Implementation of South Africa’s Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan is key

This should be our singular focus, not other peripheral discussions that cause more confusion

Since South Africa’s Department of Agriculture held its seminar on the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, which seeks to unlock inclusive growth in the sector, I have noted some pushback from various corners.

But some of this came as a surprise, as the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan broadly crystallises much of what Chapter Six of the National Development Plan already outlined. Its value is a sharper focus and granularity it presents in its interventions, with a highlight on commodity corridors, and deeper value chain analysis.

These enable us to plan to have a more focused suggestion about what to correct to unlock growth in each value chain. There are also proper structures for continuous interaction and evaluation of actions of the stakeholders throughout the implementation process.

Therefore, I see those pushing for further debates as contributing to the issue many South Africans have complained about: the lack of implementation of policies and programmes. The reality is that there are many things we can debate in South Africa’s agricultural sector, such as the climate change policy, trade policy, and land reform, amongst others.

But the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan has been discussed at length and perhaps does not require further debate, only implementation.

The Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan is the correct plan for unlocking growth and boosting inclusivity. It matters not who drafted this plan and who signed it. This is a sound plan, with the potential to improve our agricultural sector and address many growth-inhibiting factors fundamentally.

Such factors include, amongst other issues, the release of government land with title deeds to appropriate selected beneficiaries, improving biosecurity controls (plant and animal health), addressing crime, maintaining roads, rail, and ports, and improving local municipalities.

Some may not agree with all of the contents of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, but we could start by implementing areas where there is common interest and consensus. Importantly, this is not a government plan; it was co-created by all stakeholders.

Therefore, implementing and making difficult decisions about dealing with officials who may constrain progress and private sector collaboration should be a primary focus of the leadership at the Department of Agriculture.

Worrying about who signed the plan and who wrote it is not an enriching path; what matters is whether the plan speaks to the core issues and is being implemented.

Another issue I want to comment on is trade, as it continues to dominate our conversation. I can’t emphasise enough that the growth path for South Africa’s agriculture involves a strong push for export diversification and the retention of existing export markets. So, in all the global travel and interactions with foreign representatives, this should be one of the key points we continue to table.

This also means we must continue to enhance our capacity as a country to engage productively with many countries on trade matters to ensure our success.

The effort requires both business and government to adopt a collaborative approach. I am sure that other sectors of the economy, such as the auto industry and mining, are of a similar view.

In agriculture, we still have the capacity to create more jobs and expand production. The success of this will depend on the efficiency of our efforts to open markets, while concurrently addressing the domestic matters that constrain production.

There are clear plans on how each of these issues should be tackled, and what is missing is the consistent and relentless focus on implementation.