Chairperson, the Oxford Business Group lists policy uncertainty as one of the key issues constraining growth in South Africa, citing "conflicting rhetoric, confusing legislative interpretations and policy reversals" as key concerns. Uncertainty in key policy areas were also noted by rating agencies prior to the downgrading of South Africa's credit rating at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013. Agriculture is by its very nature characterised by uncertainty.
In South Africa, the ANC government contributes to this uncertainty through the lack of cohesion between different government departments, uncertainty around the land reform policy and sketchy frameworks for the implementation of strategic plans for agriculture.
Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson is daarom baie gelukkig dat Suid-Afrika van die beste, indien nie di beste, landbouers in die wreld het. As dit nie hiervoor was nie, sou Suid-Afrika alreeds hongersnood beleef het.
Dit is waarom die DA besef dat ons landbouers 'n waardevolle bate vir ons land is. Hulle is trouens die groep wat moet verseker dat Suid-Afrikaners voedselsekerheid geniet en dat ons nie soos sommige van ons Afrika- buurlande hongersnood ly nie.
Dit maak ons dus bekommerd dat mnr Ernst Janovsky, landbou-ekonoom, voorspel dat die land teen omstreeks 2050 slegs 7 000 kommersile boere sal oorh. Die totale getal kommersile boere word tans op 35 000 geskat, maar 'n aansienlike daling word oor die volgende vier dekades verwag.
Een van die faktore wat tot die daling sal bydra, is die kosteknyptang wat die bedryf knou en tot skaalekonomie lei. Elektrisiteit, brandstof, kunsmis en arbeid is alles insette wat vinniger gestyg het as wat plaasinkomste toegeneem het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson is therefore very fortunate that South Africa has some of the best, if not the best, agriculturists in the world. If it had not been for this, South Africa would already have been experiencing famine.
That is why the DA has realised that our agriculturists are a valuable asset to our country. They are, in fact, the group that must ensure that South Africans enjoy food security and that we do not, like some of our neighbouring African nations, suffer famine.
We are therefore concerned when Mr Ernst Janovsky, agricultural economist, predicts that by about 2050 the country will only have 7 000 commercial farmers left. The total number of commercial farmers is currently estimated at 35 000, but a significant decrease is expected over the next four decades.
One of the factors contributing to this decrease is the cost pincer that is harming the industry and is leading to the economies of scale. Electricity, fuel, fertilizer and labour are all inputs whose costs have increased faster than revenue from farming.]
It is for this reason that Agriculture cannot afford to have a Minister who is more concerned about winning votes for the ANC than she is about ensuring food security for South Africa.
It came as no surprise to the DA when the Minister played a critical role in the Western Cape's farm worker strike at the end of last year. Not only did her department fuel the strike, but they also funded it. [Interjections.]
The department contributed R14 million during the violent strike. Not only was the strike violent and property damaged, but levels of intimidation against nonstriking farm workers and their families were very high.
Of great concern is that threats of a second wave of strikes have been made despite the increase in the minimum wage from R69 to R105 a day.
The Minister of Labour announced last week that almost 2 000 requests for exemption from the minimum wage were received from farmers.
The National Development Plan marks agriculture as a key job creator, proposing that it can create close to one million jobs by 2030. Even Microsoft founder Bill Gates agrees that investing in agriculture is essential if the fight against poverty is to succeed.
Whilst agriculture has historically been a major employer, that role is diminishing. Calculations by the SA Institute of Race Relations show that the agricultural sector has shed 331 000 jobs over the past 12 years. This figure does not include possible job losses that would occur after the increase of the minimum wage.
Agriculture will therefore lose its capacity for job creation if the growth of the sector is not supported. The need for greater support has never been higher in light of the announcement of the disappointing 0,9% GDP growth in the first quarter of this financial year.
However, government support is minuscule compared to support by other countries for their farmers. The Producer Support Estimate, PSE, a measure of government assistance to farmers, is at 3% for South Africa compared to 12% for China and 24% for Russia.
The DA therefore welcomes the Minister's acknowledgement that South African farmers, both commercial and small-scale, need more support. This support could come in the form of additional funds from the National Treasury to fund the implementation of green box policies such as infrastructure support and research and development in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
The agricultural sector remains the most distorted industry in the world. To promote the comprehensive development of rural areas in China, the Chinese government applied many strategies, including one guided by the principle of "giving more, taking less". China even abolished the agriculture tax that had existed for more than 600 years.
According to the Free Market Foundation, South Africans pay more than four months' salary in taxes to fund government. This year the taxpayer worked from 1 January to 8 May only to be able to afford taxes. Very little tax is used to benefit farmers. Even rural roads are being fixed by farmers these days. This is why the DA in the Western Cape is spending the bulk of its Agriculture budget on its farmer support and development programme.
The DA has created expert panels for each commodity group, consisting of government and private sector experts. This means that since 2009 the Western Cape provincial government has supported a total of 252 projects through the commodity approach to the value of R410 million. This has covered all 10 commodities currently involved across the entire province.
In comparison, the leadership of Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson could best be described by the Auditor-General in the annual report of the department as follows, and I quote: Insufficient communication between those charged with governance and the Minister contributed to the lack of commitment and accountability by leadership to address repeat findings on reporting on predetermined objectives, governance and compliance.
This is the reason why this department is stumbling from one crisis to the next.
The DA has learned that Minister Joemat-Pettersson is one of the main causes of the backlog in the registration of certain stock remedies after she failed to sign a document approving the use of outsourced experts, who are crucial in the registration process. This resulted in 2 197 registrations that have not been evaluated and are waiting for approval.
The Minister has ignored calls to speed up the process to the point of flouting the law in disregard of a court order of the North Gauteng High Court instructing her to look into bringing the register up to date. In fact, the Minister has a contempt of court judgment granted against her. [Interjections.]
To further illustrate my point, while discussing the strategic plan of the department, the portfolio committee came to the conclusion that Ncera Farms should be shut down. Ncera Farms is a public company that is wholly owned by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Its mandate is to provide extension, mechanical services, training and agricultural support services to the farmers operating on Ncera Farms.
The committee had reached the conclusion that Ncera Farms was a failed enterprise that should be shut down. The entity provided no value for the money invested in it and DAFF had not developed any plans to turn it around. The state cannot continue to fund an entity that is not financially viable. The farmers reached the conclusion that DAFF was unwilling to assist them. A total amount of R34 614 000 million has been pumped into Ncera Farms since 1998.
If this is how the department treats its flagship training and development programme, just imagine what kind of assistance small-scale farmers receive through the department's comprehensive agricultural support programme.
Alita van der Walt from Farmer's Weekly sums it up perfectly, and I quote:
Until government realises that handing out land and tractors will not turn emerging farmers into commercial farmers, transformation will be stuck in its current rut.
Public-private partnerships are paying off. Why not strengthen these relationships, rather than seeing white commercial agriculture as the enemy? White and black farmers alike simply want an environment favourable to successful business. They have been telling our Ministers what they need and they have proof of what they can do under the right circumstances. When will they receive the support they need?
The time for political point-scoring has come to an end, Minister. We reiterate our call from our last Budget Vote debate for you to resign and allow more capable people to run the department. [Applause.]
To the people sticking out their tongues I want to say, it could cause blue tongue disease if you stick out your tongue. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]