NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 1267
DATE OF PUBLICATION: FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2009 [IQP No 16 -2009]
FIRST SESSION, FOURTH PARLIAMENT
Question 1267 for Written Reply, National Assembly: P J C Pretorius (DA) to
ask the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
(1) Whether her department has any forestry extension officers in its
employ; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how many,
(b) where are they employed and (c) what are their main functions;
(2) Whether she has found that there is a need to employ forestry extension
officers; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1612E
REPLY:
1) No, there is currently no forestry extension officers employed
in the Department, but it does provide technical support through
existing officials. There are 22 officials in Limpopo, 11 in
KwaZulu-Natal and 32 in Eastern Cape who are qualified foresters
and are currently dealing with commercial forestry / plantation
management. There is however a need for a targeted intervention
to train and develop forestry extension officers who will attend
to the forestry needs in the future. There is also a need to
promote collaboration between the private sector and land
owners.
2) Yes, there is a need to employ forestry extension officers,
especially in areas dealing with new afforestation and in areas
dealing with post-settlement and post-transfer support.