percent black
ownership of existing and new enterprises by 2008. It is as a result of this
target that the department also initiated a programme known as the Agri
Industry Development Programme.

Through this programme young people with the requisite educational
backgrounds and minimal involvement in agribusinesses are identified through
the assistance of the various agribusinesses. Once identified they go though a
one-year modular training programme designed by my department and the
Stellenbosch Business School on agri-business management skills. Apart from the
bursary awards which the department grants to these young people to undergo
this training, they are also taken in as interns and placed with the various
agribusinesses. In this way they are able to experience a practical business
environment relating to what they are learning.

It is these young people, that amongst others, the department endeavours to
convert into business owners and/or shareholders once they have completed their
training and internship.

I am well aware, Programme Director, that these AgriBEE targets while
achievable require a significant effort and a high level of commitment on the
part of all the role players. It is for this reason that the level of
commitment demonstrated by the agricultural commodity organisations involved in
this mentorship programme is acknowledged and appreciated.

We have so far identified six agricultural, horticultural, commodity
organisations for funding in this financial year. These organisations whose
business plans met our criteria are the wine industry, National Wool Growers'
Association, Shungu Women's Group, National Emergent Red Meat Producers'
Organisation, Cotton South Africa and the Citrus Growers' Association of
Southern Africa.

The funding given to these organisations is to enable them to implement the
mentorship programme in a formal way. Funding has also been provided to the
Perishable Products Export Council Board for the training of 100 black
technologists for participation in the export industry.

In ensuring that communication flows between the department and the
commodity organisations, the education and training unit has established a
central support structure. The purpose of the structure is to ensure
professional support to the project and to ensure that the organisations can
reach the department any time they want to.

I have been made aware that our current internship programme is being
revitalised to ensure that the unemployed graduates we recruit for the
programme, gain further skills and experience relating more to their fields of
study than what has been the case. To achieve this, the programme will
therefore lay greater emphasis on placement with the industry more than with
the department. While it is the primary objective of the programme to enhance
the employment chances of these young graduates, care should be exercised that
in providing an opportunity for them to acquire work-related experience such
experience must be relevant and related.

Even here, Programme Director, we will need the assistance and co-operation
of the private sector. We will shortly be flashing an advert for the
recruitment of these unemployed graduates for the 2007 intake. I appeal to you,
ladies and gentlemen, to assist, not only with their identification but with
their placement within the industry too. It is the vision of the agricultural
sector, Programme Director, that we should have a "united and prosperous
agricultural sector".

Invariably, this vision implies sustained profitable participation in the
South African agricultural economy by all stakeholders recognising the need to
maintain and increase commercial production to build international
competitiveness, and to address the historical legacies and biases that
resulted in skewed access and representation.

Because of the legacy of exclusion and discrimination in South African
agriculture, the challenge is now to improve participation in all facets of the
sector and rid it once and for all of the many entry barriers rooted in its
historical dualism. The challenge is especially to identify programmes that
will encourage new entrants, black and white, young and old, men and women,
small and medium-size enterprises to enter the sector. It is important,
Programme Director, to find ways to ensure that all these different
constituents of the sector genuinely feel and see themselves as belonging to a
single entity.

With the establishment of both the national and provincial agricultural
education and training forums as the major recommendation of the National
Agricultural Education and Training (AET) strategy, the dawn of a new era for a
healthy dialogue among AET stakeholders has come. The training and
capacity-building pillar of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme
resonates with the intentions of the AET strategy and the achievement of this
pillar is dependent on the successful implementation of the AET strategy.

Indeed, Programme Director, with the government having set the target to
redistribute 30 percent of productive agricultural land to previously
disadvantaged people by 2014, access to land and funding alone will not lead to
capable and competent black commercial farmers.

Knowledge and skills make the difference between "trying to farm," and
farming successfully. The real long-term success of land redistribution rests
on one major issue of developing the capacity of new farmers and land
redistribution beneficiaries in the practical and business skills of running a
farming enterprise. The considerable business skills and technical knowledge
required to turn expensive resources into profitable farming enterprises must
be taught effectively to new farmers. Training, in all its forms, is the only
successful way to equip new farmers with the skills they need to succeed in a
globalised and competitive agricultural sector.

In conclusion, Programme Director, I reiterate the significance of skills
training programmes in ensuring the success of the key government priority
programmes. The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP), the
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), the
Agricultural Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (AgriBEE), Integrated Food
Security and Nutrition Programme (IFSNP) , the African Agricultural Development
Programme (AADP) and national LandCare Programme will all not be effective
unless supported directly and indirectly by systematic and targeted training
programmes.

Once again I take the opportunity to congratulate our Master Mentors on
their achievement.

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Agriculture
28 September 2006
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agric.za/)