Question NW3756 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
04 December 2023 - NW3756
Matiase, Mr NS to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
What intervening steps has her department taken to close the huge gap between smallholder and commercial farmers in terms of access to technical skills and advice in the past three financial years?
Reply:
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, through its Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) provides training and capacity building programmes to smallholder farmers. One of the objectives of this programme is to assist smallholder farmers to acquire relevant technical skills to become commercial farmers. All the training interventions are needs based.
Total beneficiaries who received training through CASP during the past three financial years (2020/21 – 2022/23) is 50 985. In summary, various training programmes offered to these beneficiaries are categorised as follows:
- Production: goat, poultry, crop, animal, maize, livestock and beef production, artificial insemination, hydroponics etc.;
- Business and Entrepreneurship: book keeping, business management, financial management, record keeping, marketing, wew venture creation, farm management, veld management, South African Good Agricultural Practice, access to funding, conflict management etc.;
- Occupational Health and Safety: safety use of chemicals, animal health, fire management, biosecurity etc.; and
- Agro – Processing: grain processing, value adding, packaging etc..