Question NW983 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
05 April 2022 - NW983
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether, with regard to the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, she will furnish Mr N P Masipa with a comprehensive plan of her department to address the (a) safety of the farming community and (b) theft of their livestock since 2019; if not, why not; if so, on what date?
Reply:
Yes, the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan provides practical interventions to address the issues of safety of the farming community aligned to the Rural Safety Strategy developed by the Department of Police. This notwithstanding, safety and security remain the primary responsibility of the South African Police Services.
The two specific measures addressed by the AAMP are as follows:
a) Farm safety – establish and promote farming community forums aligned to local policies and expand visibility of police in farming communities, including mobile police stations; all these to form part of Rural Safety Strategy.
b) Stock theft – Full implementation of Livestock Identification and Traceability System to all farmers. Expand the installation of livestock anti-theft cameras in the entry points of key routes in rural and farming areas.
In both areas, the AAMP promotes the Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach to leverage resources from government and business sectors. The Master Plan also addresses the measures required to curb livestock theft in rural and commercial farming areas. The Master Plan will be made available after sign-off by social partners in the first quarter of 2022.