Ahead of South Africa’s general election at the end of May, FairPlay will be looking at economic development and agricultural policy, and ask how these areas might be improved over the next government’s five-year term.
To kick this series off, we’ve asked the six largest political parties in South Africa about their policies for expanding the country’s agricultural sector, agricultural reform, creating agricultural jobs and ensuring food security.
Here are their answers, which in some cases have been edited for length. Where there was no response, we have incorporated information from the party’s election manifesto, and indicated as such. Each party was given at least three weeks to respond to our questions.
We hope you find this as interesting as we do, and that it leaves you with a better understanding of each party’s approach to agriculture, agricultural trade and food security.
We would like to thank all the parties who contributed to this edition, and wish them the best of luck for the upcoming elections.
Question 1
How will your party grow South Africa’s agricultural sector and support its largest employer, the poultry industry?
ANC:
Master plans. President Ramaphosa put two key challenges at the centre of his vision for a revitalised South African economy and society. They were inclusive growth with employment, particularly youth employment as an escalating priority, and effective implementation of policy. Sector master plans emerged as pivotal to achieving this, and the programme quickly gained traction with government, business and labour actively collaborating to bring rapid results.
Currently, there are either 20 master plans in the pipeline, or already completed. Master plans drive growth and investment, with the poultry industry investing over R2.2bn in their industry’s development.
DA:
We did not receive a response from the DA to this question.
The DA’s manifesto does not make any explicit mention on how it intends to grow and support South Africa’s agricultural sector.
EFF:
Our emphasis for the upcoming elections will be on land, jobs, and electricity. Our food economy is dominated by the white minority at all levels – from land ownership and agricultural production, to the packaging and retailing of food – nothing has changed since 1994. We will declare specific areas as agricultural protected areas in order to protect agricultural land from being converted into other land uses.
We will ensure that all food for local consumption is produced and processed on a massive scale in South Africa. This will happen through the intensification of small-scale farming and agriculture and by giving strategic support to all small-scale agricultural operations, including providing routes to trade. All food traders will be compelled by law to buy South African food products and to support operations that produce these food products. We will build our country’s capacity to offer technical and vocational training in agriculture.
IFP:
We have always been a proponent of growing and investing in the agricultural sector through private-public partnerships. Our plans include various developmental initiatives to redress imbalances of the past, to provide support to small farmers, and prioritise new commercial entrants into the agriculture industry.
We plan to re-open agricultural training colleges, and local agricultural support centres to help farmers scale-up production. We want to finalise all outstanding land claims and reopen the window for further applications. We want to merge the national departments of Agriculture, Land Affairs, and Traditional Affairs into a single department.
FF+
It is paramount that the commercial agricultural sector is protected and supported. This requires policy certainty; effective rural safety, including specialised stock theft policing units; greater state expenditure on agricultural research; promoting and assisting with practices preventing desertification of agricultural land; promoting and assisting with the rehabilitation of soil where desertification has occurred; providing effective disaster relief assistance to commercial farmers; and tariff protection.
We will create a social, economic and political environment that will enable commercial farmers to provide food security, be conducive for developmental agriculture and which will enable the whole value chain to expand, invest and create jobs.
ACDP:
The services sector is the largest economic sector in South Africa. It comprises 65% of our GDP and 63% of our employment. Clearly, we will focus on this low hanging fruit in order to support and help grow this sector.
This includes dealing with corruption, removing race-based polices and creating a conducive environment for business by establishing political and policy certainty. In addition, we will strengthen our competitive advantages, support small businesses, remove the red tape and link business needs with education to ensure students have the skills needed by the economy.
Question 2
How many new jobs will you create in the agricultural and poultry sectors over the next 5 years?
ANC:
The ANC has reached and exceeded some of the employment metrics outlined in the master plans. Although these plans are still being implemented, the number will continue to increase. The ANC has created more than 2 000 new jobs in the poultry sector following the successful implementation of the poultry sector master plan.
DA:
We did not receive a response from the DA to this question.
While the DA manifesto does refer to the creation of 2 million new jobs in the private sector, it does not mention any job creation targets for agriculture specifically.
EFF:
The sad reality is that after 30 years of attempts at addressing the matter, more than 11 million capable South Africans who need jobs are unemployed. We will revitalise and rehabilitate the dying poultry industry by strictly regulating cheap and unhealthy poultry imports from the USA and Brazil, which has led to the collapse of the local poultry industry.
IFP:
For us, there is not a lack of political will to address this issue, however, one should not put up arbitrary figures and quotas that create unnecessary bureaucratic stumbling blocks in the name of transformation and job creation. What we can say is that we will ensure that every graduate from tertiary institutions, with the requisite expertise, is placed in in-post training positions to gain experience and make a mark in the sector.
FF+
We believe that economic growth is the only sustainable job creator. We do not envisage or promise a certain number of job opportunities but rather render a plan which can facilitate sufficient economic growth which will enable all sectors to create job opportunities. Restoring reliable electricity supply, sufficient infrastructure and service delivery are key to economic growth and enabling especially the agricultural sector to grow.
ACDP:
We understand that the agricultural sector is key to reducing unemployment. Sadly, many people are unemployable due to a lack of skills. We therefore have to encourage labour intensive initiatives, while reducing the skills deficit. We believe that we can drive primary agricultural employment to above 1 million in the short to medium term, creating more than 80 000 new jobs by prioritising agricultural development, protecting existing commercial farmers, and assisting small and emerging farmers.
Question 3
Which regulations affecting the agricultural sector will you seek to reform over the next 5 years?
ANC:
The focus of policy and trade regulation will continue to promote economic growth and development, industrial upgrading and diversification, including poverty reduction through sustainable employment and job creation.
DA:
We did not receive a response from the DA to this question.
In its manifesto, the DA says it will leverage key agreements and legislation such as AGOA and SACUM-EU EPA to enhance South Africa’s trade connections, streamline trade procedures, and support the competitiveness of local firms in the global market.
According to the DA’s manifesto, “it does not, however, support existing localisation policies because [these policies] jeopardise local businesses’ competitiveness, risk international retaliation, and increase the price of goods”.
EFF:
We will create millions of decent jobs between 2024 and 2029. This will happen by building state capacity, state-led and protected industrialisation, industrial diversification, the protection of infant and existing industries, the transfer of ownership to black people through subsidies, an increase in tariffs, and state-aided marketing and promotion of South African products internally, across the continent, and worldwide, with a focus on key, progressive, and beneficial trading partners.
Our government will ensure the development, protection and localisation of industries which produce basic and daily used goods through import substitution mechanisms. This includes the agricultural and agri-processing industries.
IFP:
We support the goals of the Agriculture and Agri-processing master plan, and would like to see these goals achieved more efficiently. We will reform funding models and trade regulations that affect small and medium-scale farms. We also intend to commission a full-scale land audit to determine who owns what, and use these findings to redistribute state land, where necessary.
We also support expropriation of land with reasonable compensation and believe it is the most practical way forward in the land redistribution issue. Ensuring that we address this matter within the next five years is of utmost importance.
FF+
Tariff protection and subsidies should be introduced to favour our local suppliers. All trade agreements allowing the dumping of substandard imported agricultural products should be reviewed.
ACDP:
Compared to the rest of Africa, South Africa has by far the most modern, productive, and diverse agricultural economy. In order to protect our agricultural economy, and the consumer, we will interact with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other economic partners to address our concerns over the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures imposed on South African agricultural exports.
We will also review the anti-dumping trade regulations, which negatively impact our agricultural sector. We will also review the minimum wage and race-based legislation which acts as barriers to growth.
Question 4
South Africa is food secure at a national level, but food insecure at a household level. How will your party encourage SA’s food safety and security?
ANC:
This is one of the ANC’s core priorities, and will address the issue by lowering the cost of food through VAT exemption on essential items, support food security through land reform, support for community and home gardens, and act against price fixing.
DA:
We did not receive a response from the DA to this question.
According to the DA’s manifesto, it plans to combat food insecurity by expanding the VAT-free basket to include bone-in chicken, beef, tinned beans, and other basic foods. It plans to promote community food gardens and use food hubs to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition.
EFF:
We will ensure that all food for local consumption is produced and processed on a massive scale in South Africa. This will happen through the intensification of small-scale farming. All food traders in South Africa will be compelled by law to buy South African food products and to support operations that produce these food products. We will build our country’s capacity to offer technical and vocational training in agriculture.
IFP:
The idea that South Africa is food secure at a macro level is fallacious and aspirational at best. We should discard the idea of national food security in the collective sense. We must direct our focus to grassroot levels to ensure that South Africans are fed. Rural communities that occupy agricultural land should be encouraged to farm for subsistence on a small and medium scale.
FF+
Economic growth is needed to create opportunities for all. This is the only way to address the current cost of living crisis and the consequent increase in hunger. We need to protect the agricultural sector which is crucial to maintaining food security.
ACDP:
We will ensure that unused state land is allocated for the agricultural needs of communities and the country. We believe that expropriation of land without compensation has the potential to make South Africa food insecure and we are committed to protecting all property rights.
We will prioritise agricultural development and food security by protecting existing commercial farmers while assisting small and emerging farmers to become commercially viable by having better access to finance and markets. We will review the National Rural Safety Strategic Plan, involving all stakeholders to ensure that our farmers and their workers are more adequately protected with a possible reintroduction of the Commando (or similar) system.
