Question NW2947 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
11 October 2022 - NW2947
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
(1) What are the (a) relevant details and (b) dates of the roll-out of the implementation plan of the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP); (2) Whether she has found that the provinces are ready for the roll-out of the implementation plan; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how is the reprioritisation of budget intended to work to ensure that there is a complete alignment and (b) from which budget line item will the reprioritised funds be sourced to implement the AAMP?
Reply:
(1) The Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP) was signed off on 12 May 2022, subject to an agreement among social partners, that all “unfinished business”, including details of the monitoring and implementation plan of the AAMP, be captured in Track 2 of the AAMP:
(a) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has to date communicated and agreed to an approach towards the finalisation of Track 2 and await social partners’ responses for suitable dates to kick start the process. Social partners requested time to formulate a collective response to identified issues. DALRRD aims to finalise Track 2 for Cabinet approval by November 2022 subject to, and dependent on social partners reaching final agreement by end October.
(b) The roll-out of the AAMP will follow the sign off of Track 2, scheduled for November 2022. In preparation, the DALRRD is currently in the process of finalising the operational plan of all government related AAMP commitments. The operational plan of government commitments will be finalised for Cabinet approval, along with Track 2.
2) Yes. DALRRD is in the process of consulting on a new integrated approach to programme and project approvals and has found that provinces are not only capable, but eager to usher in the AAMP approach of aligning projects to identified AAMP related value chains.
(a) Unfunded AAMP commitments will be prioritised through DALRRD’s MTEF process, and unspent funds will be channelled towards AAMP priorities.
(b) The AAMP will not be funded by one specific line function but through the existing budgets of all line functions.