Programme Director
Members of the Executive Councils
Director-General
Senior managers
Farmers
Ladies and gentlemen
I extend a special welcome to the farmers and representatives of the agriculture sector, and thank you for accepting our invitation to attend this very important meeting.
I am aware that some of you have had to travel long distances to get here, we thank you for taking the time out to be here, I am aware that it takes a lot for a farmer to be away from his farming operations.
The government has adopted the Outcomes Based Approach, which has 12 outcomes. The Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform is responsible for Outcome 7, namely, “vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security for all”.
The Farm Equity Share Scheme (FESS) forms a critical part of the outputs for which the department is responsible, more so in terms of attaining national food security and as such farmers and farm workers must contribute to achieving these objectives.
The objectives of this meeting is to consult with the you, the commercial partner in the FES, regarding challenges relating to the FESS, the moratorium instituted on FESS in 2009, and if it is to be lifted, the conditions for lifting the moratorium.
We want to give farmers, including concerned stakeholders a platform, to not only highlight their challenges, but also to come up with proposed solutions to the challenges affecting them.
We also want to share with you work that has been undertaken by the various Council of Stakeholders since the FESS Workshop, which was held in Cape Town, during November 2011. A more detailed presentation will follow my address.
The first question we must answer today is how FESS can more effectively contribute to achieving the objectives of agrarian transformation, such as sustainable agrarian reform, de-racialisation of the rural economy for shared and sustainable growth; democratic and equitable land allocation and use across gender, race and class; and, strict production discipline for guaranteed national food security?
Ladies and gentlemen, we are all aware that land reform has not always produced the intended results.
It is, therefore, imperative that we find more pragmatic solutions for land reform, and that this be done in conjunction with all the relevant role players, such as yourselves. This meeting thus serves as a forum for you to raise firstly, your views on the FES, and how the programme can assist in achieving the land reform objectives.
In 2010, we introduced, as a means of responding to challenges of collapsing land reform projects, and defunct irrigation schemes in the former homelands, a new programme called “recapitalisation and development.
The objectives of the programme are to increase production; to guarantee food security; to graduate small scale farmers into commercial farmers; and, to create employment opportunities within the agricultural sector.
The programme is centered on strategic partnerships, mentoring and co-management. I encourage you to study the Red Meat Value Chain Pilot project, which is currently being piloted together with Bloemfontein Abattoirs, this serves as a flagship for the recapitalisation and development programme.
The recapitalisation and development programme is accessible primarily, to farmers and communities that had received land from the state, but had not received the necessary support to sustain production.
In June 2009 we decided to place a moratorium on Farm Equity Scheme land transactions because the department had had numerous negative experiences with FES projects.
As mentioned earlier, a lot of work has been done since November 2011, and I, together with you will be interested in receiving the report from the department on progress thus far.
I must emphasise, that this report is not the department’s report, but that of the various provincial council of stakeholders, as well as the national council of stakeholders.
It is a product of the work undertaken by the beneficiaries themselves. I am glad to note that every single beneficiary involved in the FES scheme was consulted, further, that every household involved was profiled, and a report prepared which depicts the needs analyses of these households. This report will be shared with various government departments, in the spirit of the outcomes based approach, in order to ensure that development takes place in rural areas.
I wish everyone a productive meeting, and encourage you to participate fully in finding solutions to the way forward.
I thank you.
