Agriculture department; Land affairs department on rural communities subsistence: briefing

Meeting report

HOUSING PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
12 March 2003
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT; LAND AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT ON RURAL COMMUNITIES SUBSISTENCE: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Ms Z A Kota

Documents handed out:
Integrated Food and Nutrition Programme for South Africa Powerpoint Presentation
Land Reform Programme Powerpoint Presentation

SUMMARY
The Department of Agriculture briefed the Committee on the Integrated Food and Nutrition Programme. Challenges faced by the government in South Africa as far as food was concerned included unstable household food production, lack of access to food, poor household nutrition and food safety. The Department of Land briefed the Committee on the land reform programme. This would focus on the promotion of social and economic development.

MINUTES
Briefing by Department of Agriculture
Mr Malekele, Deputy Director General of the Dept of Agriculture stated that food was a basic right. Under section 27(1):everyone had the right to have access to sufficient food and water. The state must assist in realisation of this right. Challenges faced by the government in South Africa as far as food was concerned were, amongst others: unstable household food production, lack of access to food, poor household nutrition and food safety. Vulnerable people in the society were those with no or low income, infants and lactating mothers, pensioners, people with disabilities. In total, there are 2.2 million households or over 12 million people in South Africa who qualify as vulnerable.These vulnerable people could be found in former homelands, commercial farms, informal settlements, black townships and inner cities.

Depending on their income these people spent less than R200 per month on food.
The Department of Agriculture had, as its vision, that all South Africans had access to sufficient and nutritious food at all times to meet their dietary and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The strategic objectives were to increase household food production and trading, increase community income, job opportunities, improve household nutrition and safety.
The department's target is to reduce the number of the hungry and malnourished households in 2015 by half.

The targeted beneficiaries were children, child-headed households, orphaned children, people with disabilities,with low or no income, infected and affected by chronic and debilitating diseases. Other beneficiaries would be those spending up to R300 per month on food. The Department intended to raise household, community and school food garden production.

Crop production and livestock diversification will be intensified.In the area of community development projects, the Department hoped to promote non-farm rural income and job opportunities, link small and medium to larger enterprises, provide community education and training. To maintain nutrition and food safety, the Department would introduce school feeding, nutrition education, nutrition for lactating mothers, infants and children, vitamin supplementation ,food handling, labeling ,public food safety education and food safety regulation.The Department proposed that safety nets and food emergencies programme be established. The institutional arrangement consisted of a cluster of ministries: Agriculture being the lead, together with Social Development, Public Works, Education, Health. So far there had been R 400 million provided to the department. 170 million had been awarded to seven SADC countries facing food crisis,230 million has been invested in household food parcels extending to three months to be followed by starter pack tools.

Please refer to Integrated Food and Nutrition Programme for South Africa attached.

Discussion
Ms Semple (DP) was concerned and wanted confirmation the statistic quoted in the report were 1996 statistics. If this were so, the figures were ten years out of date and she hoped allowances had therefore be made.

Mr Mbongwa answered that the figures were 1996 figures but they were the best the Dept could come up with. A number of household surveys and censors had been carried out and some figures had been updated. Some figures however were understated.

Ms Semple (DP) asked if Department also encouraged fruit tree growing and suggested that school feeding should not stop at primary level but should continue at high school as well.

Fruit tree growing was part of the food garden programme, replied Mr Mbongwa. It was encouraged in many schools and FAO had also provided the Department with some guidelines on the issue. It was envisaged that school feeding be stretched to higher levels than the primary levels.

Mr Schneeman (ANC) inquired whether the Department of Housing had been consulted on the food garden programme and if support had been received from them. What level of interaction existed between the Department of Agriculture and other departments ,especially as far as 'the creation of income and job opportunities to improve nutrition 'project was concerned.

Mr Mbongwa said that there had been interaction between Agriculture and Housing on the food garden programme. As far as job creation was concerned a cluster of ministries was involved on an operational level, twenty departments were working on this to allow smooth delivery at ground level.

Mrs M M Ramakaba-Lesiea(ANC) was concerned that the food grant programme would be abused .What measures of control had been set up to avoid this?

Mr Mbongwa explained that the Department had written a memo to the cabinet suggesting that a stamp/coupon system be adopted, as in the USA and Brazil. A swipe card could be developed and the data loaded on to the card by the Departments of social development, Agriculture and Home Affairs. However this was a very expensive operation and cabinet decision was still being waited on.

A member asked if there existed a training programme in marketing for small commercial farmers.

Mr Mbongwa said that the Department's objective to link the producer to the consumer envisaged such training.

BRIEFING BY DEPARTMENT OF LAND AFFAIRS
Ms Vuyi Nxasana and Ms Carmen Van Der Merwe from the Department of Land Affairs briefed the committee on the department's programme for land reform. Its priority was to promote social and economic development. Ms Nxasana explained that there was an interconnectedness between the mandate of Land Affairs Department and that of the Housing Department.

Ms Van der Merwe stated that the land reform programme consists of:
-Restitution which entailed returning land to those forcibly removed from land
-Redistribution which consists of giving land to land hungry people
-Tenure Reform: Land ownership system

The redistribution process concerned both productive and residential land, but its main purpose is to increase people's livelihood. It has 3 sub-programmes:
1.Land Redistribution and Access to Development. (LRAD)
This will provide grants to S.A citizens to access land for agricultural purposes and intends to redistribute 30% of the country's agricultural land over 15 years. LRAD plans to decongest overcrowded former homelands areas and expand opportunities for women and young people who stay in rural areas. The types of projects catered for are food safety net projects, farm equity schemes and production for markets.

Since its launch in 2001, 828 farms had been distributed and 15 676 people have benefited of which 5462 are women and 3437 are youth. The food safety-net projects encourages people to improve their household food security by approaching the programme to acquire land for food crop and livestock production.

2. Land Redistribution for Settlement (LSRG)
This is a proactive approach to the acquisition of private land for settlement ..Municipalities are the drivers and the Department of Land Affairs is to fund the land acquisition component, through its budget allocations.
The historically disadvantaged and the poor are to be the beneficiaries.

3.Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy
There are 2 approaches:
-supply-led approach where land is acquired before beneficiaries are identified and
-needs-based approach where suitable land is matched to identified beneficiaries.

Ms Nxasana led the Committee through some proposed regulatory strategies for tenure legislation:
The Extension of Tenure Act (ESTA), Act 62 of 1997 and Labour Tenants Act LTA,Act 3 of 1996.
The Department of Land Affairs ,through an ESTA/LTA Consolidation Task Team, is considering whether to do away with these Acts and confer independent tenure rights on occupiers.
The Department also proposes that ESTA,LTA be strengthened and consolidated to improve long-term tenure, improvement of enforcement mechanisms. The Department seeks the adoption of the Communal Land Rights Bill, which seeks to extend legal recognition and status to all land tenure rights held under various communal land tenure systems. This Bill would give legal recognition (as they would be registrable ) and status customary and land tenure systems and would bring relief to thousands of rural people, especially women.

Please refer to Land Reform Programme Powerpoint Presentation attached.

Discussion
Mr Schneeman (ANC) was concerned about the ill-treatment of farm workers by farm owners.
He asked if the 30% of land that the department intended to redistribute was for housing purposes, as well.

Ms Van der Merwe stated that the 30% land was only for agricultural purposes.

Ms Nxasana said that the Department was aware of the illegal evictions taking place on farms and felt that legislation should not facilitate these evictions.
Various educational programmes on the radio in different languages had been run encouraging people to apply for their own piece of land where their rights would not be abused. The Bill proposed would implement an independent tenure security system.

Ms Ramakaba-Lesiea (ANC) asked if the Land Affairs Dept inspected land for housing safety before redistributing it.

Ms Van Der Merwe answered in the negative but stated that there was a screening committee composed of persons from the Departments of Agriculture, Housing ,provincial municipalities who examined the land and determined whether it was suitable for housing.

Ms Kota (ANC) commented on the silence of the report as regards the landbank ,how supportive was it of women?

Ms Van der Merwe said that LRAD expanded opportunities for women and young people.
Three and a half percent of LRAD beneficiaries were women. The Landbank stated 37% of the grant beneficiaries were women. However, there was room for improvement.

The meeting was adjourned.