For the past four years, the provincial Department of Agriculture has partnered with local stakeholders, including emerging farmers, and spent a total of R120 million to grow deciduous fruit on land-reform farms. In total, 20 projects were run and led to the creation of 514 permanent jobs which will further help communities gain dignity through meaningful and sustainable employment.
Programmes like this demonstrate our commitment to promoting redress in the province. With almost 50% of the country’s agricultural exports originating from the province, the industry is in a position to support such initiatives and contribute toward job creation.
MPP van der Westhuizen says: “This year alone, through funding from the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and Ilima Letsema Grant, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture will be spending over R174 million on the support of smallholder and subsistence farmers in order to lift a significant percentage of them into the commercial farming category. Owing to this immense potential, I will be conducting oversight visits to ensure that the allocated monies have been efficiently spent.
However, this is not the only support the DA-led Western Cape has shown towards the industry. Over the past few years, agriculture has suffered pressures such as the recent drought and ongoing pandemic. These have posed as immense risks to the wellbeing of smallholder farmers’ sustainability. The persistent drought conditions have also been of major concern for not only the Western Cape, but the Eastern and Northern Cape as well. This is why over the a five-year period, the Department spent R181 160 000 in drought support and has significantly improved water security throughout the province. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, primary agriculture experienced a profound decrease in employment. This prompted the province to implement a number of interventions, such as increasing the number of food to improve nutrition and help feed communities:
Increase in Food Gardens:
- Households: from 800 to 5 626 gardens
- Communities: from 62 to 132 gardens
- Schools: from 14 to 43 gardens
In addition to various monitoring systems which were established to assist smaller farmers with their decision-making processes, 120 graduate interns were given employment last year”.
These combined efforts prove that the Western Cape is determined to preserve and grow the much-needed livelihoods in our communities.
