Chairperson, decades of neglect have left South Africa's rural areas far behind its highly industrialised cities, with many small towns and villages still without basic amenities like electricity and sanitation. Massive urbanisation threatens to hamper a drive to draw more black people to the land in order to reverse the inequitable pattern of land distribution engendered by apartheid policies.
Most of the country's prime agricultural land belongs to whites, a remnant of the large-scale evictions carried out against the black majority during white minority rule. Land reform and land redistribution therefore play a significant role in addressing the social and economic inequalities in our society.
The transformation of the agricultural sector is thus one of the most important pillars to revive the rural economy and to stem the flow of migrants to cities. This asks that small and emerging farmers be given dedicated and strategic support in developing their agricultural practices.
The ANC calls on government to accelerate land redistribution through agricultural reform to create jobs and grow economies. We call on all of government to ensure that the many programmes and incentives that are in place to assist small and emerging farmers are utilised optimally and efficiently. I thank you.