Speaking notes setting out the context of the Agriparks Management Councils Workshop, Centenary Hall, Cedara
Program Director & Chief Director of the KZN Provincial Shared Service Centre, Mr Nhlanhla Mndaweni,
Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Speakers & Councillor Present,
Amakhosi,
Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (KZN DARD), Dr Simphiwe Mkhize, Officials,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Let me get straight down to set out the context of this workshop as we have an intense program this morning. This is an induction workshop for the newly established District Agri-Parks Management Committees (DAMC) and to fill in the District Mayors on the developments to date. You will see that we are moving at full steam. It has taken KwaZulu-Natal a bit longer to get off the ground because we had the highest number of Agri-Parks to set up over a larger geographical space.
This is not an excuse, it is setting out the context. We have ten districts of the 44. A lot of what I am going to say, most of you already know, but it is worth reminding ourselves so that we appreciate the crucial role that Agri-Parks can play to kick-start rural economic transformation in the Province. More importantly, all of us especially members of the District Management Councils need to understand why we have to be fully committed to this process.
We are making history! By successfully getting our Agri-Parks off the ground we will be changing the face of rural KwaZulu-Natal. We will be directly addressing the issues of food security, poverty eradication and unemployment. The concept of Agri-Parks has its roots in the National Development Plan (NDP) which called for rural areas to be integrated into mainstream economic development, which would allow rural residents to become active players in the country’s economic growth.
The Plan recognised that urban development could not be emphasised over rural development as this would only perpetuate existing inequalities. At the same time policy-makers recognised that farming alone could not revitalise the rural economy and improve the lot of small-holder farmers.
These farmers could produce the highest quality produce, but without access to markets and without a foothold in the commodity value chain, they would be going nowhere and would continue to operate in the second or informal economy.
To quote National Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mr Gugile Nkwinti, “The answer to South Africa’s rural under-development crisis lies partially in initiating policies that promote agro-industrialisation for the smallscale farming sector. It was in this context that the Agri-parks program was initiated,” [close quotes.].
In his State of the Nation Address in 2015 President Zuma announced a nine point plan to revive the country’s economy. At the top of his list was the Revitalisation of the agriculture and agro-processing value-chain. In the same speech, President Zuma spoke about R2 billion being set aside for the roll out of Agri-Parks across the country and in the poorest municipalities. One percent of that fund was set aside for capacity building especially in municipalities.
Minister Nkwinti has since come up with a very precise definition of an Agri-Park. He says, and I quote: “An Agri-Park is a networked innovation system of agroproduction, processing, logistics, marketing, training and extension services, located in a district municipality, As a network it enables a market-driven combination and integration of various agricultural activities and rural transformation services.” This is a definition that all of us involved in agri-parks need to keep pinned on our notice boards or on our desks, to remind us of our responsibilities and the scope of the work that we are involved in.
It is particularly useful for members of the District Agri-Parks Management Committees to always bear in mind, they are the drivers of this very important process. Failing to get our Agri-Parks going in a sustainable way, means failing the poor. So far my interactions with the teams involved in this initiative has given me cause for optimism that we are heading in the right direction. We’ve had a slow start but we are now moving on with purpose.
One of the reasons for our slow start was a matter of coordination and getting all levels of government to fully commit to the project. Initially we faced the problem of some department’s sending their junior officials who could not make decisions; or, sending different officials to meetings so that there was a lack of continuity.
I believe this problem has been sorted out. In fact, a very positive spin-off of the Agri-Parks is that it has got the different tiers of government and the private sector to work together in a more coordinated fashion. Gone are the days when the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. We know each other and what is going on in the agricultural space in our districts.
I want to thank the Mayors and Amakhosi in particular for attending this workshop today. As leaders in your municipalities, you need to be the champions of the Agri-Park initiative. You need to know exactly what is happening on this front in your municipalities and all the processes involved. This is historic, it is bringing about rural economic transformation in your district. Without further ado, let us continue with the presentations.
I thank you!
