After more than a year of negotiations, the government has finally got agreement from a variety of stakeholders on an agriculture and agro-processing master plan.
The plan was signed on 12 May, agriculture minister Thoko Didiza told parliament later that day.
“This plan is a product of negotiations between government, business, labour and civil society organisation in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors,” she said.
“This masterplan is lifting our gaze to imagine the agricultural sector we want in South Africa. We want a prosperous and inclusive agricultural sector that thrives on better utilisation of its natural and human resources.”
That’s the good news for South Africa’s agricultural sector. The bad news is a research report indicating the one in five farmers plan to leave the sector in the next 10 years.