Chairperson, Minister Joemat-Pettersson, members of the NCOP and friends of Agriculture, I'm sure that most, if not all of you, will agree with me that the summer of 2010-11 will be remembered for all the things that went wrong for the agricultural sector. It was as if Mother Nature lost her temper with South Africa. While flooding took place in one area, there was a pressing drought somewhere else. We were confronted with almost all the dreaded animal diseases known to us. All of these calamities were thrown at us in one season.
So let me begin with a salute to the people who till the land in South Africa. We all know that South Africa is not for sissies. We all know that farming is not for sissies. I have the utmost respect for the farmers and the farm workers of South Africa, who keep on providing our nation with food and fibre, come rain or shine.
As representatives of the South African government, we have a very important supportive role to play regarding the farmers of South Africa. As government officials, each and every one of us here today needs to remind himself or herself of the critical importance of affordable, safe and available food to our society. I want to state today that if we think service delivery protests are disrupting our nation, we do not want to see our nation out on the streets because it is hungry - hungry because there is no affordable food to buy.
I want to address three issues today, each of which I believe to be of critical importance to our core mandate of supporting food security. These issues are research, veterinary services and the protection of agricultural land.
In the Western Cape we have increased our spending on research significantly and we will be investing more than R100 million annually on agricultural research within the next three years. Without research we cannot compete internationally. The previous food price crisis in 2008 showed us that it was dangerous to assume that food will always be available on the international markets. Once countries worldwide stop exporting in order to meet their local demand, it is a situation of each country for itself. South Africa should always be aware of these possible risks. Research is the foundation on the basis of which we have to create our own food security. We need new cultivars and better production methods. We need to understand climate change. We need new crops that will be suited to our changing climate. We need to save water.
The past few months have highlighted the important role veterinary services play in South Africa. Vets play a critical role in maintaining food security and food safety. Vets, together with health services, are directly responsible for our personal health and safety. This fact was dramatically illustrated with the deadly Rift Valley Fever outbreak in 2010, where an animal disease also led to human fatalities. Vets also allow our farmers to run businesses and employ thousands of people, thus supporting millions of people in our country. When a disease strikes one of our animal industries, the negative effects are felt far and wide.
Allow me to illustrate this point with the ongoing crisis in the ostrich industry. This R1,2 billion industry is currently faced with an export ban due to the detection of the H5N2 virus on farms in the Oudtshoorn area. Of our ostrich meat, 90% is destined for export. This industry employs 20 000 people in the greater Oudtshoorn area. When downstream and upstream linkages are considered, more than 50 000 employment opportunities are affected. This industry cannot operate or survive without the regulatory support from government. This is not only about the farmers; it is also about the farm workers, truck drivers, abattoir workers and factory workers. This crisis affects each and everyone who supports a family with wages earned from ostriches. If this industry were to collapse in Oudtshoorn, a total rural economy is at risk of collapsing, with negative ripple effects throughout the country.
It is during a crisis that one discovers the interconnectedness in agriculture. For example, one of our ostrich abattoirs processes game meat during the winter months as a strategy to offset the off season for ostrich meat. This strategy allows the abattoir to provide year-round employment for more people. But now there is also a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which also resulted in this industry grinding to a halt. Another example is that of about 69 ostrich empowerment farmers in the Eastern Cape, who are making a living by raising ostrich chicks. Due to the quarantine measures currently in place in Oudtshoorn, they will not be able to receive birds, so their chances of survival are also being threatened.
As government there are certain basic things we have to do. We have to protect our ability to be food secure. Even an industry such as the ostrich industry contributes to food security, as it pays wages that can buy food. In order to protect our national food security, we have to do research. We have to provide the veterinary services associated with the livestock industries. We have to manage and promote international protocols and relationships to create a platform from which our farmers can do business and create employment.
Regarding the H5N2 virus outbreak in Oudtshoorn, I want to go on record today and thank Minister Joemat-Pettersson for the excellent co-operation and support we have so far received. This includes compensation paid to farmers for culled birds, co-operation with state veterinarians who came to assist us in Oudtshoorn, and co-operation in negotiations with the European Union.
There are still many challenges ahead. We are in the process of trying to have the entire ostrich industry declared a disaster. Due to the far- reaching effects of the export ban, compensation to individual farmers is only the tip of the iceberg. We need to find ways in which to assist all the people who are at risk of losing their source of income. We need to consider measures ranging from food parcels, right through to low-interest loans to assist the entire industry in this difficult time.
I want to propose that we accredit private laboratories and their facilities in order to assist us in processing disease test results. At the moment it is taking too long to get the end product. This will allow us to respond much faster to such disasters.
It is also our responsibility to protect agricultural land. We need agricultural land to be productively utilised in order to promote national food security. I am therefore convinced and concerned that the current Draft Spatial Development and Land Use Management Bill hold problems for us. The protection and management of agricultural land has always been the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, and this is as it should be. If the Bill is to be passed, an important part of this function will be taken over by land use regulators at a local level. I am concerned that these regulators may not have the necessary focus or expertise to protect agricultural land for food production purposes. We, as the provincial and national departments of agriculture, should play the leading role in the determination of the use of land which is currently used for agricultural purposes, as well as any proposed change in land use.
In conclusion, the difficult times we are facing can be overcome through simple hard work and dedication from our officials and politicians. We want to make a success of South Africa. Our responsibility as servants of agriculture is to create the environment for food production to flourish. Thank you. [Time expired.]
Ms F NAHARA (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, hon Minister, other Ministers and MECs present in this House, thank you for giving me this opportunity to participate in this debate on Vote No 26 a day before the historical date of the 16 June uprising. We salute and honour those young people of 1976 who took a stance against the apartheid regime. This was the beginning of the changing political tide that led to the freedom we are enjoying today.
Having said this, it is common knowledge to all of us in this House that agriculture in the past was designed for very few people.
Angifuni ukubasho ukuthi ngobani. [I do not want to say who they are.]
The majority of our people remained servants of these few people. For that reason, whatever efforts are made by this department, people see corruption and nothing else. They don't appreciate the good parts. However, let me congratulate the Minister on her efforts, on her speech and all the figures she has given us. I cannot repeat them. I also want to commend her for the efforts that were made continuously to ensure that our small farmers get the necessary support through the mechanisation programme.
Sihlalo, iNdlu yakho nje ayikuvume ngomoya omuhle wesonto ukuthi lapho kuphethe khona imbokodo imisebenzi iyabonakala. [Chairperson, your House must just acknowledge that work gets done where there are women in charge.]
Together with the department the portfolio committee in KwaZulu-Natal has played a significant role in motivating our communities to participate in the food security programme that is widely known as "one home, one garden". Mrs Johnson went further and encouraged schools to have "one school, one garden", with the intention of using it for nutrition in the school. Basically, this programme is intended to create the culture among our people of growing their own vegetables or producing their own food.
This year the department of agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal will be hosting the second Young Farmer's Summit this month as part of the commemoration of Youth Month. The portfolio committee has good relationships with the department and the MEC. We attend all service delivery events and we also support the department in many other programmes that they formulate. I am happy to say in this House that the department is in line with the priorities of eradicating hunger and poverty set out by His Excellency the President.
Before I sit down I would really like to say intuthuko kulo Mnyango asiyibuzi, siyibona ngamehlo. Ngiyabonga. [development in this department is not questionable, as it is visible enough. Thank you.]