New agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has pledged to champion the whole agriculture sector, but particularly the empowerment of black and emerging farmers.
“I have a passion for agriculture and what it can achieve,” Steenhuisen said in an interview with the Sunday Times. “It’s a department where you get some quick wins in terms of job creation and getting things done.”
He said his party, the Democratic Alliance which joined the ANC in a new government of national unity, had always fought for small-scale black farmers.
“I intend to be a strong fighter for everybody in the agriculture sector. Whether you are a big commercial producer or a small emerging farmer, you’re going to have a minister who’s in your corner fighting for you and your industry.
“And I will be obsessed with turning small farmers into big farmers, because [by doing so] you [not only] increase their product yield and profitability, but also their ability to employ more people.”
He stressed the job-creation potential of the agricultural sector.
“If you look at economies that have moved from less-developed to more developed, agriculture and agro-processing have always been the catalyst.
“There’s low-hanging fruit in this department because the large number of South Africans who are unemployed are largely unskilled. So agriculture and agro-processing give you an opportunity to absorb unskilled labour.”
Steenhuisen used to own a farm in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, Freight News reported. However, he had said in a radio interview that a cabinet minister did not need to be qualified in the department’s area of expertise. Ministers fulfilled a facilitative function at executive level.
“The minister’s job is collaborative, a policy position and pulling people together,” he said.
“Trevor Manuel was one of our best finance ministers and didn’t come from that particular background.”
