In an interview with City Press, he said he would be collaborating with other ministries to put agriculture at the centre of the country’s economic recovery.
He referred to the latest unemployment statistics, which put official unemployment at 33.5%, while the expanded rate was 42% and youth unemployment has reached 61%. He said these were largely unskilled people who could only be absorbed into progressive work through industrial processes and agro-processing.
Steenhuisen stressed the importance of exports in economic growth and job creation.
The agricultural sector needed expanded trade agreements, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act and bilateral agreements with African countries, and to explore opportunities in China, Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa.
“Those are huge expansion points. The more international demand you can create, the more demand for citrus goods, beef products and agricultural crops,” Steenhuisen said.
