Questions and Replies

Reply:

1. Yes.

a) Dr Roaul Strydom.

b) Graaff-Reinet.

c) He was appointed in December 2006.

d) A state veterinarian is responsible for disease control, facilitation of veterinary international trade, veterinary public health as well as animal welfare amongst other things.

2. Many factors are considered when establishing a new state veterinary office including, but not limited to the number of livestock, number of farms and sometimes homesteads and farms, risk of disease incursion, number of establishments that need to be inspected, and even exports certification that may happen from that area.

3. There is already a state veterinarian in the specified municipality. The details are:

Graaff-Reinet SVA	Petrus de Klerk Building, 15-31 Bourke Street,Graaff-Reinet,6280	Dr Roaul Strydom Chief State Veterinarian	Office: 049 892 2970 Cell : 0828308307 Email: [email protected]
		Lizelle Nutt	Office: 049 892 2970 Cell : 0728291511 Email: [email protected]

4. Each district has a dedicated Deputy Director: Veterinary Services who is a state veterinarian, who ensures that services are provided in the district. The contact details are attached as Annexure A.

Reply:

(1) No remedial action will be taken against the farmers as the beef and sheep abattoir construction project has not been cancelled but the contract with the appointed contractor was terminated due to challenges experienced in the project. After the contract was terminated, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) handed the project to the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) to assist with the implementation. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) between DALRRD and ECDC was signed in May 2020 and work is in progress.

(2) No; the construction of the abattoir will continue. ECDC has appointed a Consultant to resuscitate and bring the project to completion. The Consultant is busy with the Condition Assessment and Cost Report to complete the project. A termination account will be concluded, and the contractor will be referred to termination penalty clauses as per the SLA.

(a),(b) Falls away.

Reply:

(a) Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is currently reviewing the 50/50 programme with a view to strengthening it.

(b)(i) Twelve (12) schemes were approved under the 50/50 programme.

(ii) R655 783 649.55.

(c)(i) Please refer to Annexure A.

(ii) None, since no such assessment was done.

Reply:

(1)(a),(b) Please refer to Annexure A.

(c) For cattle farming, a farmer is not required to have water rights, especially where there is no need to augment feeds through planted pastures which are under irrigation. The farms that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has supported rely on natural grazing. Where there is a need for additional feed due to discrepancies on the carrying capacity, farmers usually augment this with planted pastures done under dry land. As part of the support, farmers would be provided with summer and winter licks, beyond that, farmers would then have to bail grass and use it for feeding as well. When a business plan is developed, the number of animals that get approved is aligned to the carrying capacity of the farm.

(2) Yes; farms are still in production, however, at various levels, especially those that were supported during Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP) since they went through phases of drought.

(a),(b) Falls away.

(3) The support to these farms has been beyond just the provision of biological assets, in this case cattle. Additional support would include summer and winter licks, animal trailers, provision of on-farm infrastructure such as, fencing, boreholes, storage facilities, farm and labour houses, and operational costs, etc.

(4)(a),(b),(c) No applications were received. Since 2018 when the Land Development Support was introduced, DALRRD did not call for applications for support. DALRRD following the assessment conducted by the Entsika/Agricultural Research Council (ARC) identified and prioritised 262 farms that were categorised as medium and commercially viable to be supported. According to this system, support would then be provided to list of identified farms as per the categories mentioned earlier in line with the available budget and approved Annual Performance Plans (APPs.)

The model used by RADP never allowed for applications from individual farmers. However, the model was such that strategic partners would partner with the landowner selecting from the projects/ farms advertised. Later the model was expanded to include the mentorship programme to cover the farms that were not selected.

Reply:

a) The land redistribution programmes have initiated the Proactive Land Acquisition Policy (PLAP) wherein the state has acquired the land and later allocated and leased it out to farmers for a period of 30 years through the Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy (BSLAP). BSLAP was formulated to ensure transparent allocation of land with priority being given to vulnerable groups such that 50% is allocated to women and 40% is allocated to youth.

(b)(i),(ii),(aa),(bb) Please refer to the table below.

(aa) Province	(bb) District	(i) Women	(ii) Youth
Eastern Cape	Amathole	1	1
	Chris Hani	0	2
Free State	Fezile Dabi	1	1
	Mangaung Metro	1	0
	Xhariep	2	1
Gauteng	Sedibeng	2	3
	West Rand	1	0
Kwazulu-Natal	Umgungundlovu	3	1
	Zululand	1	1
Limpopo	Waterberg	1	1
Mpumalanga	Ehlanzeni	1	0
	Gert Sibande	3	5
	Nkangala	4	2
North West	Bojanala	2	2
	Dr Kenneth Kaunda	4	1
	Ngaka Modiri Molema	1	0
Northern Cape	Namakwa	1	0
	Pixley Ka Seme	0	1
	ZF Mgcawu	3	0
Western Cape	West Coast	5	3
Total		37	25

Reply:

a) To accelerate Land Reform, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) implemented the Proactive Land Acquisition Policy (PLAP) in terms of which the state has acquired over 170 000 hectares of land to date. The land is allocated and leased out to farmers for a period of 30 years and the lease can be extended for another 20 years.

In order to ensure equitable access to land, the Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy (BSLAP) was formulated to ensure transparent allocation of land with priority being given to vulnerable groups, i.e. women, youth and people with disabilities. Over 76 000 hectares of land was allocated to women, over 52 000 hectares to youth and about 489 hectares to people with disabilities. The policy also prioritises the allocation of land to communal farmers to decongest communal areas.

The Department further identified and released 700,000 hectares of state land for agricultural purposes.

DALRRD has also developed the Land Donations Policy to encourage landowners to contribute to land reform, as recommended by the Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture. The policy provides a framework on how a donation can be done including associated incentives to those who donate land i.e. tax incentives.

DALRRD is currently processing applications for awards of land by labour tenants, which were lodged not later than 31 March 2001. The Department is, therefore, working with the Special Master on Labour Tenants to settle all outstanding labour tenant claims as ordered by the Land Claims Court.

Communal tenure remains another priority for Land Reform: following the Communal Land Tenure Summit held from 27-28 May 2022, and taking into account the outcomes of the Summit, the draft Communal Land Tenure Policy and Communal Land Tenure Bill have been formulated and once finalised will follow the normal processes of government before it is tabled in Parliament.

Regarding Tenure Policies and Legislative Development: The Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act 112 of 1991 (ULTRA) Bill was passed into law to comply with the Court Judgement and the Regulations have been finalized and will be published during the 2022/2023 financial year.

The Communal Property Associations Amendment Bill was approved by Cabinet and the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act No. 62 of 1997) (ESTA) Amendment Bill was also passed into law. Regulations will be published in the 2022/23 financial year.

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights has developed a backlog reduction strategy to accelerate the finalization of land claims. These mechanisms are at an implementation stage.

b) The Department’s Rural Development Mandate Outcome 6: Integrated and inclusive rural economy:

The Department is engaged in the finalisation of the Draft Integrated Rural Development Strategy, building on the lessons learnt from the implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) and the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS). The Department continues to play its role to “initiate, facilitate, coordinate and act as a catalyst for the implementation of a comprehensive rural development programme leading to sustainable and vibrant rural communities”, working closely with provincial and other national departments through the District Development Model (DDM) and Rural District Plans as well as with Traditional Councils.

The Strategy further recognises that rural development and rural economy objectives are transversal in nature and cannot be successfully implemented without the collaboration of Traditional leaders and traditional communities because rural areas are largely under the custodianship of Traditional Councils. Sustainable communities and inclusive rural economies require a bottom-up community-driven participatory approach that places traditional communities and rural people at the centre of development.

The National Development Plan (NDP) (2012) identifies the following four key points relating to rural development: (i) Rural communities require greater social, economic, and political opportunities to overcome poverty; (ii) To achieve this, agricultural development should introduce a land reform and job-creation/livelihood strategy that ensures rural communities have jobs; (iii) Ensure quality access to basic services, health care, education, and food security; and (iii) plans for rural towns should be tailor-made according to the varying opportunities in each area.

Intergovernmental relations should be addressed to improve rural governance.

The Department in conjunction with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation have also finalized the first National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF) for the country, which was approved by Cabinet in March 2022. The NSDF is a strategic long-term spatial planning instrument with a 2050 – time horizon. One of the key objectives of NSDF is to assist in the redress of multiple social and economic problems and ensure decisive, collaborative, integrated state and non–state action. The NSDF proposes the identification, development and strengthening of a series of Regional Rural Development Anchors to create a functional polycentric rural service delivery network, that will enhance rural development and more efficient land reform delivery.

The District development model (DDM) provides a platform to align and integrate multi-sectoral contributions from all spheres of government toward sustainable rural development. The DALRRD has also developed Rural Development Sector Plans (RDSPs) to reflect the Department’s programmes and priorities in line with the mandate of the Department. The RDSPs are plans that package the Department’s interventions and contributions at a district level and elements of these plans are incorporated into the District One Plans to ensure better integration in Rural Development interventions in line with spatial development opportunities and priorities.

The Department remains the driver of the Agri-Parks Programme that aims to uplift impoverished rural communities into the agricultural value chain. The Department provides critical infrastructure such as fencing and irrigation to rural communities to assist them, with improving their production. These communities are linked to Farmer Production Support Units, which are constructed in rural areas to provide communities with agricultural support services. The Department continues to construct Farmer Production Support Units (FPSUs) that provide rural communities with a range of facilities such as mechanisation, pelleting machines for feed, silos to store grain, pack houses with refrigeration, access to state vets and training. Many of these services were in the past only reserved for commercial farmers in rural areas. This allows rural communities to improve their production and enter the agricultural value chain with their small-scale production and creates a sustainable path out of poverty.

The current programmes through which the Department executes its work include the following:

• Socio-economic infrastructure projects to support Farmer Production Support Units (FPSUs), Animal and Veld Management Programme (AVMP) and River Valley Catalytic Programme (RVCP). This includes mechanization such as: fencing, animal handling facilities, stock water dams, boreholes, canals, dip tanks, pump houses, pack houses, irrigation pipes and schemes, silos and storage facilities and rural roads.
• The AVMP, focuses on bringing arable and grazing land into production by providing all the required infrastructure like fencing, boreholes, irrigation systems, cattle handling and dipping facilities, dams etc. In addition, the AVMP supported re-greening and soil rehabilitation.
• The RVCP, focuses on the catalytic utilization of river systems to bring the land into production and would typically develop irrigation schemes with all the associated infrastructure. Both the AVMP and RVCP provide infrastructural support to commonages, communal areas, traditional areas and farmers occupying state-owned facilities (where requested by Land Reform).
• Road infrastructure remains a high priority in national, provincial, municipal and farm roads to promote economic viability through safer, swift transport logistics of agricultural produce. As part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) and Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), repair and rehabilitation of rural roads are critical to facilitate road logistics from farm to harbor and to market. The Department is coordinating a Public-Private Partnership initiative which will include national, provincial and local governments as well as agricultural organisations. Rural Roads are economic catalysts for impoverished rural communities. It provides entry for communities to access basic services and to take produce to the markets. The Department will work with farmer organisations and their counterparts in all spheres of government to implement the repairing and rehabilitation of rural and farm access roads to facilitate improved access for rural communities into the agricultural value chain and broader rural economy.
• Development and Implementation of skills development opportunities for rural youth through the National Rural Youth Services Corps (NARYSEC) which aims to build the capacity of rural youth through various skills development interventions and working with public and private sector partners to facilitate the transitioning of recruited youth into economic activities.
• Research of new innovative technologies, including Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and promote indigenous knowledge systems in rural communities to contribute towards improving the quality of lives of rural communities working in partnership and collaboration with institutions of higher learning, research agencies and technology agencies.

Reply:

Since the inception of the Land Reform programme, a total of 2.8 million hectares had been redistributed to municipalities under Commonage grant (COMG), Settlement Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG) for settlement and Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) for agricultural purposes and this land is held in title by communities and individuals. This involves a total of over 67 000 women benefiting in the form of accessing land for various needs including agriculture and tenure security.

For the implementation of the Proactive Land Acquisition Policy (PLAP), the state has acquired over 2.4 million hectares of land which benefited about 5 000 women mostly in the form of allocation and leased agreements for a period of 30 years extendable for another 20 years.

The Restitution programme has settled 172 933 land claims to female headed households.

Reply:

(1) (a) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) undertook consultations with the relevant industries and the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) as the lead Department on trade policy matters. The engagements resolved that the trade challenge should be addressed through a bilateral Ministerial meeting with the affected countries. DALRRD is implementing this resolution. The Director General wrote to his counterparts requesting urgent bilateral engagements on the matter. The outcome of the engagements will be shared with organised industry.

(b) The impact of such closures is lost market opportunities for the industry and loss of revenue to the State. This also undermines the efforts of free trade as contemplated in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Furthermore, consumers of the affected products in these countries are more likely to experience an increase in prices of these commodities due to shortages/supply constraints.

According to the 2nd Quarter Agricultural Economic Review, vegetable prices registered a marked decrease, and this could be directly attributed to the short effects of the import bans. Price depression likely occurred as producers redirected, (as a short-term measure) these export consignments into the domestic market.

The current import ban includes tomatoes, carrots, beetroots, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric, chili peppers, butternut, watermelons, sweet peppers, green corn, and fresh herbs. Over the past 5 years, 98% of vegetables in Botswana originated from South Africa.

(2) No. The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has not yet communicated with her counterparts in Botswana and Namibia. She is awaiting the outcome of the meetings of the Director General with his counterparts in Botswana and Namibia.

Reply:

a) The claim was to be settled in two (2) phases, however due to policy changes in the processing and the settlement of claims in the Commission, full and final settlement of the claim at once is planned.

b) The claimant beneficiaries comprises of three (3) villages, namely Lower Zingcuka, Upper Zingcuka and Lower Ngqumeya. The household verification for Lower Zingcuka and Lower Ngqumeya has been completed and the household verification for Upper Zingcuka is currently underway.

c) Submission of verification documents by Upper Zingcuka beneficiaries to finalise the household verification process.

END

Reply:

1. The challenges are disputes between the concerned group and the Bjatladi Communal Property Association (CPA) committee, more specifically on governance issues.

2. Yes. The cause of the challenges is the governance issue, coupled with allegations of corruption and maladministration against the current CPA committee. On 16 September 2022, the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development together with Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) held a meeting with both the concerned group and the current Bjatladi CPA committee with the intention to resolve their disputes, however, the two groups are not ready to work together.

Professional mediation was recommended, to which they needed to consent within five working days. To date, the two groups have not consented to participate in the proposed mediation.

Reply:

(a) The upkeep and day-to-day maintenance of this College is administered by the North the West Provincial Department of Agriculture as College is currently residing and reporting under that Department.

(b)(i) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) are in a process of transferring Colleges of Agriculture to a national competence and having them declared as Higher Education Colleges governed by the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997) but will be funded and managed administratively under the Minister responsible for Agriculture. This will benefit the Colleges in that DHET has established programmes for support to Higher Education Institutions, developing needy colleges towards attaining semi-autonomy and eventually full autonomy to Colleges leading to quicker decision-making and more effective implementation of decisions. College of Agriculture students as well will be able to access bursaries from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) as it is only available to students at higher education institutions. Collaborations and coordination within the Higher Education sector will assist in improving the conditions of the Colleges of Agriculture especially in respect of infrastructure that supports curriculum offerings.

(b)(ii) The Potchefstroom College of Agriculture is administered by the North West Provincial Department of Agriculture, however, DALRRD provides support to the College through the College Revitalisation Plan since 2012. The allocations over the years are as follows:

Financial year	Name of College	Allocation
2011/2012	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R4 500 000,00
2012/2013	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R6 000 000,00
2013/2014	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R7 524 000,00
2014/2015	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R10 000 000,00
2015/2016	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R11 800 000,00
2016/2017	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R9 500 000,00
2017/2018	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R7 000 000,00
2018/2019	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R7 000 000,00
2019/2020	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R2 986 000,00
2020/2021	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R2 466 000,00
2021/2022	Potchefstroom College of Agriculture	R8 500 000,00
Total		R77 276 000,00

(b)(iii) The following Infrastructure, equipment and machinery were developed or procured at Potchefstroom College of Agriculture through Colleges Revitalisation Plan since 2012.

New building constructed	Buildings renovated	Procurement of equipment and machinery	Others
Construction of Poultry house Construction of 20 sow-unit Piggery house Construction of Poultry Abattoir Construction of Greenhouse, Office and Palisade Fencing Renovation of Lecture halls, Examination Hall and the assessment rooms security system– Phase 2 Construction of new Laboratories (Practical Training Facilities) Building of One multi-purpose lecture hall with a capacity of 150 student Construction of mini pack house for the horticultural unit	Renovation and installation of new machines in the Dairy Refurbishment of student kitchen and dining hall Renovation of students infrastructure and Alex/ Pampoen boere pit (6 hostels and 2 Halls)	Procurement of stand-by Generators Procurement of 89 KW tractor Procurement of nine double cab bakkies Procurement of 24 row wheat drill Procurement of farm agricultural equipment Procurement of ICT equipment; computers, laptops, printers, projectors, etc Procurement of Tractor GPS, Air Conditioners and Installation of 2 X Canopies Supply and delivery of Tractor, Ridger, Plough and Slasher,	Installation of Bio-metric Access Control System in the Admin Block and student hostels Installation of galvanized steel palisade for the centre pivot, Piggery House, layer house and whole campus Installation of High Mast Lights Provision of Wi-Fi on the campus

Reply:

Yes, the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) is aligned with the Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme (CASP), AGRI BEE and Blended Financial Scheme (BFS).

The envisaged approach is for the project approval process of the mentioned programmes to incorporate the AAMP’s strategic commodities and align to both National and Provincial Value Chain strategies of the AAMP. Furthermore, the Integrated Programme and Project Management methodology, which aims to align all relevant programmes and projects, including CASP at a project approval level will be introduced.

Reply:

In line with Pillar 2 of the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP), which prioritizes the provision of enabling infrastructure to support and grow the Agriculture sector, earlier this year the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development formally communicated with major agricultural organisations and Agribusiness from around the country, requesting them to submit details of rural roads requiring repairs, rehabilitation and surface upgrading. In response the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) received several lists of critically challenged rural roads that are affecting the efficient movement of agricultural produce in the country. These lists allowed DALRRD to map a status profile per Province and District municipality of the critical roads that require resurfacing and rehabilitation.

On analysis of the data and mapping it was found that the majority of the roads requiring attention are national, provincial and regional/municipal roads which are the mandate of the Department of Transport. The Minister of Transport has pronounced that his department will be attending to these. DALRRD will continue to work with other national sector departments and stakeholders to ensure that this work is completed with the urgency it requires.

Further, DALRRD is coordinating engagements between Agricultural Organisations and Agribusiness, sector departments and government stakeholders, in an effort to create a legislative provision for non-governmental organizations to render road rehabilitation services in partnership with rural municipalities. Commercial sector farmers have expressed their willingness, capacity and recourses to fix and maintain municipal roads that affect their businesses. Legislation, however, prevents them from doing so, as municipal roads are public responsibility. The DALRRD is coordinating a process with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the Agricultural Business Chamber to identify roads that fall within this category and create a legislative framework for private farmers in partnership with local municipalities to undertake road repair and maintenance. Official correspondence has been sent to COGTA, Agriculture Chamber of Business and AgriSA in pursuance of this.

Finally, in line with Pillar 2 of the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP), The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has directed DALRRD to commence with a Rural Roads Rehabilitation Program that will prioritise farm access roads to land reform farms, village access roads in communal areas and access roads to Farmer Production Support Units (FPSU) that support community based agriculture in rural areas. This program aims to start implementation in partnership with other stakeholders within the current financial year.

Reply:

(a) (i) Extension Practitioners (officers) are allocated to districts and not placed per farm.

(ii) The number of Extension Practitioners (officers) per Province is as follows:

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF EXTENSION PRACTITIONERS
Eastern Cape	496
Free State	115
Gauteng	119
KwaZulu-Natal	522
Limpopo	310
Mpumalanga	146
Northern Cape	43
North West	181
Western Cape	60
TOTAL	992

(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) The current Extension Practitioners are not allocated according to the specified producer categories; hence no ratio is available.

(b)(aa) Ratio per Province

The current ratio of Extension Practitioners to farmers is based on the July 2021 General Household Survey (GHS) by Statistics South Africa which measures the number of households practicing agriculture and is therefore not specific to categories of farmers. The Ratio of Extension Practitioners (officers) to farmers per province (as of September 2022) is outlined below:

PROVINCE	Ratio
Eastern Cape	1:1162
Free State	1:1672
Gauteng	1:2896
KwaZulu -Natal	1:1216
Limpopo	1:2058
Mpumalanga	1:3085
Northern Cape	1:1097
Northwest	1:809
Western Cape	1:977
NATIONAL AVERAGE	1:1 663

The estimated number of farmers as the GHS (July 2021) and the number of Extension Practitioners (officer) per province are shown on the table below:

PDAs	Number of Extension officials	Total number of Extension Officials	Number of households per province	% Of households involved in agriculture	Estimated # farmers [GHS 2021, StatsSA]	Extension to farmer ratio (current)
	Managers	Extension Practitioners
EC	31	496	527	1 725 000	33%	576 150	1 162
FS	11	115	126	952 000	20%	192 304	1 672
GP	8	119	127	5 384 000	6%	344 576	2 896
KZN	60	522	582	3 111 000	20%	634 644	1 216
LP	11	310	321	1 684 000	38%	638 236	2 058
MP	41	146	187	1 399 000	32%	450 478	3 085
NC	8	43	51	363 000	13%	47 190	1 097
NW	31	181	212	1 308 000	11%	146 496	809
WC	8	60	68	2 021 000	3%	58 609	977
TOTAL	209	1 992	2 201	17 947 000	17%	3 086 884	1 663

(b) (bb) The breakdown of Extension Practitioners (officers) per District excludes Managers.

Province	Number of Extension Practitioners per district	Province	Number of Extension Practitioners per district
1. Eastern Cape		5. Western Cape
Sarah-Baartman	35	Cape Winelands	12
Amathole	153	Little Karoo	6
Chris Hani	74	Swartland	5
Joe Gqabi	31	Cape Metropole	8
O.R. Tambo	116	Garden Route	9
Alfred Nzo	87	Northwest	6
Total	496	Overberg	7
		Central Karoo	5
		Provincial office	2
		Total	60
2. Free State		6. North West
Provincial office	9	Bojanala	55
Xhariep	14	Dr Ruth S Mompati	42
Mangaung	23	NMM	58
Thabo M	32	Dr Kenneth Kaunda	26
Lejwe L	21	Total	181
Fezile D	16
Total	115
3. Gauteng		7. Northern Cape
Germiston	40	John Taolo Gaetsewe	12
Pretoria	41	Frances Baard	7
Randfontein	38	ZF Mgcawu	8
Total	119	Namakwa	7
		Pixley ka Seme	9
		Total	43
4. KwaZulu-Natal		8. Mpumalanga
Amajuba	46	Bohlabela	34
Ugu	50	Ehlanzeni	29
Ethekwini	33	Gert Sibande	33
uThukela	29	Nkangala	50
uMkhanyakude	52	Total	146
King Cetshwayo	73	9. Limpopo
Zululand	71	Capricorn	72
Umzinyathi	38	Mopani	53
Ilembe	45	Sekhukhune	59
Harry Gwala	41	Vhembe	93
Umgungundlovu	44	Waterberg	33
Total	522	Total	310
		GRAND TOTAL	1 992

Reply:

No. The Agri-village model is a programme that provides farm dwellers with an opportunity to have security of tenure, access to basic services, and sustainable livelihoods. The programme is not meant to address evictions. The Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act No. 62 of 1997) (ESTA) protects the rights of farm dwellers against unlawful evictions, and the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development working with Legal Aid SA provides legal representation to farm dwellers to defend them against such unlawful evictions.

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.

Reply:

1. Yes, the Department received reports from the industry and official media releases that Botswana and Namibia are imposing import restrictions (border closures) as an instrument to protect domestic producers from import competition. These border closures impact largely on the vegetable products exported by South Africa to these countries. The Department is working with the industry and the Departments of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) (lead department) and International Relations & Cooperation to address this challenge.

(2) Yes, border closures are being imposed as a unilateral act. Botswana and Namibia claim the measure is provided for in the South African Cultural Union (SACU) Agreement.

(3) Yes, The Minister received a submission from the industry regarding the challenges of persistent border closures in Botswana and Namibia. She will be engaging with the industry on the matter before addressing it with her counterparts in the two countries. Furthermore, the Department is working with the DTIC, National Treasury, South African Revenue Service (SARS) and International Administration Commission (ITAC) to investigate a permanent long-term solution to all trade challenges in the SACU. The Agricultural Trade Industry is regularly consulted and engaged through the Agricultural Trade Forum (ATF).

Reply:

1. (a)(b) A Private Members Bill was introduced by the African National Congress on 16 August 2017 during the Fifth Parliament and lapsed when Parliament rose at the end of their term. The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (the Commission) is currently dealing with old order claims lodged before 31 December 1998 and is not in a position to process new claims as there is no legislation nor budget allocated to do so. The Commission reports to the Land Claims Court every six months on progress of outstanding Old order claims in line with LAMOSA 2 order, the last report was submitted on 30 June 2022.

2. (a) 163 383 new order claims

(b) When Parliament enacts new legislation to allow the processing of these New Order claims or the Commission settles all the outstanding old order claims lodged by 1998 as ordered by the LAMOSA Constitution Court judgment in 2018.

END

Reply:

a) Verification for Lower Ngqumeya and Lower Zingcuka has been finalized. The Claimant Committee is to adopt final verification lists by 30 September 2022

b) Phase 1 of claim consisting of Lower Ngqumeya and Lower Zingcuka is projected to be settled in Quarter 3 of 2022/23 Financial Year, on condition that the Commission receives full co-operation from the community.

Reply:

1. The boundaries of all Disease Management Areas (DMAs) for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) were determined using a risk-based approach taking into account evidence of recent spread, in an effort to limit the negative effects of the disease as much as possible.

(2)(a) Cattle were mostly affected in the recent outbreaks and the movement of live cattle clearly poses the highest risk. The initial movement ban was thus limited to cattle in order to limit the negative effects on other sectors of the livestock industry. Since sheep were involved in some recent outbreaks, sheep and goats have now been included in the Gazette Notice of 8 September 2022.

(b) Pigs continue to be excluded in order to limit the economic impact on an industry that so far has not been affected by the outbreaks.

(3) No. The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will continue to update everyone if there is new information.

Reply:

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights does not have a record of a land claim lodged by Hoxani Traditional Council nor a record of claim with reference number KRP 912.

Reply:

Yes. DALRRD has approved subsidies of R58,588 million in the financial year 2021/2022 in terms of section 4 of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 2018 (Act No. 2 of 2018) ESTA and sections 26 and 27 of the Labour Tenants Act, 1996 (Act No.3 of 1996) for installation of electricity as well as installation of solar panels. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is also providing mediation services and Legal Aid South Africa provides legal representation under the Land Rights Management Facility to farm dwellers in circumstances where landowners are refusing to consent to the Municipality and or Eskom to provide electricity.

Furthermore, the courts have ordered that it is the responsibility of Local Government through municipalities to provide all basic services to the people living, staying and working on the farms.

Reply:

1. (a)(i) None. On the announcement by the Minister in the Presidency on 23 June 2022 the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) issued a Departmental Circular reiterating the aspect of 100% return to work was announced. All personnel inclusive of personnel with comorbidities had to return to work with a 100% of the workforce back at their workstations. As of 23 June 2022, all comorbidities related to Covid-19 were/will be managed in accordance with the “Determination and directive on leave of absence in the public service”: issued in August 2021.

(ii) Falls away.

(iii) Falls away.

(b) Falls away.

(2) No.

Reply:

a) An ongoing family dispute within the Kramer family over family representation in the processing of their land claim was delaying the settlement of the claim. The person who lodged the claim on behalf of the family does not want other beneficiaries to participate in the processing of the claim.

In the process of settling the claim, the Commission met all the beneficiaries of Kramer family and advised them to elect a representative committee that would represent all the beneficiaries. The resolution to have a committee was taken because the family comprises of 13 households with more than 500 beneficiaries.

The committee was elected in the presence of the Project Officer. The Commission continued with the processing of the claim in consultation with the committee. At the same time, the person who lodged claim continued writing to the Commission stating that the office should be working with her alone. This continued to be a dispute between the person who lodged the claim and other beneficiaries.

In an attempt to resolve the dispute, the Commission held a meeting with the beneficiaries on the 30th October 2021. The resolution of the meeting was that the family should re-look at the composition of the committee and ensure that it represents all the households and beneficiaries to the claim. The Commission requested the names of the committee members to be sent within 14 days. The family complied with the request and the names were sent comprising the same people who were elected before.

Subsequent to that, the person who lodged a claim on behalf of the Kramer family submitted a written objection, complaining about some issues discussed in the meeting of the 30th October 2021, and questioned the credibility of the meeting itself. She complained that the process which was followed was unfair and maintained that the committee elected was illegitimate. This halted the processing of the claim.

The family was requested to assist the process of finalizing the claim by resolving the dispute as this will allow the Commission to proceed to the next phase of restitution.

Only a Rule 3 investigation was conducted and approved by the Regional Land Claims Commissioner. A Rule 5 research report is still to be conducted and still to be approved by the Regional Land Claims Commissioner. As a result, the claim has not yet been approved.

(b) The Rule 3 investigation looked at all the claimed properties, that is Farm 158 and Farm 172. The two farms are currently subdivided into various small portions.

The family however disputed the extent in the investigation. To this end the office then did an inspection in loco on the 25th August 2022 together with the members of the Kramer family and with the assistance of the National Geo-Spatial and Information (NGI) The purpose of the in loco inspection was to identify the land parcels and boundaries of the claimed land.

A further meeting was held with the Kramer family on the 26th August to discuss the roadmap and the timelines towards the settlement of the claim.

One of the resolutions of the meeting was that the Commission will appoint a Historian/ an independent researcher to conduct further investigation on the circumstances of dispossession and the extent of the land that is the subject of the claim. The investigation will cover all the claimed properties, that is Farm 158, Farm 172 and Erf 3 in Hanley.

The family accepted the roadmap and the timelines that were proposed by the Commission.

(c) The selling of the properties and the exchange of ownership will be determined by the investigation to be conducted. The claim is not yet approved and it is still to be gazetted

END

Reply:

(1) Never.

(2)(a)(b) Falls away.

Reply:

1. Yes.

a) The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) advises Communal Property Associations (CPAs) to submit financial records or Audited Financial Statements as required by section 11 and regulation 8 of the Communal Property Associations Act, 1996 for the preparation of the CPA Annual Performance Report. DALRRD also provides training to CPAs on governance issues and compliance with the provisions of the Act.

b) Advice and training were provided to all registered CPAs.

Reply:

Yes, the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) has submitted the Ingonyama Trust audited Annual Financial Statements (AFS) to the Department for the past three financial years.  The AFS contains information on revenue of Ingonyama Trust and has been tabled in Parliament, except for the year ended 31 March 2021 where the audit process was only finalised in March 2022. ITB has since submitted this information to the Department and will be tabled in Parliament.

Reply:

The department is verifying the facts in respect of this question and will, upon completion of this process submit the reply to Parliament.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is not responsible for monitoring and does not have information relating to the number of restitution beneficiaries in Mpumalanga who derive profits and/or revenue from operations on the land. This is a private land and the Communal Property Associations or Trusts are not bound to report their business operations to DALRRD.

Reply:

1. (a) Please refer to the table below:

Province	Total farms Supported	Sum of Total Cattle	Sum of Procured cows	Sum of Procured Heifers	Sum of procured Bulls	Sum of Procured weaners
Eastern Cape	4	295	109	100	11	75
Free State	7	490	260	205	25	0
Gauteng	4	140	33	64	13	30
Kwazulu-Natal	3	64	62	0	2	0
NC	17	295	271	0	24	0
MP	15	1183	900	250	33	0
North West	14	756	341	234	17	164
Limpopo	5	364	0	341	23	0
Grand Total	69	3587	1976	1194	148	269

b) Land Development and Post Settlement program is empowering the farmers to get exposure to the industry by allowing them to develop specifications of animals suitable for their farms through the help of commodity organisations and procure direct from breeders using their own entity, which helps them to improve their profiles and their reputation in the industry.

2. No agents were used to procure livestock; farmers procure directly from the cattle breeders through the help of commodity organisations.

(a), (b) Falls away.

Reply:

The department is consolidating the figures in respect of this question and will, upon completion of this process submit the reply to Parliament.

Reply:

(a)(i) 82 549 claims have been settled, the figure excludes the report on urban claims from 2006 to 2011/12, the verification of the statistics is work in progress because during the various stages of settling the claims counting changed from counting land claims forms to counting land rights restored.

(ii)(aa) 8 938 claims settled through land restoration (the number is not a reflection of the extent e.g one claim can represent 2 hectares in the Western Cape but 20 000 hectares in North West.

(bb) Falls away, the restoration of land includes both alternative and original restored.

(cc) 69 933 claims settled through financial compensation.

b) 2 892 966 hectares transferred and 3835167 hectares settled.

(c) Land cost is R24,578,801,491.71

Financial Compensation is R17,361,570,718.22

Approved Development Grants is R 4,018,918,373.87

END

 

Reply:

1.Since the advertisement of pieces of land by the Department Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), a total number of 204 farms are fully leased, while another 72 farms are partially leased (land units).

2. DALRRD has conducted farm assessments on 654 of these farms and provided training on 94 farms, covering 165 farmers. Skills audit has also been conducted, report of which informed the training priorities. Start-up support packages based on farm assessments have been developed to be implemented this current financial year. This planned support will be directed to the 165 farmers in 94 farms that were trained in business and entrepreneurship. The farms are distributed as follows:

• Limpopo 40;
• Mpumalanga 30; and
• Northwest: 24.

This approach is in line with the recently approved National Policy on Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation.

Reply:

1. The tables below lists the stakeholders in the project and their participation over the years: (a) refers to government stakeholders and (b) to private person/ entities:

(a) Name of Govt Stakeholder	Years in Participation
	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
(a) KZN-COGTA	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
	Project Funding	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
(a) KZN-DARD	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
	Project Funding	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N
(a) KZN-ADA	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project Funding	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(a) Okhahlamba Local Municipality	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

	Project implementing	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
	Project Funding	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(a) KZN-EDTEA	Project Steering Committee	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	N
	Project implementing	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
	Project Funding	N	N	N	N	N	N	N

(b) Name of Private Stakeholder	Years in Participation
	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
(b) Grain Hills Agri (Pty) Ltd- (Mentor)	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N
	Project Funding	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(b) Cathedral Peak Wine Estate- (Off taker for Winegrape’s)	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
	Project Funding	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(b) Beneficiaries (the Cooperatives in each site)	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project Funding	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(b) Traditional Council Representatives	Project Steering Committee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
	Project implementing	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
	Project Funding	N	N	N	N	N	N	N

(2)(a) The project in its entirety was an initiative of the Okhahlamba Local Municipality, with its concept and business plan used to source initial funding from COGTA. Funding was approved by COGTA for commencement with implementation in the 2015/16 financial year. COGTA therefore provided project initiation funding and could not fund the project beyond the first two years of implementation.

COGTA then effectively contributed 14% of the total project funding until year two of implementation.

At that time of funding approval, the KZN Provincial Agribusiness Development Agency (ADA) was appointed as the project implementing agent for the project on this site which was in the 2015/16 financial year.

The ADA is a provincial entity of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) which implements commercial agribusiness projects for the department. The DARD through ADA, continued to fund the project from 2018/19 until 2020/21 when project review indicated that the project would not be sustainable without perpetual government support based on possible income expected from the wine grapes. The DARD then effectively contributed 86% of the total project funding until year five of implementation.

The ADA further appointed Grain Hills Agri (Pty) Ltd as mentor to provide overall capacity building and skills transfer to the beneficiaries including production and business management in relation to grapes enterprises.

Market for the wine grapes was secured with Cathedral Peak Wine Estate, a wine producer/processor in Winterton.

(b) No funding was received from private persons or entities for this project

3. Please refer to Annexure A.

4. (a),(b) Please refer to Annexure A which includes details of consultants who are, and/or have been involved in the project and the services that they rendered.

Reply:

The department is busy consolidating the figures and a detailed reply will be submitted once finalised.

 

Reply:

a) Of the total number of 1707 CPAs that have been registered, 1612 CPAs are functional.

b) Of the total number of 1707 CPAs that have been registered, 1612 CPAs are operational.

Reply:

a) The start of South Africa's 2021/22 summer crop production season was challenging for farmers and agricultural role players because of excessive rains that delayed planting in various regions and threatened crop yield prospects. But the past few weeks were calm with reasonably warm weather conditions in much of the country, thus supporting crops and easing concerns about the possibility of smaller yields due to excessive soil moisture. The data released by the Crop Estimates Committee on 28 February 2022 underscores this optimistic view of crop conditions. For example, while the 2021/22 first production estimate for maize is 14,5 million tons, down 11% year-on-year (previous season=16,3 million tons), this is well above the 10-year average harvest of 12,8 million tons and annual maize consumption of about 11,8 million tons. About 7,54 million tons is white maize, and 6,99 million tons is yellow maize. The yearly decline is mainly due to a reduction in area plantings, combined with expected lower yields in some districts. Importantly, this means that South Africa will likely remain a net exporter of maize in the 2022/23 marketing year, which starts in May (this corresponds with the 2021/22 production season). The exports for the 2022/23 marketing year is expected to be 2,8 million tons, which is 28% less than the 3,9 million tons of the 2021/22 marketing year.

The soybean's 2021/22 crop is estimated at 1,82 million tons, down by 4% year on year, and the second largest harvest on record. The expansion in area plantings, combined with expected better yields in some districts, are the major factors behind these expected relatively large harvests. On the upside, the 2021/22 sunflower seed production is forecasted at 914 350 tons, up by 35% year on year. This is the third-largest harvest on record, primarily due to an expansion in area plantings and expected better yields in some regions. Thus, there is enough supplies for South Africa and the neighboring Southern African Custom Union (SACU) countries for the foreseeable future, and therefore no need to panic that the country could experience shortages. We have benefitted from good harvests of a range of crops and fruits and have already imported a large share of products that we are import-dependent on, such as wheat and rice..

b) To date, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Programme (WFP) have reached out to DALRRD for possible collaboration in formulating and implementing a food security response to the situation as follows:

• The FAO and WFP have availed immediate technical support towards strengthening the assessment of the impact to the agriculture sector. This support includes the rapid geospatial analysis that was undertaken by the FAO starting from the 11 to 20 March 2022 and work on finalising the Geospatial analysis draft report on the likely impact;
• The WFP has also availed drones for conducting the assessment in areas that are not easily accessible. DALRRD is in the process of requesting the clearance from the Aviation Authority;
• Both organisations are keen to work with the national and provincial government in planning and implementing the mid to long term food security interventions that are aimed at restoring livelihoods that have been disrupted by this situation; and
• Task teams have been set up and response implementation plan developed and costed under National Disaster Management Centre to provide much needed support to affected farmers.

The following are the short-term interventions from DALRRD:

• Rehabilitation of infields roads to the amount of R23 083 100;
• Assistance to farm workers, dwellers and vulnerable households amounting to R56 930 000;
• Soil fertility soil PH balance support (soil testing, liming and fertiliser support scheme to farmers) amounting to R1 238 000;
• Supply household garden packages (household food security intervention): R5 million budgeted for this initiative;
• Soil liming for R6 484 000;
• Crop Maintenance to the value of R20 840 400;
• Support re-enforcement of Bio security measures of farms to the value of R10 million;
• R19 481 365 is budgeted for resuscitating livestock operations on affected farms; and
• Sugar cane support initiative amounting to R71 590 400.

The budget required for these interventions is R214 647 265 and the reprioritised budget amounts to R60 524 000, resulting in a shortfall of R154 123 265.

The medium to long term interventions are the following:

• Replanting programme (production input support for crop enterprises) 772 farmers to be assisted to the value of R75 257 000
• Expansion of household food security programme (household garden packages), 1500 households, amount required here is R15 million
• Rehabilitation of the tunnels, eight (08) projects with 35 tunnels to be erected to the value of R7 million
• Rehabilitation of the fencing, 26 projects to be fenced for the distance of 33,5km costing R3 224 000
• Rehabilitation of irrigation, 16 projects covering 57 hectares to the value of R5 670 000
• 14 animal housing projects amounting to R3 038 000
• 17 dipping tanks projects to the value of R2 707 300

It is envisaged that the above-mentioned projects will cost R111 896 300 in total.

Reply:

Plant and Animal Products Export Markets from 2019 to date:

(a) Markets opened since 2019

• Market access for the export of South African Pears to China was granted in 2021 and the protocol of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for the export of pears from the Republic of South Africa to the People’s Republic of China was signed on 30 November 2021. The implementation date for the signed protocol was confirmed to be 17 January 2022.
• Market access for the export of South African Citrus to the Philippines was granted in 2020. The protocol was signed on 20 July 2020.
• Poultry meat market access to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was granted in 2019.
• The market for the export of raw beef to Malaysia was opened. The Malaysian Veterinary Authority approved an abattoir to start exporting in October 2020.
• Wool, hides and skins were exported to the People’s Republic of China after a new health certificate was negotiated in 2020.
• Live cattle, sheep, and goat health certificates were negotiated with Botswana in 2020.

(b) Changes in conditions regarding market access made to date:

The revised protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export of South African citrus fruit to China was signed on 18 June 2021. South Africa has been exporting citrus to China under a protocol that was bilaterally agreed upon and signed on 21 June 2006. Under this protocol, the potential risk of a false codling moth (FCM), a pest of quarantine concern to the People’s Republic of China, was addressed through a cold treatment regime of 24 days at 0.6°C in transit which was not ideal for lemons. Currently, under the revised protocol, cold treatment for lemons will be 3°C or below for not less than 18 consecutive days.

• Re-opened markets since 2019: Botswana, ESwatini and Namibia have been re-opened.

• Poultry Meat markets in the process of negotiation: Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

• Beef markets re-opened since 2019 in Angola, Bahrain, Botswana, China, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Mozambique, Qatar, Seychelles, eSwatini, UAE and Zimbabwe.

New Markets Opened for Imports

YEAR	COMMODITY	EXPORT COUNTRY
2022	Avocado fresh fruit (Persea americana)	Tanzania
2022	Mango fresh fruit (Mangifera indica)	Peru
2021	Avocado fresh fruit (Persea americana) for processing	Tanzania
2021	Apple fresh fruit (Malus spp.)	Lesotho
2021	Mango fresh fruit (Mangifera indica)	India
2020	Mango fresh fruit (Mangifera indica)	Egypt
2020	Pineapple fresh fruit (Ananas comosus)	Angola
2019	Citrus fresh fruit (Citrus spp.)	Morocco
2019	Mango fresh fruit (Mangifera indica)	Brazil
2019	Citrus fresh fruit (Citrus spp.) for processing	Spain
2019	Mango fresh fruit (Mangifera indica)	Spain

Revised Phytosanitary Import Requirements (Plant Products)

YEAR	COMMODITY	EXPORT COUNTRY
2022	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Mozambique
2022	Mango fresh fruit (Mangifera indica)	Namibia
2021	Pepper (Capsicum spp.)	Namibia
2021	Watermelon (Citrullus spp.)	Namibia
2021	Melon and cucumber (Cucumis spp.)	Namibia
2021	Pumpkins (Cucurbita spp.)	Namibia
2021	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Namibia
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Eswatini
2020	Citrus fresh fruit (Citrus spp.)	Eswatini
2020	Avocado fresh fruit (Persea americana)	Eswatini
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Ghana
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Uganda
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Ivory Coast
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Zambia
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Zimbabwe
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Angola
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Ecuador
2020	Banana fresh fruit (Musa spp.)	Cameroon

Revised Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Requirements (Animals And Animal Products)

YEAR	COMMODITY	EXPORT COUNTRY
2019	Porcine semen	France
2020	Frozen pork, porcine semen	Belgium
2021	Frozen pork	Germany
2022	Cured and heat-treated pork products	Italy

New Markets Opened for Imports Animal Product

YEAR	COMMODITY	EXPORT COUNTRY
2019	Heat treated pork and poultry	France
2019	Heat treated pork	Hungary
2021	Heat treated pork	Germany

(b) The Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan (AAMP) has recently been signed by the Government together with its social partners. Following the signing in May, branches in the Department initiated the process of incorporating the Master Plan into their Operational Plans. As a result, no conditions with regard to market access can be attributed to the AAMP as yet.

Reply:

The first allocation for the FMD vaccine factory was made in the 2007/2008 financial year. A figure of R214 million was allocated by the National Treasury over a four–year period. An additional figure of R400 million was allocated over the MTEF beginning in 2019-2022.

The process of establishing a GMP compliant facility started with the development of new production methods. This process is to ensure that there is capability for production of GMP compliant vaccines at scale once the new factory is completed. This involves processes such as optimisation of cell culture production, optimisation of antigen production, production of master seed stocks, validation of antigenicity, scaling production to pilot amounts, optimisation of downstream processing and optimisation of formulation. This process is ongoing and will continue during the establishment of the new factory.

In preparing for the GMP compliant facility, construction preparatory work was undertaken. This process involved the management of land rights including necessary zoning, environmental, infrastructural/ external services, legal requirements in relation to such land rights (obtaining the title deed, Surveyor-General diagram, municipal account, and approval).

Currently, the project plan for the GMP compliant facility is at the stage of appointment of service providers. This process is to ensure that the specifications for the appointment of service providers to design various aspects of the project (process engineers, architectural designer, mechanical engineers, electrical and electronics engineers, quantity surveyors, civil and structural engineers as well as other key appointments such as fire engineers, occupational health safety and environmental practitioners is concluded. Appointment of service providers for the built environment has been approved by Council and is underway subject to service level agreements. Service providers will commence work immediately upon conclusion of these contracts.

Reply:

The department is busy consolidating the figures and a detailed reply will be submitted once finalised.

Reply:

a) As at 31 March 2022, a total of 5 198 594 hectares has been redistributed to black people.

b) Provincial breakdown of redistributed land, in hectares:

Provinces	EC	FS	GP	KZN	LP	MP	NW	NC	WC
Redistributed Land	569 189	434 799	63 575	621 674	197 973	498 426	594 297	1 622 208	596 453

c) Since 27 April 1994, an amount of R 19 809 billion cost the Department to buy land for redistribution.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development does not regulate fuel. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is best placed to respond to this question.

Reply:

(a),(b),(c),(d),(i),(ii) None. After consultation with the industry, there is no indication of supply shortages of critical agricultural products such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and equipment. However, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will monitor the impact of the ongoing conflict.

Reply:

The appointment was made in terms of Section 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Service Act, 1994, (as amended) and the Acting Appointments Policy of the Department

Reply:

a) Since the start of the lock down as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic on 27 March 2020, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) implemented strategic projects to assist farmers inclusive of the following:

• The COVID 19 relief programme for smallholder producers;
• The Presidential Employment Stimulus for subsistence producers with a focus on women, youth people with disabilities and veterans;
• Working on the Blended Finance modalities and launching the industrial leg of the programme with the IDC;
• Intensely working with partners in implementation of the Jobs Fund Project with National Treasury;
• Continuous support through Programmes such as CASP and Ilima/ Letsema to focus on strategic impact of sustainability;
• The finalisation of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) with additional emphasis on increasing support for grains, red meat value chain, citrus and cotton; and
• Working with Provincial Departments of Agriculture to employ additional extension personnel who will support farmers with technical advisory services

b) The transformation of the agricultural sector is an ongoing process to include all black entrants across the subsistence, smallholder and commercial levels. Different transformation programmes target different farmer groups but with a focus for overall integration. The main effort being undertaken by DALRRD in relation to transformation is the Agriculture and Agro Processing Master Plan which is a social compact that aims to enhance existing and future transformation efforts.

Reply:

(a)(i)(ii),(aa),(bb),(cc),(dd) Agricultural Extension Officers: Please refer to the table below.

 

(a)(i) employed in the past two years	(a)(ii) qualified through bursary schemes in each province
(aa) Limpopo: 0 and Mpumalanga: 53 Extension Officers were on contract and were permanently absorbed during 2021/22 financial year   DALRRD employed Extension Officers: Limpopo: 6 and Mpumalanga: 4 on contract for 3 months	Limpopo: 0 Mpumalanga: 0
(bb) Eastern Cape: 21 and Northern Cape: 0   DALRRD employed 3 Extension Officers in Eastern Cape and 6 in Northern Cape on contract for 3 months	Eastern Cape: 0 Northern Cape: 0
(cc) KwaZulu-Natal:71   DALRRD employed 4 Extension Officers in KwaZulu-Natal on contract for 3 months	KwaZulu-Natal: 8
(dd) North West:46   DALRRD employed 6 Extension Officers in North West on contract for 3 months	North West: 0

 

 

 

 

 

(b)(i),(ii) Black emerging farmers: Please refer to the table below.

 

(b)(i) provided with extension officers in the past two years	(b)(ii) assisted with funding in the past two financial years   A total of 38 203 smallholder producers were supported over a period of 2020/21 and 2021/22.  These are figures as reported by provinces on the Electronic Quarterly Report System (e-QPRS)   Province 2020/21 Smallholder producers supported as reported in eQPRS Total Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 EC 0 240 3616 4169 8025 FS 0 0 58 228 286 GP 14 39 116 66 235 KZN 1797 1985 1205 1058 6045 LP 878   1927 1512 4317 MP 52 83 282 115 532 NC 0 12 711 298 1021 NW 0 110 95 160 365 WC 16 23 9 13 61 Total         20887   Province 2021/22 Smallholder producers supported as reported in eQPRS Total Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 EC 753 917 479 3717 5866 FS 0 0 5 98 103 GP 73 37 90 46 246 KZN 0 1849 2259 1894 6002 LP 312 354 286 246 1198 MP 438 198 660 287 1583 NC 0 0 1237 795 2032 NW 0 0 61 182 243 WC 8 20 12 3 43 Total         17316
(aa)   Limpopo: 13 444, and Mpumalanga: 5 100
(bb)   Eastern Cape: 18 351, and   Northern Cape: 3 075
(cc)   KwaZulu-Natal: 11 984
(dd)   North West: 14 356

 

Reply:

1.

a) The verification process was conducted on the 8th -14th May 2022 in Lower Zingcuka. Out of the original list of 160 households /ODIs that was submitted as the families that were affected by the dispossession, the Commission has verified 154 households that have submitted the necessary documents and 6 households have not been verified.

The outstanding 6 families have outstanding documents which have not been submitted to the Commission, it is however alleged that the list of ODIs is not comprehensive and the Commission will not entertain the allegations without comprehensive documentation submitted as evidence.

The Commission has scheduled a follow up visit for 22 July 2022 for the second phase to collect documents from the 6 families and receive any other information and records from any other party alleging that they are part of the claim.

b) It is anticipated that the verification process will be completed by 30 August 2022 barring any challenges that emanate from the community concerned.

2. The claim is projected to be settled in Quarter 3 of 2022/23 Financial Year, on condition that the Commission receives full co-operation from the community in submitting all the required documentation.

END

Reply:

a) 845.

b) To date the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has commissioned two independent studies on the Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP). In 2013 the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) was requested to conduct a mid-term review and six provinces (Eastern Cape, Free State Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and North West) were selected and the outcomes were as follows, but not limited to these:

• The intervention seemed to have worked well in some provinces, whereas in others there were challenges. Overall 67% of the beneficiaries were effectively capacitated in the following areas:
• technical expertise 66%; farm management 71%;
• market output 88%;
• funding 76% and market input 62%; and
• in conclusion, it has been established that economic situation of farmers have improved significantly at about 72%.

c) Currently the intervention used to support farmers does not make use of strategic partners.

Reply:

(1)(a) Details of the cost of building 35 houses are:

DETAILS OF THE COST	Qty	Rate	Amount
Planning and design services by architectural, civil and electrical engineer. Including construction supervision and monitoring for 12 months	1	R1 813 440,05	R1 813 440,05
Construction of 64m2 house, with three-bedroom, open plan kitchen and living room, bathroom with shower and toilet,	35	R 433 297,31	R15 165 405,85
Off-grid 5Kva solar power producing 10KWh per day, with power bank for two days. Including 150L Solar Geysers installed on 35 houses and 1 RDP house built by Municipality for storm damage victim was also powered with solar	36	R 176 975,14	R 6 371 105,04
Sewer reticulation and septic tanks installed to two sites divided by national highway in Paardeplaats Farm	2	R 961 865,51	R 1 923 731,02
Sewer reticulation and septic tanks installed to two sites divided by river stream in Rietfontein	2	R 300 178,75	R 600 357,50
Water reticulation in two sites in Paardeplaats including two 20 000L Elevated tanks, drilling of two Boreholes equipped with refurbished of old windmills	2	R 635 216,26	R 1 270 432,52
Water reticulation in two sites in Rietfontein including two 10 000L Elevated tanks, drilling of two Boreholes equipped with new of solar pumps	2	R 486 695,00	R 973 390,00
Rehabilitation of 4KM gravel access road in Rietfontein and rehabilitation of site drainage in Paardeplaats Farm	1	R 797 421,00	R 797 421,00

b) The details of the contractors who did the work is Masikhane Civil Contractors CC of 855 Longclaw Flight Street, Hazeview 1242 with registration number 1999/011128/23 and CIDB registration number 110071.

(2) Details of current farming and/or business activities:

a) The Department purchased the Remaining Extent of portion 15 of the farm Paardeplaats 380 JT measuring 39.9301 in settlement of 6 labour tenants claims and secured land tenure of 59 farm dwellers. The current agricultural activities are subsistence farming in the form of crops and livestock. The Department is in engagement with the beneficiaries to assist with other development activities.

b) The Department purchased portion 7 of the farm Rietfontein 365 JT measuring 126.1129 and portion 17 of the farm Rietfontein 365 JT measuring 212.5430 which makes a total of 338.6559 in extent in settlement of 2 labour tenants claims and secured land tenure of 23 farm dwellers. The current agricultural activities are subsistence farming in the form of crops and livestock. The Department is in engagement with the beneficiaries to assist with other development activities.

(3) Yes. The Department has assisted the communities to establish legal entities namely; Siyaphumula Communal Property Associations for Paardeplaats community and Mtsweni-Letswalo Communal Property Associations for Rietfontein community. Should the CPAs take a resolution to allocate title deeds to each household, the Department will then assist with subdivision and transfer of land to individual households in title guided by policy provisions.

Reply:

(a),(b) The Department has consulted with the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) and requests that the OBP be given more time to provide the information necessary to respond to the questions. This will assist the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to respond to the questions with certainty and accuracy, which it undertakes to do by 30 June 2022.