The effects of the ravaging load shedding are still felt in the farming sector and this has delayed the implementation of agricultural programmes.
According to the Agricultural Business Chamber’s CEO, Wandile Sihlobo, he said further deterioration in the electricity crisis had been a major cause of delay in the implementation of agricultural programmes intended to grow the sector.
Eskom has implemented stage six of load shedding over the weekend until further notice and Sihlobo argues that there was so much in the implementation pipeline of South Africa’s agriculture policy this year.
The past four years had largely been seen through various initiatives that sought to inject confidence in the sector but these are hindered by load shedding.
“A major development in recent times was the launch of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan, which offers the government and the private sector a new possibility to grow the sector, build competitiveness, attract more investment, and ensure inclusion,” he said pert IOL.
“There is a window of opportunity for the government to show results in these areas since they are beyond policy development and ripe for action. If implemented effectively, these programmes could boost growth in the sector, sustain employment, and possibly attract new investment.
“This is a joint initiative with the Land Bank and the aim is to broaden participation by other financing agencies to achieve the required scale to transform the sector.”
The economist added that more concretely, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development launched a blended finance instrument, which had been in the works for a few years now.
On a number of occasions, President Cyril Ramaphosa underlined the soon-to-be-launched Agricultural Development and Land Reform Agency under the leadership of Minister Thoko Didiza. In the past, these programmes seemed like a pipe dream. Now they are said to be nearing implementation.
Admittedly, to some stakeholders, it might feel like there had been little progress on all the above programmes since the year started.
“As interventions to mitigate against the energy crisis are ramped up, more energies should be directed towards widening the blended finance to include a diverse range of other financial organisations, as well as to identify other financing gaps that were previously unforeseen,” said Agbiz.
“It is important throughout the implementation of the various government programmes that the relationship between the government and the private sector is strengthened since it is not possible to achieve any meaningful outcomes without collaboration.
“For example, the success of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan depends on the accessibility of affordable finance for new entrant farmers and agro-processing entrepreneurs.”
The agricultural sector has maintained positive growth momentum in recent years, partly because it was well positioned to take advantage of favourable weather conditions.
“It is crucial to building on this momentum to implement the above programmes this year. Failure to move forward risks placing South Africa’s agriculture and agribusiness on a lacklustre growth path in 2024, Sihlobo said.
“The 2023/24 season will have challenges, such as a potential El-Niño-induced drought, which could sap the energy of the sector and place role players in ‘survival mode’. Therefore, we now have the right set of conditions to implement with speed,” he said.
