Director of Proceedings
BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development
Honourable Mr Antonio Andrade, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of the Federative Republic of Brazil
Honourable Mr Sharadchandra Pawar, Minister of Agriculture and Minister for Food Processing Industries of the Republic of India
Honourable Mr Han Changfu, Minister of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China
Honourable Shestakov Ilya Vasilyevich, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, of Russian Federation
Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Invited guests
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good Morning!
Welcome.
On behalf of the Government and the people of the Republic of South Africa, I wish to extend a warm African welcome to my colleagues, the Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Agrarian Development and their delegations, Ambassadors, other guests and friends from Brazil, Russia, India and China.
As the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, we are delighted to be hosting this important Third Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development in our beautiful capital city of Pretoria with its colourful jacaranda trees lining the streets.
We, as South Africans, are a people renowned for our hospitality, and I hope that apart from our formal deliberations today, you will find time to explore and appreciate the warmth and rich diversity of our country.
A few minutes from where we are on Salvokop, we have Freedom Park our monument to democracy which was founded on the values of human dignity, human rights and freedom. It serves as a symbol of the tortuous journey to and the sacrifices made for freedom in South Africa. It weaves the story of where we come from and the historical and cultural events that shaped what South Africa is today. In the mind’s eye, the structure brings back to life ancient warriors that roamed the planes of Southern Africa and it recalls to memory the thousands of men and women bearing the yoke of slavery and of a people and a culture so nearly destroyed by genocide. Thus it is also home to the Wall of Names of those who died during eight conflicts within South Africa’s history
Above all, it showcases a nation that does not shrink from even the greatest sacrifice to achieve the extraordinary. It is the heartbeat of all that is South African; our history, culture, spirituality and heritage – the hub through which to know this land of promise. The Park is indeed a beacon of homage and tranquillity amidst the hustle of South Africa’s capital that literally grips at the heartstrings.
Freedom Park has become the place where South African citizens and international tourists alike have found a haven to reflect on the past, but more importantly, also found a beacon for the future.
About one hour away in Johannesburg is the Apartheid Museum which serves as a powerful and poignant reminder of where we come from as a nation and a point to which South Africa, nor any other nation for that matter, should be allowed to return. Many films have been made, books written and stories told about South Africa’s oppressive past, but nothing captures those dark years better than the Apartheid Museum. The film footage, photographs, text panels and artefacts in 22 individual exhibition areas of the Apartheid Museum takes visitors on an emotional journey through those dark years.
A tour of the Museum is sure to leave visitors wondering how South Africa has managed to put behind it the injustices of the past and build a society based on dignity and equality.
I also recommend a visit to the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site first named by UNESCO in 1999. It is situated about 50 kilometres, a 45-minute drive northwest of Johannesburg. The Cradle of Humankind is one of eight South African World Heritage Sites and hosts the world's richest hominin site and is home to around 40% of the world's human ancestor fossils. It includes the Sterkfontein Caves where some of the most significant palaeoanthropological finds of all time have been made and the award-winning Maropeng Visitor Centre brings the story of humankind’s evolution to life.
While I know that our time is usually limited when we travel to each other’s countries to execute our duties, I encourage you to visit some of these places because it helps us to appreciate our shared humanity and the uniqueness of the respective BRICS nation states.
Why are we here
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen
We will recall that at the fifth BRICS Heads of States and Government Summit, which was held during March 2013 in Durban, our leaders encouraged the holding of the BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development and other technical meetings. Therefore, we are meeting today as the BRICS Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Agrarian Development to consider and provide leadership to our teams of Senior Officials who are working tirelessly to implement the 2012/16 Action Plan which we as the BRICS Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Agrarian Development endorsed during the second BRICS Ministerial meeting in Chengdu, China in 2011.
I am pleased with the outcomes of the third BRICS Agriculture Cooperation Working Group (ACWG) meeting held in August 2013 here in South Africa. I have noted that it is fully aligned to what we endorsed in Chengdu, China. Going forward it is upon us as Ministers to continue to encourage our officials to be creative and to excel in demonstrating the capacity of our sector visibly shift the frontiers of poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity and unemployment.
Setting the Agenda
We are gathered to consider and provide leadership on the important matter of the “Negative Effect of Climate Change on World Food Security.”
I am energised by this theme because Food Security is a huge challenge and thus a key priority for the African Continent. It requires us to urgently and significantly accelerate agricultural and food production such that the people of our Continent can enjoy sustainable access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. Our priority on the Continent and in South Africa is to promote sustainable agricultural and food production which will enable Africa to feed itself and the world.
In lieu of the realties and impact of climate change we have to promote smart, responsible and sustainable Agriculture. We are required to ensure that the decisions we make today impacts positively on the Continent and the quality of the land we leave for the next generation and their children.
As we consider “Negative Effect of Climate Change on World Food Security,“ we must remain mindful that, with few exceptions rural women fare worse than rural men and urban men and women against all the Millennium Development Goals indicators. This includes areas such as diverse as agriculture, health, education, paid and unpaid work and social protection. Research has shown that closing the gap in terms of access to resources and support for women in the agricultural sector makes good economic sense. It has been estimated that if women had the same access to productive resources (such as land ownership, technical inputs, water and energy) as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 per cent and that this would raise the agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 per cent and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by between 12 to 17 per cent
Later I will say more about the policies and initiatives which the South African Government and my Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries put in place to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on food security.
For now, suffice to say that our country is inspired by the rapid economic growth and development which your respective countries have achieved and the milestones you have attained in terms of food security over the past two decades. We would like to learn from your successes and failures if any, in order for us to deal with our challenges and priorities,
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to conclude my opening remarks and words of welcome and I officially declare the third Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development open.
In addition to the Programme and agenda for the day, we will engage each other at a bilateral level where many issues will be deliberated. It is my expectation that we will emerge from this Meeting with a shared sense that it was instructive, successful and well worth of the investment and effort we have made to be here.
Lastly, I would like to thank you for the support and contributions you provided to my team in preparation of this 3rd BRICS Agriculture and Agrarian Development Meeting.
I thank you.
Introduce the South African delegation
- Edith Vries: Director General of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
- Mr Ronald Ramabulana: Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Marketing Council
- Dr Shadrack Moepuli: Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Research Council
- Mr Mortimer Mannya: Deputy Director General for Agricultural Production, Health and Food Safety
- Mr M Joe Kgobokoe: Deputy Director General
- Dr Motete: Deputy Director General for Forestry and Natural Resource Management
- Ms Noncedo Vutula: Acting Deputy Director General for Economic Development , Trade and Marketing,
- Mr Desmond Stevens: Acting Deputy Director General of Fisheries.
- Mr Billy Morokolo: Chief Director Agroprocessing and Marketing
- DIRCO representatives
- BRICS Think Tank representatives.
As the Chairperson, Minister then invites the Ministers from Brazil, Russia, India and China to make their Opening Remarks and to introduce their Delegation.
