Thank
you, hon member. We want to affirm the view as government that says South Africa has a lot of capacity to produce enough food from the land that we have, to ensure that no person in the country goes hungry. We are going to do that collectively as a country. For instance, we have got the veterinary services in
the Department of Agriculture, which has got programmes that are targeting prevention and the creation of awareness, as well as reacting positively and promptly to any disease outbreak.
Over and above this, the entities of the department, mainly the Agricultural Research Council, the Onderstepoort Biological Products and the Perishable Product Export Control Board are in the forefront through research and innovation of developing smart agricultural technologies that will improve on-farming productivity, that will reduce postharvest loses and increase resilience towards plant pests and animal diseases, especially in the light of the risk induced by climate change.
By right, I am saying as country, as government, the Department of Agriculture will need to increase its capacity to deal with any disease outbreak. The institutions that I have mentioned are capable to increase our capacity as a country to deal with those and to prevent them before occurring. Thank you very much. [Applause.]