Hon House Chair, food production and security remain under serious threat in our country. Unsustainable farming practices, coupled with rising input prices, declining crop yields, increasing demand and polluted soil conditions, create a precarious platform for agricultural food production and security in South Africa.
We are seeing average food increases of 13% per year and this is currently without the contribution of increased demand. Our population is growing and, as it does, so will the demand and prices increase, if supply remains constant. The only way to stave off increasing prices is to increase supply, and by this we mean local supply.
Why must our local agricultural producers compete with foreign exporters of food crops? More must be done locally. We have a resource-intensive land and an abundance of human capital. There is no sane reason for us to have to rely so heavily upon imported foodstuffs.
The IFP therefore calls for food production schemes in both our peri-urban and rural areas to receive greater state incentivisation and support. Educational farming programmes, soft agricultural government loans and the idea of "South Africa first" must become the dominant themes in our thinking on this matter. I thank you.