Question NW4148 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Reply:

Yes. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is implementing the Agriculture Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) and the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan (NFNSP) to ensure that there are sector-wide comprehensive strategies to revitalize and bolster rural economies, improve food security as well as create sustainable jobs and economic opportunities. The plans seek to provide a sector blueprint to spearhead transformation and development under the following pillars:

• Comprehensive support for farmers, extension services and agro-processors;
• Ensuring food security, expanded production and employment creation;
• Enabling market expansion, improving market access and trade facilitation;
• Developing localised food, import replacement and expanded agro-processing exports;
• Establish inclusive local food value chains to support access to nutritious and affordable food; and
• Creating enabling infrastructure.

In support of the AAMP and the NFNSP, DALRRD continues to introduce and coordinate the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of other support and developmental instruments towards ensuring food security especially in rural areas. The NFNSP coordinates support initiatives of various government and non-government departments towards ensuring food security. DALRRD coordinates the NFNSP with other departments such as the Departments of Health, of Social Development, of Basic Education and of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.

Furthermore, DALRRD is collaborating and coordinating its efforts with other stakeholders (government departments, private sector, non-governmental organisations, producers, producer organisations, and civil society) towards building a resilient, just, inclusive and sustainable food system. The envisaged improved food system will ensure the inclusive involvement of different role players, sub-systems and activities in the production, storage, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products.

The Department is also implementing the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES). The project is designed to support a spectrum of opportunities, focusing on job creation through public employment; job retention and direct support to sustain livelihood strategies for vulnerable communities. PES is a pioneer project implemented to support household and subsistence producers with agricultural production inputs. The support provided to PES beneficiaries enabled some to initiate food production projects like backyard gardens, small-scale poultry projects and livestock farming, while assisting other subsistence producers to sustain and increase their food production by supporting them with agricultural equipment, water tanks, and production inputs specific to the commodities they produce. The bulk of the supported producers reside in rural areas.