Budget Vote speech for the Department of Agriculture NCOP, 2026/27 financial year, Parliament
Honourable Chairperson, Honourable Deputy Chairperson, Honourable Members of the National Council of Provinces, Honourable MECs, Chairpersons of Select Committees, Leaders of organised agriculture, Distinguished guests, Fellow South Africans,
The NCOP occupies a unique place within our democratic system because it sits at the intersection between national policy and provincial reality. It is where implementation matters. It is where communities expect delivery, not theory. It is where the impact of government decisions is ultimately felt in farming towns, rural districts and local economies across South Africa.
And that is precisely why agriculture matters so profoundly in this House.
Agriculture is not an abstract sector measured only in export figures or commodity prices. It is the economic heartbeat of many of our provinces. It sustains rural towns, anchors local employment, drives logistics and agro-processing, supports municipal economies and underpins food security across the country.
When agriculture grows, provincial economies grow, and when agriculture struggles, our rural towns feel it first and hardest.
That is why this Budget is ultimately about building a more resilient, more competitive and more inclusive agricultural economy that works not only for one part of the country, but for all provinces and all producers across the value chain.
Honourable Members,
The Department of Agriculture has been allocated R7.84 billion for the 2026/27 financial year. Of this amount, the largest allocation, R3.28 billion, goes towards food security and farmer support programmes, reflecting our continued focus on supporting production, extension services and provincial implementation. Programme Two, which includes agricultural production, biosecurity and natural resource management, receives R2.59 billion, while Programme Four, focused on economic development, trade and marketing, receives R924 million.
Importantly, more than 30% of the Department’s overall budget flows directly to provincial and local government through conditional grants and implementation support mechanisms. This reflects the reality that agriculture is fundamentally delivered on the ground through cooperative governance between national government, provinces, municipalities, commodity organisations and the private sector.
And nowhere is this more important than in our war against Foot and mouth disease (FMD).
Honourable Members,
South Africa’s battle against FMD is not simply a veterinary issue. It is an economic issue. It is a provincial issue. It is a food security issue.
The impact of outbreaks is felt directly in provincial economies through movement restrictions, export disruptions, production losses and pressure on farming communities. Provinces remain on the frontline of this response through veterinary services, animal movement control, vaccination campaigns and surveillance systems.
That is why we have moved aggressively to strengthen South Africa’s vaccine pipeline and expand our vaccination programme at unprecedented scale.
Since February this year, South Africa has procured 13.5 million doses of FMD vaccine internationally and as of the 28th May, we have vaccinated just under 4.4 million animals across the country.
Last week, 3.5 million FMD vaccine doses of Biogenesis Bago vaccine from Argentina arrived in the country. I’m happy to announce that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has approved the Section 21 application for Dunevax to import 14 million doses of Dollvet vaccine from Turkey. We have confirmation from Dunevax that 4 million doses will arrive this month, with the rest of the consignments to follow. This will ensure that second-round vaccinations can be administered within the required timelines to establish durable immunity across the national cattle population.
This forms part of the Department’s wider strategy to achieve and maintain “FMD free with vaccination” status, while safeguarding rural livelihoods, food security and agricultural exports. Let us look at how vaccination is being rolled out in the provinces. KwaZulu-Natal remains at the centre of the vaccination effort with more than 1,1 million animals vaccinated. The Free State has vaccinated more than 600 000 animals, the Eastern Cape more than 720 000, Mpumalanga more than 430 000; Limpopo more than 350 000; Gauteng more than 270 000; North West more than 430 00; Western Cape more than 260 000 and the Northern Cape more than 87 000. Last week I wrote to all MEC’s to continue accelerating the deployment of vaccines.
To support our accelerated vaccination campaign, more than 150 Animal Health Technicians have been deployed across affected provinces to strengthen frontline operations and expand vaccination capacity.
What has become increasingly clear during this vaccination drive is that defeating FMD cannot be achieved by national government alone. It requires a truly coordinated national effort between government, organised agriculture, veterinary services, industry bodies and farming communities. I want to acknowledge the outstanding leadership shown by provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, North West and Mpumalanga, where provincial governments and veterinary teams have worked tirelessly alongside national government to roll out vaccination campaigns, strengthen disease control measures and support farmers on the ground. The level of cooperation, professionalism and stakeholder mobilisation we have seen across these provinces demonstrates what is possible when all spheres of government and industry pull together with a common purpose. I urge all provincial departments to move with speed and urgency to scale up their frontline vaccination efforts and protect our national herd of approximately 14 million cattle as we work toward restoring South Africa’s animal health status and protecting the long-term sustainability of the red meat sector.
Honourable Members,
The work of rebuilding South Africa’s biosecurity systems extends beyond vaccination alone.
We are expanding diagnostic capacity through the accreditation of private laboratories in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape to reduce pressure on the state system and improve turnaround times.
At the same time, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) remains central to rebuilding domestic capability. The ARC now receives the largest allocation within Programme Two, with more than R1.24 billion allocated towards research, diagnostics and biosecurity capacity.
The recently installed mid-scale vaccine production system is already producing vaccines locally, while a new 1 000-litre fermenter expected to become operational later this year will dramatically expand domestic production capacity.
Honourable Members,
Agriculture in South Africa is deeply provincial in character.
The realities facing producers in the Western Cape differ substantially from those facing producers in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape or the Free State.
In the Western Cape, the focus is heavily export-oriented, linked to ports, packhouses and international markets.
In the Free State, grain production remains central to both provincial and national food security.
In Limpopo, citrus, horticulture and cross-border trade continue to drive growth and employment.
In KwaZulu-Natal, livestock production and biosecurity challenges dominate current concerns.
In the Eastern Cape, the challenge remains unlocking the enormous potential of smallholder agriculture and livestock production while strengthening infrastructure and market access.
And in provinces like the Northern Cape, irrigation infrastructure and value chain development remain critical to future growth.
Our policies must therefore recognise these different provincial realities while maintaining a coherent national strategy.
That is why the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) remains one of the most important implementation tools available to provinces.
The merger of CASP and Ilima/Letsema into a single grant framework is designed to reduce administrative duplication, improve coordination and accelerate delivery. Through CASP infrastructure funding alone, more than R1.14 billion has been allocated across provinces for infrastructure, irrigation rehabilitation, production support and mechanisation.
The Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga all receive substantial allocations aligned to provincial production needs and implementation priorities.
At the same time, extension support remains central to our approach.
Agriculture cannot modernise if information remains inaccessible to farmers on the ground.
That is why we continue to strengthen extension systems through the recruitment of Assistant Agricultural Practitioners and through the development of a hybrid digital extension support platform that will connect farmers, extension officers, researchers and industry through mobile and web-based technologies.
Already, 370 Assistant Agricultural Practitioners have been employed through provincial collaboration, while over 7 000 farmers have benefited from the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion approach developed with JICA.
This work matters because agriculture today is no longer simply about production. It is about information, markets, compliance, climate resilience and value chain integration.
Honourable Members,
If we are serious about inclusive growth, then we must move beyond slogans and focus on practical pathways into the agricultural economy.
This is why blended finance remains such an important intervention.
Since inception, the Blended Finance Scheme has approved approximately R9.8 billion in support for 627 black commercial producers through partnerships with the IDC, Land Bank and ABSA. These investments are linked to thousands of jobs across the agricultural value chain.
The Agro-Industrial Fund alone has approved support for 42 black producers and processors, while the Land Bank component has supported over 600 transactions nationally.
These are not symbolic interventions. They are practical investments in productive farming enterprises across provinces.
At the same time, we continue to support emerging industries such as hemp and cannabis. Additional hemp seed multiplication sites have now been established in Limpopo and North West, bringing the total number of sites nationally to five.
Demonstration sites are now operational across all provinces to support farmer training and technical development in this emerging industry.
Honourable Members,
Market access remains one of the strongest drivers of provincial agricultural growth.
Over the past year, South Africa secured expanded access into China, the Philippines and Vietnam, among others. But these are not simply diplomatic achievements. They translate into jobs in packhouses, work on farms, activity in ports, opportunities for exporters and economic growth in provincial economies.
Our citrus exports continue to expand. Our table grapes are entering new Asian markets. Our stone fruit industry has secured access into China under a multi-variety protocol.
These gains matter because they deepen value chains and expand economic opportunity beyond primary production alone.
But we must also be honest about the constraints facing the sector.
Agriculture continues to be undermined by failing rural roads, port inefficiencies, rail collapse, water infrastructure challenges, electricity instability and weak municipal capacity in many farming regions.
Government cannot ignore these realities.
At the same time, agriculture itself stands ready to partner in solving many of these challenges. Across South Africa we increasingly see farmers, commodity groups and agribusinesses working alongside municipalities and provincial governments to keep local economies functioning.
That spirit of cooperation must continue to deepen.
Honourable Members,
Climate risk also remains one of the defining challenges facing the sector.
The likelihood of an El Niño event developing later this year presents a serious threat to our crops and rural livelihoods. This requires a science-based response grounded in climate-smart agriculture, water efficiency, early warning systems and resilient farming systems.
But resilience is no longer an abstract concept for agriculture. It has become an operational necessity. We saw that very clearly in the recent storms that struck the Western Cape and caused widespread damage to infrastructure, orchards and local communities, particularly in the Witzenberg and Breede River Valleys. During my visit to the region, I was struck not only by the scale of the damage, but also by the grit and determination shown by farmers, workers, municipalities and local communities who rallied together under pressure to protect crops, maintain cold chains and save export windows.
Honourable Members,
The underlying message of this Budget is ultimately a simple one.
Agriculture is not a peripheral sector in the South African economy. It is central to economic growth, food security, rural stability and employment across our provinces.
Our responsibility as government is not to replace farmers, agribusinesses or commodity organisations. It is to create the enabling conditions for them to succeed and building capable institutions that can respond with urgency and professionalism.
Despite the challenges we face, there are reasons for confidence.
South African agriculture continues to demonstrate extraordinary resilience under difficult conditions. Our farmers continue to produce, innovate and compete globally despite disease outbreaks, infrastructure failures, rising costs and increasing climate pressure.
This sector continues to move forward because the people within it continue to move forward.
And if we continue strengthening partnerships between national government, provinces, municipalities, industry and farming communities, then agriculture will remain one of the strongest drivers of inclusive growth and economic renewal across South Africa.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Director: Media Liaison, Ministry of Agriculture
Ms Joylene van Wyk
Cell: 083 292 7399 or 063 298 5661
E-mail: joylenev@nda.gov.za
Toll-Free FMD Support Line: 0860 246 640
E-mail: FMDcommandcent@nda.gov.za
FMD WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vags5R83gvWWZOhk9946
FMD Reporting System: fmd.nda.gov.za
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