Some parts of the state have an outsize effect on economic development. And it’s often not the ones you expect. Take home affairs, for example. For many years it was considered no more than a necessary bureaucracy, a boring corner of the government. Now it is understood as a crucial department for economic development, because of its effect on skilled migration, tourist visas and access to services.
Water services is another good example of a department that might appear obscure but is actually an economic powerhouse. But perhaps the most noteworthy of all is the state veterinary service. This office, with both national and provincial arms, has a huge impact on exports. The state vet should really be seen as an important trade official.
State veterinary services affect our economy in two major ways. First, it is responsible for biosecurity for the beef, mutton, pork, venison and poultry sectors. The production of meat and chicken relies heavily on farmers’ ability to keep their animals healthy, and to prevent them from catching diseases such as foot and mouth disease or avian flu. As with human pandemics, the problem is that disease spreads and can cross farm fences and provincial boundaries as easily as Covid-19 scaled international borders.
At present SA faces outbreaks of both foot & mouth disease and avian influenza. The agriculture minister recently announced measures to address this, but far more needs to be done. In particular, the technical and managerial capacity of the department needs to be beefed up so that it can run the national biosecurity system effectively.
The second major area, and one in which the department is particularly weak, relates to the management of the systems that allow farmers to achieve phytosanitary certification for the export of meat. SA has really struggled to put these systems in place, especially in relation to poultry. We are not the only ones in the world who struggle with this, as the outbreak in Brazil now shows. But our system is so weak that we are unable to export poultry products even though we have real competitive advantages in chicken production.
The Poultry Master Plan argues that we have the inherent ability to become a major poultry exporter, especially in the area of chicken fillets, which fetch far higher prices than the remainder of the bird. The Brazilians have built a huge export industry by producing chicken breasts for the European market even though they do not enjoy the tariff free access we do.
While we have good trade general access for agricultural products into Europe and Asia, we have been unable to negotiate the animal health agreements that are required to supply these markets. Officials of the department of agriculture play a role in these negotiations, to a far greater extent than trade, industry & competition. The office of the state vet is indeed a crucial trade office and needs to be capacitated such as one.
Negotiation skills are not the only requirement. The department needs to be able to work with the poultry industry to establish the necessary vaccination, testing and certification systems. This is both a technical and an administrative challenge, but should not be beyond our capabilities.
Agriculture officials also play an important role in supporting the exports of horticultural products such as fruit and nuts. We have the opportunity to expand these exports, especially to Asia, and in so doing to grow jobs where they are most needed — in rural areas. Strengthening the department of agriculture could be a major contribution to job creation.
• Bethlehem is an economic development specialist and partner at Genesis Analytics. She has worked in the forestry, renewable energy, housing and property sectors as well as in local and national government. She writes in her personal capacity.
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