Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members and distinguished guests, the debate on Budget Vote No 26: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries takes place only days before the 56th anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955 - and not 1956. The Freedom Charter contains the fundamental perspective of the vast majority of the people of South Africa of the kind of liberation that all of us are fighting for. Hence it is not merely the Freedom Charter of the ANC and its allies. Rather, it is the charter of the people of South Africa for liberation.
Hon members, in 1980 Comrade Oliver Tambo explained the meaning of the Freedom Charter in an effort to show its relevance to the struggle for the liberation of our people. He also wanted to reaffirm the ANC's commitment to the struggle and its determination to bring in the kind of social order in South Africa that the then oppressed majority considered just and equitable. The policies of the ANC are very good, hon members, in as much as some things that were said by our leaders then are still relevant today and will be relevant to generations to come. Today we have achieved the just and equitable order that Comrade Oliver Tambo talked about, but the struggle is far from over. This is because we have not yet achieved a better life for all of our people. We still have unacceptable levels of poverty and unemployment ezenzizwa ke ngabantu esihlala nabo kwalapha epalamente [which were caused by the people who are with us here in Parliament].
Our select committee received briefings on 24 May and 14 June respectively from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on its policy and Budget Vote. This provided an opportunity for the committee to critique extensively the strategic plan of the department in relation to the policy and Budget Vote. This meeting also enabled the committee to determine its recommendation to the House in as far as the budget of the department was concerned, notwithstanding the fact that the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act empowers Parliament to amend money Bills.
From the briefing meeting with the department, the committee recommended that the department needed to put in place systems and processes that had to ensure that land reform facilitated the development of rural economies through the transformation of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, in order to ensure food security and the elimination of abject poverty.
Education and training for every farmer is the key to success, and we want to urge the department to equip and empower farmers with skills, knowledge and the ability to apply the latest technology in the agricultural sector. The shortage of emerging entrepreneurs should be addressed through a conscious small, medium and micro enterprise, SMME, development programme in the agricultural sector. Successful SMMEs can make meaningful inroads as far as job creation and business innovation is concerned. The challenges that face SMMEs in the primary and secondary agricultural industries include knowledge, skills and information management that can equip them to become innovative and effective in the running of their business.
The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme, Casp, is a conditional grant aimed at assisting farmers, particularly those who acquired land through the restitution programme. Underspending is a threat to Casp, and is an impediment to effective and efficient service delivery. The department should prioritise Casp's programmes, as they provide infrastructural and agricultural input support to farmers. Further long- term measures are required to be implemented by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to ensure that the budget for Casp is monitored in all provinces, in order to avoid underspending. In this way, the department will be able to further support black commercial farmers.
The New Growth Path has called on government departments to respond to the job creation call. Based on this important clarion call, we appeal to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to respond diligently to the call to create jobs in the agricultural sector. In his state of the nation address this year, President Jacob Zuma stated that the agricultural sector should be boosted by infrastructural development in order to be assisted to create jobs. The department is therefore expected to employ many people in order to make a meaningful contribution to the country's gross domestic product. We have noted that the agricultural sector still battles with the challenge of scarce skills and to find certain specialised skills.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries should make strides on the challenge of unemployment. We call upon the department to assist black emerging farmers to benefit from the Agri-FoodBank, a partnership which is geared towards assisting subsistence farmers to gain access to the local markets. It is a known fact that these farmers struggle to access and compete in the market but have the potential to make a profitable income that can sustain their livelihoods.
We urge the department to continue to support and empower women to participate actively in the agricultural sector. Programmes such as Women in Agriculture and Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development should play a pivotal role in promoting food safety by safeguarding human life.
I would like to commend the department for its achievement in providing for the additional allocation for flood relief in the Western Cape. We are also happy to have been informed that the same department, under the leadership of Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has allocated an additional R46,9 million for the drought relief fund to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape departments. We have no doubt that this department, under the political leadership of the ANC and Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, is capable of and committed to successfully delivering on its mandate for all our people.
In conclusion, our committee will consistently monitor the department's programme of action by ensuring that the department implements its mandate in accordance with the expectations of the policy of the ruling party. The ANC supports the department's Budget Vote. [Applause.]