Programme director
Members of the legislature
The HOD, Professor Nesamvuni
Management and staff from the department
Representatives of the two universities in Limpopo
Extension advisors
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
This is our second Annual Provincial Extension and Advisory conference in this province. Our main aim is to recognise excellence and praise were praise is due. This is where we are able to pat ourselves and say well done, and also encourage each other to do more. We are not holding this conference for compliance purposes, but on the fact that there are men and women here who deserve nothing else but the best.
Programme director, our President Jacob Zuma, and our Premier Cassel Mathale made it clear during the State of the Nation and the State of the Province address respectively that Agriculture, mining and tourism are the key economic drivers of this province. Historically and now, agriculture has remained the main contributor to employment, rural development and food security.
It is a fact that agriculture contributed not less than 7646 jobs in this province by the end of November 2010, which would mean, we can make a significant difference in closing the unemployment gap in the country in the next financial year and by 2014.
Programme director, the key function of the Limpopo Department of Agriculture is rendering Extension and advisory Services, to enhance sustainable agricultural development that can contribute to the key priorities of government. In a developmental state like ours, the role of government in the provision of extension services will remain a key success factor for the subsistence and the small holder farming practice. All matters considered, we still believe, the role of government in providing extension and advisory services will continue to remain very relevant.
It is a known fact that in some developed countries, the extension services have been privatised and that means that farmers have to buy this service from the private service providers. The situation in South Africa is different, public funded extension services remain the backbone of extension and advisory services. Yes, there are some forms of private extension services, but they are not going to have an impact on the public service for some time.
Programme director, this conference, seeks to create a platform where extension workers who are the main providers of public funded extension and advisory services can share new ideas on how to improve service delivery. The Limpopo province has adopted the broader definition of the extension worker (mulimisi, murimisi, molimisi), and it embraces all technical disciplines that directly inter phase with farmers in providing extension and advisory services. This approach is aimed at uniting all field staff that provide agriculture farmer support services.
This conference forms part and parcel of the national initiatives to improve the working conditions of the agricultural extension workers throughout the country. These initiatives are coordinated and implemented through the Extension Recovery Plan that was started in 2008/09 financial year.
The plan is divided into five key pillars; recruitment of extension workers, human resource development, provision of information and communication technology and other required working tools, promotion of professionalism and image, visibility and accountability.
Programme director, truth be told here today, the working conditions of the extension workers have terribly deteriorated over time, and this has significantly contributed to low morale and low motivation. The quality and accessibility of the extension services has also diminished, and this has had a negative impact on agricultural development. This situation cannot be left unchallenged and this conference is aimed at ensuring that the image of the extension workers is restored and enhanced.
You are the extension of the department. Whatever you do, wherever you are and in whatever way, the eyes of the community are watching you. I just hope and pray that the smses, emails and twitter messages that I receive in the office about the ill treatment of farmers by extension officers are not true, because if they are, HOD, then God help us. These are some of the reasons why we are here today, so that we can correct these things and put our house in order.
Programme director, I think it’s only fair that before I sit down, I report on some of the good things that we have managed to do to enhance and improve extension advisory services in the province;
1. The recruitment of 158 technical officers on various agricultural disciplines that include horticulture, science, plant and animal production. These also include the recent appointment of 39 deputy managers responsible for service centre management. Despite some few complains, our main clients who are farmers, are already applauding the department on this move and we hope together with them we can further improve the service centre delivery approach. The remaining service managers will be employed in the next financial year.
2. A total of 217 officials have been awarded bursaries for re-skilling and upgrading of education from diploma to a four year degree qualification. The first group has just completed their studies by the end of 2010.
3. A total of 953 laptop computers have been handed over to all technical officers and the last batch of about 100 have been ordered for the few remaining officials, and we believe we shall have achieved our target of having all technical officers to have computers by the end of 2010/11 financial year. We have also amended the cellphone policy that will enable extension officers to have cellphones just like their managers. This also enables them to access internet and emails through their data bundles. We have also procured an Extension Suite Online service that enables extension officers to access all up to date agricultural information to enhance quality service to farmers. This system is a decision support tool that empowers extension workers to make informed decisions when rendering extension advisory services.
Our department is also introducing the Smart Pen System. This is a system that uses cellphone technology to transmit information from a remote site to a central location by using digitalised format to convert hand written information into digital information. It captures the GPS information, pictures and data that can be transmitted instantly like an sms.
4. The department has also designed a client contact form that extension officer’s carry when visiting farmers and this would act as a proof that indeed the farmers have been visited and a particular service or advice was given. The green book pilot report have been finalised and that as from April this year, we will rollout implantation beyond the pilot site, we will print 5 000 copies, and it would mean 5 000 farmers hold our extension official to account through this initiative. This will further improve our relationship with our stakeholders.
5. To enhance the image and professionalism of extension workers, the department has hosted 5 mini conferences in all districts. The mini conferences, which were a rehearsal for this one, took a workshop format, where technical officers shared their own experiences in their endeavour to improve the quality of extension and advisory services.
Programme director, last year, we witnessed the inaugural Limpopo MEC Extension Awards. Tonight we will again honour officials who continue to go out of their line of duty to render exceptional service to farmers. This year we will have about five categories. We hope this will motivate all to be committed to their work and to enhance service delivery. I therefore invite all of you to come and witness the awarding ceremony which will be held during a glittering gala dinner in honour of the excellent services rendered by some committed officials of this department.
In conclusion, we hope extension officers will cease the moment and the opportunity, and advantage of the government support and turn it into efficient service delivery to our people. We will soon begin with the campaign of “know your farmer”. This campaign is aimed at ensuring that we have accurate database of our farmers in terms of where they are, what they do and what their successes and challenges are. We have recently added another great challenge of accountability to you and the entire department. We have become the first department in the province to launch a social page. As we speak farmers and other clients can now interact with the department through Facebook and Twitter. I am also connected and that means our budget speech this year will be top class in terms of inputs from our most precious clients and stakeholders. We owe it to them and the country to deliver quality service.
Together, we can do more, I thank you.
Source: Limpopo Agriculture
