Opening address Minister Willie Aucamp at the Phahama Grain Phakama (PGP) grain and livestock conference, Bothaville
Programme Director
Chairperson of Phahama Grain Phakama, Mr Jeremiah Mathebula,
Grain and Livestock producers
Industry Partners Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning
It is an honour for me to stand before you today as we jointly acknowledge and celebrate to honour emerging and new-era grain farmers for excellence and growth in production, as I also celebrate 100 days in office as Minister of Agriculture. What a privilege! Today, however, is not about me. Today is the day that our grain industry illustrates both the strength of South African agriculture, the huge growth prospects on the tips of our nation’s fingertips, and the importance of accelerating inclusivity.
This is a strategically important sector that supports household food security, animal feed, agro-processing, employment, rural economies and regional trade. As you know, South African farmers produce between 10 and 16 million tonnes of maize annually, depending on climatic conditions, supplying domestic consumption as well as regional export markets. We recognise and acknowledge the substantial contribution of commercial grain farmers.
Commercial producers provide the bulk of marketed grain and make significant investments in land, machinery, technology, production inputs, storage, risk management and compliance with market requirements. Their continued productivity and investment are essential to maintaining a reliable production base and ensuring that South Africa remains capable of supplying affordable food while participating competitively in regional and global markets. At the same time, the transformation of the grain industry requires the meaningful participation of smallholders, emerging, subsistence and black commercial farmers.
These farmers contribute to household food security, local markets, rural livelihoods and the diversification of agricultural ownership and production. Their contribution is not measured only by their current share of marketed output; it must also be assessed in terms of their potential to expand production, create employment and build sustainable rural enterprises.
Government’s approach is therefore to support farmers across the full development pathway - from subsistence and smallholder production to emerging commercial and established commercial farming. This approach is consistent with the department’s responsibility to improve smallholder production systems and provide support that enables farmers to achieve food security and sustainable livelihoods. As outlined in the Agricultural and Agro-processing Master Plan, transformation in the grain industry is not simply about transferring land or increasing the number of participants of a particular demographic. It requires the creation of viable and productive farming businesses.
This includes securing sustainable access to land, water, affordable finance, quality inputs, mechanisation, extension services, research and development, insurance, storage, transport infrastructure, market information and reliable routes into formal value chains. To achieve this, government cannot act alone. We therefore acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of industry-led farmer-development initiatives such as Grain SA’s Phahama Grain Phakama programme. The programme, which supports developing grain producers through mentorship, training, capacity building, technical guidance and market-oriented production, is crucial in this space.
These initiatives are important because they provide practical support to farmers who often face constraints that differ from those of established commercial producers. Smallholder farmers may have limited access to production finance, mechanisation, infrastructure, storage, market information and bargaining power. Smallholders may also face challenges associated with land tenure, small production volumes and the costs of meeting formal market requirements.
The participation of commercial farmers and agribusinesses is critical to addressing these constraints. Through mentorship, contract production, joint ventures, equipment-sharing arrangements, access to storage and markets, technology transfer and participation in structured farmer-development programmes, commercial producers can contribute to the advancement of emerging farmers.
These partnerships must be transparent, commercially sound and designed to build the productive capacity and independence of developing farmers. The grain transformation agenda must extend beyond primary production. It must also create opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses in input supply, mechanisation, grain handling, storage, transport, milling, animal feed, agro-processing and commodity trading.
In this way, transformation will broaden participation throughout the value chain and ensure that the benefits of grain-sector growth reach rural communities and previously excluded participants. The Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) provides an appropriate framework for this work through its focus on farmer development, infrastructure, research and technology, market access, trade, agroprocessing and public-private partnerships. Production Schemes can be used to develop practical partnerships that combine land, finance, technical expertise, infrastructure, markets and management capacity.
Meanwhile, Value Chain Round Tables can help identify and resolve constraints affecting both commercial and developing grain farmers. Our objective is to build a grain sector that is productive, competitive and inclusive. We must protect and strengthen the productive capacity of commercial farmers while creating credible pathways for smallholder and emerging farmers to enter and succeed in commercial agriculture. The success of transformation will depend on our ability to support both existing production and new participation. Transformation must therefore be measured against clear economic and developmental outcomes.
These include increased production and productivity, improved farmer profitability, expanded market participation, growth in the number of sustainable black commercial farmers, increased participation in agroprocessing, job creation, rural enterprise development and improved food security. On agro-processing, we recognise that there is still significant work to be done.
A key challenge remains institutional fragmentation due to the absence of a dedicated agro-processing platform. Initial engagements have been held with the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa to explore opportunities for strengthening coordination in this area. For now, agro-processing responsibilities remain distributed across the existing Value Chain Round Tables.
However, our objective must be to ensure that grainsector transformation extends into milling, animal feed, baking, food manufacturing and other value-adding activities.
Greater participation in these segments can improve rural incomes, expand opportunities for small and mediumsized enterprises, reduce logistics costs and strengthen the contribution of the grain industry to inclusive economic growth. The transformation of the grain industry will ultimately be successful when commercial producers remain productive and competitive, when more smallholder and black farmers progress into sustainable commercial production, when rural enterprises expand, when agroprocessing opportunities increase and when South Africa can maintain reliable supplies of affordable food. This is the practical meaning of an inclusive, competitive and sustainable agricultural sector.
I thank you.
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