State Provincial Government
14 March 2007
Member of the Executive Council for the Department of Agriculture, Free
State province,
May our sons in their youths be like plants that grow up strong.
May our daughters be like stately pillars which adorn the corners of a palace.
May our barns be filled with crops of every kind.
May the sheep in our fields bear young by the tens of thousands.
May our cattle produce plentifully without miscarriages or loss (Psalm 144:
12-14)
Speaker se hlomphehang le motlatsa Speaker
Ditho tse hlomphehang tsa lekgotla la ketso ya Melao Free State
Premier le ditho tsa lekgotla la phethahatso
Ntlo ya Borena profensing ya Free State
Baemedi ba mmuso wa selehae
Mekgatlo ya demokerasi, ya Ntshetsopele le ya kgwebo e teng kwano
Borapolasi le basebetsi ba mapolasing
Baqolotsi ba ditaba
Bahlanka ba mmuso
Le setjhaba ka kakaretso
Re ya le dumedisa mosebetsing ona o moholo wa kajeno. Ka ditekanyetso tsena,
lefapha le phatlalatsa boitlamo ba rona ho tsohle tseo re ikemiseditseng ho di
etsa selemong se setjha sa ditjhelete.
In one of his songs, Jimmy Cliff, a prolific reggae composer and a
successful musician, says: "we trace the footprints one more time, we walk the
circle once again, there will be no stone left unturned." Like Jimmy Cliff
says, we are once again walking this challenging road in pursuit of a lasting
dispensation and prosperity for the province. Speaker, it is just over a decade
that freedom was proclaimed, just over a decade after we were set free by
deliberate collective efforts of those patriots who exchanged their lives for
freedom. Truly, we owe a permanent debt to all those who have fought to the end
so that we today are able to savour the fruits of a free and democratic South
Africa. Thanks to their selfless sacrifice we are able to stand today in this
honourable House to steer the democratic development of our people and lead
them to the ultimate destiny of a better life.
Leetong leo re le tsamayang kajeno ke leeto leo bohle re tsebang hore le
boima, mme le batla boitelo le mamello. Empa ke seo re ikabetseng sona hore le
ha tsela ena e le thata, re tla e tsamaya ho fihlela e mong le e mong wa rona
ya ratang ho kena kgwebong ya temo, a kgotsofetse hobane lefapha le tla be le
mo tataisitse ho fihlela moo a ikemetseng. Mme ke kahoo le kajeno re boelang re
otlolla letsoho la setswalle le la tshebedisanommoho ho ntshetsapele temo
hobane
re dumela polelong ya Sesotho e reng: "Ntja-pedi ha e hlolwe ke sebata".
Ke tsamaiso ena ya kopanelo e dipakeng tsa mmuso le batho, eo re dumelang
hore ka yona, re tla atleha ho fihlela sepheo sa rona sa ho theha lefapha le
tlang ho ba matla ho tsa temo, mme lena le tshwaetso e ntle maphelong a batho
le moruong wa profensi ka kakaretso. Sena se tiisa leho netefatsa ponelopele ya
Lengolo le Phatlalatsang Ditokelo tsa Tokoloho, le radilweng ke setjhaba
boetapeleng ba Lekgotla la African National Congress (ANC) Kliptown ka 1955, ha
e re: "Batho ba tla busa," hobane ke lona lekgotla lena, le betlileng tsela eo
re e tsamayang kajeno ya ho tsamaisa Lefapha le ho etella pele mosebetsi o
moholo wa ho lwantsha bofuma le ho theha mesebetsi le kgwebo e kopaneng ka hara
profensi, esita le ho tshehetsa bohle ba ratang ho kena temong. Sena re se etsa
ka kopanelo le setjhaba le bohle ba amehang temong. Because it is within this
great organisation, that the thought of a shared destiny between black and
white farmers emanates, we continue to meet with both commercial farmers and
emerging farmers, with a view of inculcating a culture of co-operation,
partnership and consultation, by bringing them together, to share ideas on how
the agricultural sector should be developed.
No one will deny the fact that in the first decade of freedom, the African
National Congress led government has done more to settle, support and equip
black farmers with knowledge and skills in preparing them to enter the
agricultural industry with confidence and on an equal footing with the
predominantly white commercial farmers. Our intent is to halt poverty and
replace it with resourcefulness that will see many making a decent living out
of a sector such as agriculture. We therefore believe that a joint effort by
both experienced farmers and successful entrant farmers will serve as an
effective buffer against poverty, and that their enterprises will form a
launching pad for skills development and job creation, especially for rural
people in the province.
The budget we present in this honourable House today has been compiled to
address the details of our programmes, with a principal view of intensifying
the struggle against poverty, so that the dignity of our people is restored. We
cannot deny the fact that the pace of transformation in the agricultural
industry seems to be slow, especially for those who are poor and whose daily
experience is characterised by a never ending melancholy that is brought about
by pangs of hunger, debilitating diseases and rampant poverty. Development in
agriculture seems to be moving at a snail pace for those whose hope is dim, but
remains flickering and continuously fuelled by the Freedom Charter, with the
specific reference to the clause that says: "the land shall be shared among
those who work it" and which further states that the State shall help the
peasants with agricultural inputs, farm mechanisation and infrastructure.
Speaker, these include: seed, fuel, tractors and dams. The department
continues to commit itself by providing emerging farmers with support of
infrastructure, mechanisation and agricultural inputs as identified by the
Freedom Charter more than half a century ago. We continue with the LandCare
programmes as dictated by the majority voice contained in the Freedom Charter.
We commit to do more during this financial year. Speaker, it is on the basis of
the wisdom contained in the Freedom Charter, that we shall without fear nor
hesitation confront issues of transformation of land ownership and development
of agricultural land in the province.
We believe equitable land distribution is the only solution in dealing with
the issues that will make agriculture representative and fully successful in
the province. The time has come for us all to accept that agriculture has
become a business for all, and that correctly exploited, basic agricultural
resources will be enough for all those who wish to engage in it. The ambience
is favourable and there is abundant willingness to work together in
partnership, to unlock the many opportunities that are out there, to build a
fully representative vibrant agricultural economy in the province, as outlined
in the Free State Growth and Development Strategy. It is our time; therefore
there is no reason to despair or panic.
Jwaloka ha ke boletse hore batho ba ba ngata ba ntse ba phela hara
tshotleho le tlala, nnete ke hore bongata ba bona ke batho ba phelang
dibakeng tsa mapolasi. Batho bana ke bona ba boemong bo tlase ba diphetoho le
ntshetsopele. Ke bona batho bao bofutsana bo atileng ho bona. Ke bona
batho
bao ha ngata maemo a tshebetso a sa hlakang mme ba fumana le meputso e tlase ho
feta tshebetso ya bona.
Ho hlokeha ke hona hore ha re bua ka ntshetsopele ya dihwai tsa batho ba
batsho e lokela ho ba ntshetsopele e kenyeleditseng le batho ba sebetsang
mapolasing, ka ha boholo ba bona e le batho ba batsho. Mme ha re sa ba
kenyeletse Lenaneong la Ntshetsopele le Kaho-Botjha (Reconstruction and
Development Programme) ya temo, mosebetsi wa ho tlisa demokerasi efeletseng, e
kenyeleditseng toka, tekatekano, kgotso le nala, o ke ke wa phethahala. Ke
kahoo Lefapha le tlang ho ntshetsa pele morero wa ho tshwara Seboka se seholo
sa Basebetsi ba Mapolasi, moo ho tlang ho tshohlwa dintlha tsohle tsa
Ntshetsopele e batsi ya basebeletsi ba mapolasing. Re se re qadile ka
ditlhophiso tsa Seboka sena mme tsebiso ya hore se tla tshwarwa neng, kae, e
tla etswa haufinyane. Re tshepa hore sena e tla ba qaleho ya katamelo e
ekeditsweng ya dipuisano pakeng tsa Lefapha le basebetsi ba mapolasing, mme
sena se tla boela se eketsa sekgahla sa moqoqo ka temo ka hara profensi. Re tla
boela re tshwara hape ka bo ngata dipitso tsa temo e le ho matlafatsa puisano
pakeng tsa lefapha le setjhaba. Re dumela ho re pitso tsena tsa temo di tla
potlakisa kutlwisiso ya batho temong, mme sena se tla etsa hore ho be bonolo ho
batho ho fihlela thuso le ho tataiswa ke lefapha. Re dumela hape re le Lefapha
hore pitso tsena tsa setjhaba monongwaha di tla bebofatsa
mosebetsi wa lefapha wa tekolo ya mosebetsi o phethilweng le ho dula ho beilwe
leihlo ho mesebetsi e tswelang pele (monitoring and evaluation).
Speaker, we believe that this increased and visible communication will not
only ignite agricultural dialogue in the province, but will encourage more and
more people to participate in agriculture, because I believe the means of
production tends to multiply if the working class is informed and enlightened.
We have mobilised women power in agriculture, through the recent launch of the
provincial body of Women in Agriculture and Rural Development, known as WARD.
This has been done in line with our policies and pronouncements on the
advancement of women. WARD has in its short existence in the province, already
created awareness and started a dialogue on women development and empowerment
that will make a significant contribution in growing the economy of the
province.
We are going to ensure that WARD remains alive and active in the province by
exposing more rural women to developmental and entrepreneurial opportunities in
the field of agriculture. A youth conference, aimed at raising awareness on
youth opportunities in agriculture and serving as a basis of empowerment and
development processes, will be held in June. We believe that the conference
will add to our continued endeavours to bring more young people in agriculture
to unleash their full potential in this sector.
In addition, a consultative conference for people with disabilities will
also be held in the last quarter of 2007, to actively engage them not only in
rudimentary farming operations and other basic agricultural activities, but to
firmly establish them in the mainstream agricultural economic activities of the
province.
Administration
Speaker, at the heart of the department lays its administration machinery
and support to the core business of the department, is Corporate and Financial
services. This Chief Directorate is made up of Financial Management and
Accounting, Human Resources, Legal Services, Legislation and Labour Relations,
Internal Audit and Management Services. Capacity interventions are underway in
areas such as project implementation and control, supply chain management,
agricultural business development, AgriBEE, human resource management and
others to support the alignment and revitalisation initiatives.
Since establishment of the Internal Audit unit, a number of audit
investigations were conducted by the unit, of which the results thereof were
used to arrive at certain positive management decisions. A number of officials
and their families have been assisted successfully from our Special Programme
and Employee Wellness unit. Information sessions on HIV and AIDS were held,
whilst Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing (VCCT) was also promoted
among the officials of the department. A Health and Safety Committee was also
established and is functioning well.
One of the main constraints that the Head Office has is the lack of
sufficient office accommodation and parking in the city centre. Due to this, an
investigation was undertaken by the Directorate for Management Services to
establish the viability of our Head Office moving back to Glen, not only to
have more accommodation, but also to avoid State assets being under-utilised
and not maintained efficiently. A heritage architect has been appointed as the
Management Consultant, as most of the buildings at Glen are over 60 years old,
and the department will need to comply with the National Heritage Resources Act
(Act 25 of 1999) when undertaking the upgrade.
Although R4,52 million was spent on the upgrade of facilities this year, we
intend to nearly triple the expenditure in the next financial year. Speaker,
the Legal services has made a significant progress in the drafting of
departmental
Service Level Agreement format and has finalised the signing of several Service
Level Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding. It has also drafted Legal
Service Circular on Confidentiality of Information. It has, in addition,
conducted workshops in all districts to provide emerging farmers with basic
understanding of bylaws that relate to agricultural activities within
municipalities, and to establish a working relationship with municipalities in
developing and implementation of bylaws. This unit has, in recognition of the
10th anniversary of the Constitution, held an event in which 300 copies of the
Constitution were handed to senior management and other officials to raise
awareness and familiarise them with the contents of the Constitution.
Sustainable Resource Management
Tlhokomelo ya mobu e bohlokwa haholo temong jwaloka ha temo e itshetlehile
ka ho phethahala mobung. Ke kahoo Lefapha le tsetetseng haholo ho LandCare
selemong sena se fetang sa ditjhelete moo re kentseng tshebetsong di-projeke
tse supa tsa boleng ba R3,909 million. Department of Agriculture Budget Vote
2007 to 2008
Speaker, we have also implemented other LandCare projects to ensure
sustainable resource management within the broader sense of caring for
agricultural natural resources. The active participation of communities and
their positive inputs helped in popularising LandCare and enhanced sustainable
resource management. In the new financial year, LandCare will implement eight
projects to the value of R3,270 million. These projects will address the urgent
need for soil conservation structures in order to counter resource degradation
and help manage resources effectively. These projects will include the
construction of waterways, contour systems and small soil conservation
structures to combat erosion.
Farmer support and development
While our primary responsibility is to support emerging farmers who have
been settled, the department has also been instrumental in advancing land
reform in the province. We have taken part in facilitating land acquisition and
redistribution of land for agricultural development. Communal and commonage
land utilisation is at this stage very important in the province as many small
scale farming enterprises depend on communal and commonage land. The department
has taken part in increasing knowledge of farmers on communal land use and
provided guidance in utilisation and management of commonage land. During the
past year we embarked on a task of developing a commonage policy, to manage,
regulate and improve farming on commonage land. It is my pleasure to inform
this honourable House that the framework for the Provincial Commonage Policy,
Strategy and Delivery Mechanism has been finalised.
These will be tools at the disposal of emerging farmers and municipal
authorities, to utilise in collaboration with the department in order to
improve the situation of commonages. Speaker, municipalities and other
government structures will find the Commonage Policy very useful in planning
and developing municipal land. In fact, the policy will hugely enrich the
Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) of municipalities. We have spent funds
allocated to the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) to respond
to the needs of emerging farmers. By today we should have spent all the R25,306
million of CASP allocation.
The funds have been used on infrastructure development, on land reform
projects across the province. One notable project that we have used these funds
on is the Oppermansgronde Irrigation System. As I speak, the first phase of
this project is complete and is ready for use. We will be implementing second
phase of this project during the 2007/08 financial year. The department is
giving agricultural support to other settled restitution cases in the province
as well. Speaker, where poverty is prevalent, hunger is real, food security is
very relevant and in great need to all those who are food unsecured. The
department has contributed significantly in alleviating conditions of food
insecurity in the province through issuing out production inputs for
agricultural production.
In a quest to ease the burden of food insecurity and encourage
resourcefulness and self reliance in schools and communities, the department
supports school gardens projects. An amount of R444 600 was expended this
ending financial year, out of which 247 beneficiaries, whom most of them were
women, benefited from the stipend. In giving significance to the World Food Day
celebration and in putting in more thrust to our Food Security programme, we
launched a fishery project at Bethulie and handed over fishing equipment to the
value of R100 000.
Veterinary Services
Speaker, we have been hard at work in making sure that our livestock is
healthy and that major animal diseases do not manifest in our province.
Therefore, we embarked on a campaign to control and combat animal diseases at
the southern western border of our province. We had a successful campaign in
fighting the spread of Classical Swine Fever into the province, following the
extension of the culling of animals by the Eastern Cape. Despite the human
capacity deficiency, accompanying financial constraints, adverse environment
conditions (e.g. flooding in the Zastron area and an extremely cold winter,
etc.), and the commitment of the department's officials remained unshaken in
attempting to maintain a safe livestock industry in the province.
The deployment of veterinary services officials to the Classical Swine Fever
campaign has understandably raised a generally handicapped service delivery at
district level as about 50% of the normal workforce that renders an equally
valuable service, concentrate on this campaign in the southern Free State. Our
commitment to serve the people of this province has been clearly demonstrated
by the acquisition of five mobile animal clinics. These clinics do not only
offer clinical services to animals, but may be used as information
dissemination centre and communication facilities for the communities, as they
have an integrated PA (Public Address) system and audio-visual facilities.
We have however delayed the full implementation of the clinical service
because of technical specification errors identified during the final
procurement of these vehicles. As soon as this is sorted out, the service will
be available for use to all; especially the rural people who are remote and do
not always have these services. Our disease surveillance campaign in the
province, particularly for Classical Swine Fever has shown overall negative
results thus far. This, for us Speaker, indicates that our campaign of fighting
Classical Swine Fever has not amounted to naught, but is commendable effort
that is a result of the tireless work of a dedicated team that is proactively
putting in place appropriate programmes to ensure that Free State is not
infected with this disease.
A total of 57 397 controlled disease cases have been attended to thus far.
Speaker, diphoofolo tse 29 022 di entetswe rabies ka hara profensi, mme boholo
ba tsona ke dintja le dikatse. Diphoofolo tse ruetsweng temo (livestock) tse 42
048 di ile tsa phekolelwa mafu a fapafapaneng diterekeng tsohle tsa profensi.
Ho latela molao beng ba diphoofolo ba 225 ba ile ba ngodiswa, mme diphoofolo
tsa bona tse 9 455 di ile tsa tshwawa. A total of 1 109 certificates were
issued in export control, with more than 3,5 million kilograms of livestock
products that were exported mainly to Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Agency countries.
Our two laboratories has thus far diagnosed a total of 225 000 animal
samples. For maximum efficiency and the absolute execution of core agricultural
functions, we intend to strengthen the service by using a portion of the R10
million allocated by Treasury to fill all critical posts within this
directorate, this will lead to the appointment of at least six state
veterinarians, at least ten animal health technicians, one control meat
inspector, four meat inspectors, two veterinary technologists and a few
administrative support staff.
Beside the implementation of the job evaluation recommendations done during
the 2004/2005 financial year, we also intend to look at implementing the scarce
skills allowance to mainly veterinarians and veterinary technologists as this
will help us to attract and maintain critical expertise in the department. We
plan to establish an epidemiology and surveillance unit that must regularly
conduct audits of what disease conditions are prevalent in the Free State and
to suggest future focus areas in disease control. This unit will also be
charged with unlocking the mystery of the latest Corridor Disease "outbreaks"
diagnosed in some buffalo projects within the province.
Boikarabelo bo boholo ba rona ke ho thusa balemi ba batho ba batsho, ke
kahoo selemong se setjha sa ditjhelete re ikemiseditseng ho tsoseletsa le ho
aha ditipi tsa diphoofolo tsa temo ka hara di-commonage. Sena re se etsa ho
thakgola letsholo la ho lwantsha lekgwekgwe la dinku (sheep scab), ka hara
profensi.
Technology, Research and Development
Speaker, the research unit is responsible for conducting research to resolve
problems that farmers face. It is also responsible for the provision of
specialised technical support to farmers and extension officers. The type of
support provided includes: grazing capacity determinations, soil surveys,
grazing systems development and recommendations, agricultural production
systems, (crops and livestock) analysis, development and recommendations.
The research unit further houses a soil and water laboratory for carrying
out analyses and making recommendations on suitability for irrigation and stock
watering. The farming information section utilises various information systems
to ensure a functional early warning system for farmers and the availability of
relevant and updated information to the farming community as well as to the
department. We hope to develop this component further so that its impact is
felt throughout the province.
Re entse diphuphutso tse latelang selemong sena se felang sa ditjhelete: ke
diphuphutso tse 3 tsa diphoofolo tsa temo, tse 6 tsa dijalo, tse 7 tsa lekgulo
le diphuphutso tse 2 tsa diteko (trials) tsa dihlahiswa tse ntjha tsa temo tse
tswelang pele ha jwale. Re se re bile re bokeleditse lesedi mabapi le diteko
tsena. The Research section supported 27 Farmers' Information days events where
35 information packages were distributed as well as 31 contact sessions in
support of the training initiatives of the department and had 93 technical
support contacts with the departmental projects. We conducted 39 resource
assessments with recommendations and have analysed 559 soil and water
samples.
We have assisted 525 clients with technical information. We also held two
successful production auctions. Beside the achievements that I have just
mentioned, may I also add that we have acquired 13 data sets, which have been
updated and developed. We have distributed 719 maps, seven atlases, as well as
47 electronic data sets. Our land reform database is up to date and is
currently available. The early warning systems committee is functional and nine
agricultural conditions reports have been compiled and have been distributed
regularly to about 270 clients.
We have also distributed climate reports in hard copy as well as the
distribution of reports electronically and through Senior Management Service
(SMS). We encourage farmers to make use of this information to be able to plan
their operations better. Some of the commitments that we have succeeded in
achieving include the following:
* We have deepened research and broadened development possibilities, by
partnering with research institutes for better research co-ordination.
* We have developed a provincial research strategy for a more systematic
approach to issues; we are in the process of completing the rudimentary phase
of the strategy.
* We have monitored progress of a database on land reform that was developed.
New projects are captured and existing ones are updated as need arises.
* We have built capacity on agricultural risk and disaster management and have
undertaken assessment and developed documentation for veld fire disaster.
Agricultural Economics
Speaker, Agricultural Economics is one of the most important sections in the
department and has over the ending financial period contributed hugely to the
success of the department. The division has been instrumental in evaluating and
compiling feasibility studies and business plans. This has been in support of
both CASP and Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) projects.
The empowerment of black farmers is a logical step towards merging the first
and second layers of economy in agriculture and AgriBEE is a consistent
approach towards achieving this goal. We have commenced in providing
beneficiaries of AgriBEE with the necessary information. We are already
involving stakeholders and engaging our strategic partners in this broad based
economic empowerment for black people in the agricultural industry.
Workshops were held in all district municipalities in the province, in order
to provide information and solicit participation to bring concrete proposals
for the implementation of AgriBEE, and how the concept could be developed and
translated into business opportunities for the people, especially on how people
can best participate in the agribusiness value chain at local municipality
level. Significantly, the development of the whole AgriBEE concept, Broad Based
Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Scorecard and Codes of Good Practice, and
AgriBEE Charter are issues that were thoroughly discussed at these
meetings.
The systematic implementation of AgriBEE in the province was also discussed.
And I am happy to announce that the national event of showcasing AgriBEE was
successfully held in our province at the beginning of this month to highlight
progress that has been made in the economic empowerment of black people in
agriculture in this country through the installation of AgriBEE mechanism. We
are the second province after Kwa-Zulu Natal to work in partnership with the
national Department of Agriculture in hosting this important event.
Speaker, our quest for building a prosperous and an inclusive sector has
been given a boost by the introduction of a mechanism that will serve as an
enabling tool for emerging farmers to extend and strengthen their enterprises.
The Micro Agricultural Finance Institutions of South Africa, popularly known as
(MAFISA), will surely build the potential of emerging farmers and accelerate
their ascendancy to commercial farming. We launched MAFISA in the province and
we have also completed training of extension officers for its implementation in
all districts.
Although we are ready to implement this facility, we are held back by
problems that exist regarding discrepancies in the interpretation of
implementing guidelines by the Free State Department of Agriculture, national
Department of Agriculture and the Landbank. We hope to see the full potential
of this service once it is fully operational. We received R16 million for
drought relief in November 2005. The funding was for fodder and its
transportation to various destinations across the province.
Approximately, 9 800 assessment forms were received from farmers in need of
drought relief. Sixty percent of this fund was used in areas hardest hit and
has benefited 1 968 farmers and 27 810 livestock units. We have used the
remaining 40% of the funding on commonage, communal, small scale and LRAD
farmers in the rest of the province. We are continually providing information
on agricultural economics and marketing to clients and strive to update the
information on various economic statistics and trends.
Speaker, we have successfully launched two layer projects into mainstream
economy by linking them with commercial businesses. These projects, one at
Brandfort and one near Virginia, now market their products through commercial
enterprises. One weaving business enterprise, located at Brandfort also signed
a marketing agreement with a commercial enterprise in Bloemfontein. They have
already successfully completed a number of contracts for government departments
and local businesses. Extension Officers have received induction on Accelerated
Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA)'s: National programme for the
creation of small enterprise and jobs in the second economy, namely jobs for
growth. We are specifically targeting rural women and youth as beneficiaries of
the programme.
Structured Agricultural Training
Speaker, we view agricultural training as very important, that is why we
have continued to pay attention to both formal and informal training for both
students and farmers respectively. We have enrolled 107 students at Glen
Agricultural Institute. In addition we have trained 102 farmers and 320 people,
representing both teachers and school children. The position of emerging
farmers will improve significantly if more training is offered. Hence we intend
to increase farmer training this year. This means that we will have a smaller
student intake to allow for the increase and for more effective training of
farmers at the college.
A suitable study environment is an ultimate premium for good results that is
why we have renovated the students facilities at Glen College and this has
already created a good ambience for students at the college. Twenty five
students have obtained high certificates in farming and 27 diplomas in farming
were issued on graduation in the past academic year. In pursuit of quality
agricultural training, the national Department of Agriculture is investigating
the status of all agricultural colleges in South Africa and we fully support
the exercise as we hope the outcome will have a permanent benefit for
agriculture.
Allocation
Speaker, it is with great excitement that I now table before this Honourable
House the Department of Agriculture's 2007/08 budget allocation per
programme:
Programme 1:Administration
This programme is made up of both the offices of Executing Authority and
Senior Management and is structured to manage and formulate policy directives
and to ensure appropriate support to all other programmes with regard to
finance, personnel, information, communication, logistics and procurement. This
programme comprises inter alia, the following sub-programmes:
* Corporate Services and Financial Services, Internal Audit and Special
Programmes. Added to these is Communication Services that is now recognised as
a sub programme on its own. It is important to mention, Speaker, that we have
done this because communication is a cross-cutting function that is pivotal in
any organisation. An inclusive amount of R4, 732 million has been budgeted for
the communication sub-programme. The Community Projects Fund Support Programme
was wound up during the 2006/07 financial year and will in future cease to be
recorded as a sub-programme of budget.
The budget allocated to administration is disproportionate to its direct
contribution to the core services of the department. This is brought about by
the responsibility of hosting a number of centralised administrative and
financial functions. A feature of this budget is the establishment of a
Discretionary Fund for my office which has been allocated R1 million. The
relative share of Administration budget programme increases from 31% to 33,4%
as a result of the centralised budgets for a number of operational and human
resource related matters. The total allocation for this programme is R91,390
million.
Programme 2: Sustainable Resource Management
Speaker, this is one of the most important programmes because it assists in
the establishment of binary relationship between agricultural resource and the
farmers. This relationship is provided through support services that ensures
sustainability of the resources. The programme is also divided into sub
programmes that provide for a wide range of effective services. We have in this
programme: Soil Engineering services, with an allocation of R4,249 million,
LandCare, with a budget of R13,065 million and Resource Planning and Management
of Communal Land with a budget of R10 million.
The department will benefit from Own Infrastructure Grant (OIG) in the new
financial year and as part of allocation, an amount of R10 million from this
grant will mostly be directed towards the upgrading of the Glen Agricultural
Institute, with a special attention to office accommodation, College and farm
infrastructure. This programme will also benefit from the revised baseline in
terms of which additional technical staff will be recruited. The total budget
for this programme stands at R27,314 million.
Programme 3: Farmer Support and Development
Our strategic and tactical approach to agriculture in the province remains
chiefly to cultivate a crop of black farmers who are able to engage in all
levels of farming operations, at all production levels from primary resources
up to the consumer level of the value chain. We believe bringing emerging
farmers to commercial level will strengthen the economic hold and establish
more enabling conditions in the province. This programme serves as a means to
provide extension work and training with special emphasis on emerging
farmers.
The beneficiaries of land reform programmes and agricultural development,
who are in the main rural communities, are targeted by this programme. The
programme also supports food security and actively assists with the
implementation of community projects funded from the CASP. Funds allocation for
Post Farmer Settlement is R38,084 million and Farmer Support Services
sub-programme receives R45, 297 million while Food Security has been
apportioned R4,876 million. This programme receives the second largest portion
of the total budget because it houses both main activities of the department,
namely support and development. An amount of R 88, 257 million has been set
aside for this programme.
Programme 4: Veterinary Services
I earlier alluded to the importance of the veterinary services and
identified some of the priorities within this section for the 2007/08 financial
year. Speaker, this is an area whose delivery may be affected by natural
phenomena like hail, snow, drought or animal disease outbreak which may
adversely affect animals in general, forcing us to provide extra amount of
medication or provide more care to stricken animals. How remotely these may
seem to be, they have a measure of bearing on our budget plan and ultimate
delivery. With these and other priorities that were considered within the
section, a modest amount of
R28,963 million has been allocated, with animal health receiving R19,339
million the biggest chunk of the budget. The other three sub-programmes of the
veterinary division, i.e. Export and Control, Veterinary Public Health and
Veterinary Laboratory Services, will each receive the following amounts
respectively: R533 000, R3, 661 million and R5,430 million.
Programme 5: Technology, Research and Development
The primary objective of this programme is to provide research services and
develop information systems with regard to crop technology, animal production
technology and resource utilisation technology. The programme consists of the
following sub-programmes: research which has received R10,692 million;
Information Services which is mainly responsible for the acquisition,
co-ordination and distribution of information receives an amount of R1,760
million.
The third sub-programme; Infrastructure Support Services has been allocated
R8,831 million adding up to the total amount of R21,283 million.
Programme 6: Agricultural Economics
The programme responds to our quest to attain a single representative
economy movement in the province, a direct resultant thought from the
predictive Freedom Charter, the practical Reconstruction and Development
Programme and further refined strategic approaches to build a common economy in
the country. The programme serves as an empowerment tool for those entrant
farmers who need information and skills to survive in the intricate cutthroat
industry of agriculture. The long standing shortage of staff in this division
of the department will be addressed by additional appropriation to try and deal
with the increasing demand of professional agricultural economic and disaster
management services.
The budget for Agricultural Economics is R4,023 million a sum total of the
following sub-programmes: Marketing Services with a budget of R3,773 million
and Macro Economics and Statistics with an allocation of R250 000.
Programme 7: Structured Agricultural Training
The purpose of this programme is to facilitate and provide education to
participants in the agricultural sector to establish a knowledgeable and
competitive sector. Tertiary agricultural and non-formal training is provided
by the Glen College of Agriculture, now a fully accredited institution with the
Higher Education Qualification Committee. The total budget of the Structured
Agricultural Training Programme amounts to R12,214 million, and is apportioned
as follows; Tertiary Education gets R8,594 million and Further Education and
Training R3,620 million.
Speaker, the total budget estimate for the Department of Agriculture for
2007/2008 stands at R273,444 million, a difference of 17,8 % on the 2006/07
adjusted allocation of R232 143 000.
Conclusion
Speaker, the fruits of our toil will not necessarily be enjoyed by us, as
the Basothos observed a long time ago when they said: "Moaha moriti ha a o
dule." We are however gladdened and encouraged that the rewards of our hard
work will be a good harvest for our posterity. We therefore commit to expend
the funds allocated to us effectively and within the financial cycle so that
our spending patterns allow and give justification to an increased allocation
in future.
Speaker, re tshepa hore ditekanyetso tsena di tla hle di re behe maemong a
loketseng mosebetsi o moholo wa thuso le tlhabollo ya boramapolasi ba batsho le
basebeletsi ba mapolasing, mme e tla thusa le ba nang le thahasello ya ho kena
temong, etswe tebello ya rona ke hore ntle le batho ba tlwahelehileng, ho
kgothalletswe batjha, basadi le batho ba sa itekanelang ho itahlela ka
setotswana mererong ya temo. Re etsa boipiletso ho setjhaba ka kakaretso ho
sebedisa diofisi tsa lefapha la rona diterekeng tsohle tsa Profensi ho
iphumanela tlhahisoleseding e tlang ho ba thusa ka ditaba tse amang temo
le ntshetsopele ya kgwebo temong.
Qetellong, ha ke ise ditebo ho bohle ba ileng ba ema le lefapha, ho le
tshehetsa le ho sebedisana mmoho le lona ho phetha thomo ya lona. Ke
rata ho leboha ka ho otloloha mahatammoho ditabeng tsa temo, borapolasi,
basebetsi ba dipolasing le mekgatlo ka ho fapana e amanang le temo le mobu,
ka
matsapa ao ba dulang ba a etsa ho aha kgotso, tshebedisanommoho le ntshetsopele
ka hara temo profensing. Ha holoholo NAFU le AgriFree State - re ya leboha. Mme
le hle le tiise meqheleba hoba mosebetsi o sa le moholo o re tobileng.
Ho lona bo petswa-majweng ba Lefapha la rona, re le kgothaletsa ho tiya, mme
le hahamalle pele hobane tema re ya e bona kajeno. Le ha mosebetsi o le boima
re lokela ho sebetsa ka boitelo jwaloka bashwela-tumelo le bahlabani, hobane re
Ntweng ya ho tlisa Diphetoho tsa Demokerasi ka ho lwantsha bofuma, tlhokeho ya
mesebetsi le ho fihlela katleho ya moruo bakeng sa bohle.
Ha re ikgothatseng ka thothokiso ya Wilfred Owen moo a sebedisang polelo ya
se-Latini e reng:
'Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori' e bolelang ho re: 'Ke ntho e ntle, le e
tshwanelang ha motho a shwela naha ya habo. Kgotso, Pula, Nala!
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Free State Provincial Government
14 March 2007
