As the unity government begins with its programme under the various ministries, the growth and competitiveness of the agriculture sector has come under the spotlight.
In recent years the sector has faced numerous challenges, including animal disease outbreaks, which has laid bare the need for a comprehensive review of SA’s biosecurity strategy. Port efficiency is equally important as the sector is export orientated and must remain competitive in the markets SA enjoys access into.
More important is the continuous effort by the SA authorities and organised agriculture to work on retaining existing export markets and on accessing new ones.
The uncomfortable issue of neighbouring Botswana’s protectionist attitude to agricultural trade requires a careful yet firm approach that emphasises regional coexistence and shared prosperity while calling out unfair trade practices. There must be an understanding and appreciation of the cost burden these trade frictions add to the SA farming sector.
Even more vital is the agricultural industry’s regular engagements with Transnet and various stakeholders, as we continue to observe inefficiencies at some ports that could pose risk to export activity. These engagements must be supported at the political level by the department of agriculture, which has elevated export promotion as one of its priorities.
Beyond these big global themes, many local and municipal-level issues continue to constrain the farming sector and agribusinesses unnecessarily. In the various towns we visited recently to engage with farmers and agribusinesses it was clear that the issue of road maintenance is a top priority. Individual farmers and agribusinesses have had to cope with increased transaction costs due to the degradation of the road network across rural SA.
Municipal management
While we did not visit all provinces during the most recent tour and were primarily in the Western Cape and Northern Cape, our observations, specifically in the Northern Cape, mirrored what we regularly see in the Free State and Eastern Cape. For farmers to bring essential agricultural inputs to their farms and deliver goods to market the road network must be in good condition, regardless of the commodities they specialise in.
Another aspect that comes up repeatedly in conversations with farmers and agribusinesses is the need for better-functioning municipalities and clean towns that not only rely on the existing businesses and residents but can also bring in tourists. This requires effective management of the municipalities, service delivery and maintenance of water delivery infrastructure.
The issue of crime also lingers, again showing that much more work is required to get the small towns and farming-orientated villages to a position in which they can go about their agricultural business and introduce other value-add activities that have the potential to increase employment and demand for the products in the area.
In his opening of parliament address, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the seventh democratic administration would focus on improving municipal service delivery, including through the use of the government reform implementation co-ordinating unit, Operation Vulindlela. We believe this work is urgent.
As the government of national unity (GNU) gets on with its important work focusing on the urgent issues and major global matters, long-standing unresolved issues such as road maintenance and effective management of municipalities cannot be put on the back burner.
These issues not only arise from our observations and on-the-ground interactions with stakeholders, but also through the Agbiz/IDC agribusiness confidence index, a sentiment indicator in the sector that has consistently placed the state of small towns and municipalities as big issues of concern.
• Sihlobo is chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA and an extraordinary senior lecturer in Stellenbosch University’s department of agricultural economics.
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