MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe unpacks Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform’s food security plans

MEC Kontsiwe unpacks DRDAR’s food security plans

Our Department is part of the coordinated effort by the provincial government to contribute in eradicating poverty and malnutrition in the province. We recognize that DRDAR alone cannot solve food security issues. Despite having various programs and initiatives, the lack of a unified strategy has led to a fragmented and less effective approach.

Therefore, the Office of the Premier has coordinated government departments and agencies to develop a Provincial Food and Nutrition Security Plan. Our primary goal is to guarantee food security in the province.

We are committed to support our people in cultivating the land, regardless of its size, to produce their own food. In this term, we aim to establish rural food hubs in our rural areas. These hubs will enable subsistence and home-based vegetable producers to collect, store, and process their produce for the local market.

The department will support communities in growing their own food through home-based gardens, improving food access and income. This initiative will focus on sustainable agriculture, water conservation, and youth entrepreneurship in rural areas. Investing in our people will reduce living costs and promote self-sufficiency thus community resilience.

We are planning to expand household food production in rural and peri-urban areas on a large scale. This initiative will include establishing small-scale vegetable nurseries to provide high-quality seedlings and this will reduce production costs. DRDAR and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) are collaborating to support 42,000 households (30,000 from the Siyazondla Program and 12,000 from PES3) in growing their own food in the 2024/25 financial year. We invite all sectors of society to join us in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in districts, metros, local municipalities, and wards.

We are fast-tracking the spring water protection program to ensure villages have access to water for food production. During the 2024/25 financial year, we aim to implement 10 spring water projects in five districts: Alfred Nzo (2), Amathole (2), Chris Hani (2), Joe Gqabi (2), and OR Tambo (2). In the previous 2023/24 financial year, the department successfully completed 10 projects, installing 290 taps in 12 villages, benefiting 2,263 households, and creating 729 jobs. The Department will also provide support to households with active gardens by supplying production inputs.

Embracing innovation and technology is crucial for reducing production costs and mitigating impact of climate change. In the 2024/25 fiscal year, our department will launch a pilot program installing 14 tunnels with 3,720 climate-smart boxes in all districts and colleges. This initiative will allow vegetable producers to cultivate crops throughout the year in controlled environment. We anticipate that this project will encourage more young people and women to engage in agriculture in our province.

We invite people of all ages, including elders, churches, schools, health facilities, and traditional leaders, to support and promote community food production. We will collaborate with the private sector to assist households in growing their own food. These initiatives will be carefully planned, organized into projects, and implemented gradually with available resources. 

NB: This statement must be attributed to MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe.
For more information, please contact:
MEC’s Spokesperson: Atule Joka: 071 608 9041/071688 4231
DRDAR Communications: Thozi Manyisana: 082 494 3600