Questions and Replies

Reply:

(1) (i) No, The claim is projected for settlement in the 3rd quarter of the current financial year as per the reply to question 1195 submitted on 4 May 2023. The Settlement memorandum has been compiled and is currently undergoing the internal processes for consideration by the delegated authority.

(2) Yes, the offer was accepted by the claimants and the settlement agreement was signed with the addition verification lists.

(a),(b)(i),(ii) Falls away.

END

Reply:

a) It must be noted that an error was committed at the time of the publication of the amended gazette Notice No. 221 of 2014 in the Government Gazette No.37443 dated 20 March 2014.

The purpose of publishing property in terms of section 11(7) of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, Act 22 of 1992, as amended, is to notify all the interested and affected parties of the land Restitution claim and should not include the Restitution award.

The error on the subject line of the Gazette notice in that the claim will be settled through financial compensation will be corrected through another Government Gazette.

b) (i). No payment has been processed.

(ii). Falls away.

 

END

Reply:

1. (a), Refer to Annexure A for amount allocated to Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSUs) and AgriHubs.

(b) The Agri-Hubs has three components, i.e. Farmer Production Support Unit, Agri-Hub and Rural Market Centres. The Department has thus far constructed 51 FPSUs and 10 Agri-Hubs

2. (a) 51 FPSUs and 10 Agri-Hubs

(b) Refer to Annexure B

(c) (i) and (ii) refer to Annexure B

Reply:

a) The Animal Health Act, 2002 is a complete departure from the Animal Diseases Act 1984 and requires a complete overhaul of the entire animal health regulatory service. The country, industry and markets must be thoroughly planned and prepared as any hasty overhaul will have implications for South Africa’s trading partners. We are in the process of ascertaining and analysing what would be in the best interest for South Africa i.e. whether to strengthen weaknesses identified in the Act that is currently in force (Act No. 35 of 1984) or repeal and replace it with the un-promulgated Act (Act No. 7 of 2002). The Department aims to conclude this exercise before the end of the current calendar year and will approach Parliament for guidance once all factors have been assessed.

b) There are no records that point to any one official who could have decided not to have the Act promulgated. The Department is currently undertaking an analysis as to whether to strengthen the current Act No. 35 of 1984 or proceed with the necessary steps to promulgate Act No. 7 of 2002.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Chloe ‘LandCare’ Project was not funded from the LandCare Conditional Grant since its inception. On investigation we found out that the project was conceived from the umbrella principles of LandCare to pursue the LandCare ethos; it is for this reason the project was called Chloe LandCare.

The Chloe ‘LandCare’ Project sought to improve the grazing conditions of the area and to establish a livestock association. Workers were hired to erect the fence and to clear bush encroachment and sisal to improve the area under grazing.

Our further investigations revealed that this Project was funded from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)’s Integrated Incentive Grant and reported to Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as a National Transferring Officer for the grant.

(b) (i),(ii),(c)(i),(ii) List of 2021/22 and 2022/23 land care projects are attached. Please refer to Annexure A.

(2) The Limpopo Department of Agriculture undertook a rigorous economic assessment and research by a specialist who concluded that the Sisal projects should be closed since they were not economically viable.

Reply:

a) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) took a decision to consolidate all offices into a single building to improve access to services and service delivery.

b) September 2022.

c) 89% of deeds made available within 7 days from lodgement to registration against a target of 95%; and

99% of deeds are made available within 10 days from registration to delivery against a target of 95%.

d) Please refer to Annexure A for the Deeds Office project plan and communication to clients and the public.

e) (i) The Deeds Office did not fail to provide registry services during the relocation; the deeds office provided limited services i.e. only lodgement of deeds was suspended, and registration services proceeded as normal.

(ii) There is no need for a catch-up plan as the Deeds office was proactive and obtained approval for overtime before moving the office to ensure sustained productivity.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) as the custodian of agriculture, gears its efforts to ensure the attainment of sustainable food security in the country. Rising food prices is regarded by DALRRD as one of the major drivers for food access challenges in the country. As such, tracking the trends of food prices, deriving insights for the prevailing trends that drive food and commodity price margins is critical for the Department towards identifying actions when food security is threatened. Vigilance is ensured through assessments that are continuously conducted by the Food Price Monitoring Committee at the National Agriculture Marketing Council (NAMC). According to the NAMC’s monthly food price monitor, the nominal cost of the 28-item urban food basket increased by 10,1% in May 2023 compared to May 2022, costing R1 182,76 versus R1 073,86 in 2023. During this period, vegetables contributed the most to the observed food inflation followed by dairy and eggs. Food inflation has a particular negative impact on the poor who spend a greater proportion of their income on food, even when they consume the cheapest options.

(a),(i),(ii),(ii) The South African producers / farmers at various scales of production have generally been affected by the high agricultural production inputs costs. These include the price trends for domestic fertilizers that were experienced building up to the summer crops production season in 2022. Fertilizer prices increased drastically and fluctuated throughout the summer crops production season due to the global markets price volatility in response to lower global supply. Energy insecurity further exacerbates the situation of high inputs costs. This eventually translates to lower profit margins from farm gate prices for the producers, especially for those that are at the small scale, yet it also translates to higher prices paid by consumers from retailers. However, on the positive note for consumers, including small scale producers as consumers of other food items that they do not produce; the RSA food inflation is anticipated to reduce in the coming months due to the new good local grain stocks being harvested.

(b) Interventions to insulate poor households from hunger and chronic poverty: DALRRD remains committed to supporting agricultural producers with several programmes that are implemented as a deliberate effort to cushion households against hunger and food insecurity in the country. The overall objective of these programmes is to expand domestic food production through strengthening subsistence (vulnerable and household producers), smallholder and medium commercial producers to ensure basic food availability and livelihoods resilience at household level as well as to retain self-employment in agriculture sector.

In addition to the annual support that is provided by DALRRD through the Comprehensive Producer Support Programme (CASP) and Ilima Letsema, DALRRD is currently supporting subsistence producers through the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES). The support is rendered through provision of agricultural production inputs or vouchers for commodities such as fruits & vegetables, grains, poultry, small and large stock. The support targets the women, youth, child-headed households, people living with disabilities and Military Veterans. The provision of inputs to this category of producers has cushioned several producers against the high inputs prices and has strengthened the household’s livelihoods and resilience against shocks and hazards.

Reply:

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

No. With reference to the reply to question 706 on 5 April 2023 regarding production targets of vaccines that were out of stock, not all specified targets were met.

1. Reasons where the specified targets were not met are detailed below:

VACCINES IN STOCK	AVAILABILITY Y/N	REASONS FOR NOT MEETING TARGET
African Horse Sickness (AHS)	Yes	The product took longer than expected to pack because it is a 12-dose pack size.
Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD)	Yes	The process of packing AHS vaccines impacted on finalising packaging of the LSD vaccine. Product is now available.
Pulpy Kidney Alum	Yes	Packing commenced in the first week of May 2023 due to delays in packing AHS vaccines.
Brucella S19	No	The delay was due to the long list of key products which were in line to be freeze-dried and this affected its production schedule.
Brucella Rev 1	No	The delay was due to the long list of key products such as AHS and Bluetongue Viral Vaccine (BTV) which were in line to be freeze-dried this caused rescheduling of production plans.
Rift Valley Fever Live	Yes	Packing for this product was delayed due to the long lead time to pack AHS. Product was available for distribution in the week of 19 June 2023.
Botulism	Yes	Quality control test took longer than expected, there was a need to confirm its safety and efficacy. Product was available in the week of 19 June 2023.

1. The revised target dates of the various vaccines are detailed below:

VACCINE	REVISED TARGET DATE FOR RELEASE	REASONS FOR DELAY
Bluetongue	Product was released in late April 2023. Another batch will be released in the first week of July 2023.	Demand was more than supply.
African Horse Sickness	Product is released weekly.	Demand was more than supply.
Lumpy Skin Disease	Expected delivery date end of June 2023.	Currently packing AHS.
Pulpy Kidney Alum	Available.	Awaiting Quality Control (QC) results.
Brucella S19	Product expected delivery date is end of July 2023.	Long list of products awaiting freeze-drying.
Brucella Rev 1	Product expected delivery date is end of July 2023.	Long list of products awaiting freeze-drying.
Rift Valley Fever Live	Available	No delay; currently packed.
Botulism	Product was available in the week of 19 June 2023.	There was a delay in QC results.

Reply:

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

(1) The Land Bank is under the administration of National Treasury and any recapitalization of the Land Bank is the responsibility of National Treasury. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) had no plans to provide R3,9 billion to the Land Bank in the 2019-22 financial years.

(a),(b),(i)-(iii) Falls away . However, it should be noted that in 2020, the Land Bank experienced liquidity challenges and DALRRD has remained supportive of the Bank’s efforts to resume lending activities whilst the process to finalise the debt restructure solution with the Bank’s lenders is still in process. Among the programmes that the DALRRD is implementing is the Blended Finance Scheme, which is a collaboration between the DALRRD and financing institutions where DALRRD contributes the grant and the financing institution approves the loan.

(2) The DALRRD has signed a ten-year agreement with Land Bank and for the period 2022/23 – 2024/25, DALRRD and the Land Bank have collectively committed R1,95 billion of blended funds to support smallholder, medium and larger commercial black producers. The blended finance scheme was launched in October 2022 and statistics below are from inception to date and for the 2023/2024 financial year.

Inception to date

November 2022 to date
Total Client Approvals	Total Approvals (Loan + Grant)	Total Disbursements (Loan + Grant)	Total Loan Commitments	Total Grant (Blending + Insurance)
47	R352 113 806	R31 648 890	R165 279 924	R186 833 882

2024 Financial Year

April 2023 to date
Total Client Approvals	Total Approvals (Loan + Grant)	Total Disbursements	Total Loan Commitments	Total Grant (Blending + Insurance)
17	R96 686 340	R24 751 528	R43 571 030	R53 115 310

(3)(a),(b) The performance measures in place include the following:

• 50% Female, 40% youth and 6% people with disabilities supported i.e. owners of enterprises supported;
• jobs created;
• hectares supported or capacity of production supported; and
• reach per province.

(4) (a) The programme is demand driven and the caps are already set per category of farmer; the following estimations are made:

• If all beneficiaries are smallholder producers with a grant cap of R15 million per transaction, the Land Bank can support a minimum of 22 transactions per annum. However, because the programme is demand driven, at the end of 2022/23, the Land Bank recorded a total of 30 producers supported.
• If all beneficiaries supported are medium scale producers with a grant cap of R30 million per transaction, the Land Bank can support a minimum of 11 transactions per annum. However, because the programme is demand driven, at the end of 2022/23 Land Bank recorded a total of 30 producers supported.
• If all beneficiaries supported are large scale commercial farmers, with a grant cap of R40 million or R50 million, depending if the support is an acquisition or production expansion, the Land Bank can support a total of 9 transactions. However, because the programme is demand driven, at the end of 2022/23, the Land Bank recorded a total of 30 producers supported.

 

(b) The Minister of DALRRD has a performance agreement with the President. Progress on performance is submitted periodically not only on the Blended Finance Scheme but other programmes as well. No date is set to brief the President.

Reply:

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

The Department of Cooperative Governance is mandated to address municipal related matters including Local Economic Development.

1. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) works closely with municipalities in the construction of Agri-Parks including Farmer Production Support Units, Agri Hubs and rural access roads.

1. DALRRD has partnered with the African Development Bank through the Middle-Income Country Technical Assistance Fund (MIC TAF) Grant of $400,000.00 for appointment of a transactional advisor to assist in enhancing and upscaling the Agri-Parks program to a sustainable infrastructure development system (SIDS) methodology. This approach will facilitate public-private sector partnerships (PPPs) and value proposition for sustainable and bankable Agri-Parks supporting Agribusiness in line with the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan. The two pilot projects identified for the partnership are: Tshiame Agri-Park in the Free State Province and Springbokpan Agri-Park in the Northwest Province as gazetted as Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPS) in South Africa.

Reply:

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

1. Yes, the Communal Land Bill and the Communal Land Tenure Policy are being developed for public comment and they seek to provide for the transfer of communal land held in trust by the State, to communities and community members occupying such communal land; as well as to provide for the award of comparable redress; registration of communal land; land rights inquiries; the democratic administration of communal land; the establishment of communal land boards; dispute resolution mechanisms; and to amend and repeal certain laws.

1. Yes, the process to design a fit-for-purpose structure for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is in progress and the capacity constraints analysis was completed. The Land Tenure Unit has completed a proposed new structure to accommodate these functions and recommend a separate Directorate at national and provincial levels for communal tenure and the creation of District sub-directorates for communal tenure to accommodate this order. Currently, the existing capacity within DALRRD handles all matters related to communal land, working with Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) secretariat. The new Board has also been appointed and DALRRD has seconded a well-qualified official to act as the Chief Financial Officer for the ITB.

Reply:

Yes, due to the issuing of Permission to Occupy (PTOs) in KwaZulu-Natal being retained by the former Minister of Land Affairs, in accordance with the KwaZulu-Natal Land Affairs Act, 1992 (Act No. 11 of 1992), the former Minister delegated the function to the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal in 1998 and the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has since withdrawn the delegations.

The Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) technically took over the function from the KwaZulu-Natal Government and stopped issuing PTOs in 2007; however, the litigation on this matter is not completed, and the application (appeal) by Ingonyama Trust is yet to be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Reply:

a) A total of 83 farms were planned under the Land Development Support programme for the 2022-23 financial year. All 83 farms were finalised, and they are currently under implementation. Finalised in this context involves farm assessment to determine needs including farmer skills assessment, business plan development with the farmer assisted by commodity organisation, budget approval, contracting and opening a grant holding account for implementation. Based on the approved commodity and seasonality associated with it, implementation is spread out in line with milestones as outlined in the approved business plan.

b) (i) A total of 66 farms are planned for the 2023-24 financial year. These farms are being subjected to the various committees for endorsement and subsequent approval and implementation by respective provinces.

(ii) and (iii) Refer to the table below:

Province	District Municipality	Project Name	Property description	Budget	Commodity
Eastern Cape	Amathole	Bellrock	Farm No.1826,Remaining Extent of Farm No.1827 and PTN 1 of Farm No.1850	R6 125 600	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Amathole	Eureka	Portion 3&4 of Farm Leuwis Drift No.1 and Remainder of elands Kop No.2	R6 125 600	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Sarah Baartman	Farm 318	Ptn 0 Of Farm No.326 GRAAFF REINET RD	R3 739 840	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Sarah Baartman	Irene farm	Irene farm	R3 739 840	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Sarah Baartman	Radiesvley farm	Radiesvley farm	R6 125 600	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Amathole	Sixhenxe Farming Coop	Portion 4 Of Farm 1048	R7 737 600	Subtropical
Eastern Cape	Chris Hani	Soetfontein Farm	Remaining Extent Of Portion 0 Of Farm Plaatkraal No.261 and other portions.	R3 739 840	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Chris Hani	Ulin Farm	Portion 0 Of Farm Ulin No.845 and other portions.	R6 125 600	Livestock
Eastern Cape	Sarah Baartman	Waterford Group 1	Waterford Group 1	R3 739 840	Livestock
Free State	Fezile Dabi	Concordia farm	Rietfontein No. 2457/1; Verdien No. 2456/1	R6 125 600	Livestock
Free State	Thabo Mofutsanyane	De Spruit	De Spruit No. 1071	R 7 415 200	Field Crops
Free State	Mangaung	Schmidtsdrift	Schmidtdrift No. 1972	R 7 415 200	Field Crops
Free State	Thabo Mofutsanyane	Schurvekop	Schurvekop No. 187 (LU 3)	R 7 415 200	Field Crops
Free State	Mangaung	Tussenrevier	Tussenrevier No. 1963	R 7 415 200	Field Crops
Free State	Fezile Dabi	Weltevrede Noord	Weltevrede Noord No. 584/1	R11 284 000	Poultry
Gauteng	North East Region	Aron Mbatha	Portion 12 (of 2) of farm Tweefontein No.491 JR	R11 284 000	Livestock
Gauteng	Westrand	Kesiiloe Hendrick Soai	Remaining Extent of Portion 22 and Portion 99 of the farm Brandvlei 261 IQ	R 6 125 600	Livestock
Gauteng	City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality	Kodumela Moepa Thutse Farming Projects (PTY) LTD	Ptn 119 of the farm Bultfontein 107 JR	R11 284 000	Livestock
Gauteng	Metsweding	Kwindla Farm	Portion 21 of farm Haartebeesfontein No.123 JR	R11 284 000	Livestock
Gauteng	Sedibeng	Mojaletema Primary Co-operative	R/E ptn 5 of Uitkyk no 327 and R/E of ptn 15(of ptn 4) of farm Bulfontein	R 3 739 840,00	Livestock
Gauteng	North East Region	Mpho Octavius. Selepe.	Portion 15 of farm Leeuwdraai No.211 JR	R11 284 000	Poultry
Gauteng	City of Tshwane	Stav Chicken	Ptn 14 of farm Fiarfield no. 236 JR	R11 284 000	Poultry
Kwazulu Natal	King Cetshwayo	Belmore	Portion 2 of farm Lot 68 Umfolozi no.13568.	R8 060 000	Sugarcane
Kwazulu Natal	uMgungundlovu	Birdwood Farm	Portion 503 of the farm Beaulieu Estate No. 1412 FT	R5 480 800	Horticulture
Kwazulu Natal	Zululand	Kroomdraai	Portion 1 of the Farm Kromdraai No.459, Portion 2 of the Farm Kromdraai No.459 and Remaining Extent of the Farm Kromdraai No 459.	R6 125 600	Livestock
Kwazulu Natal	Ilembe	Margaret	Ptn 1 of the farm no 16988	R8 060 000	Horticulture
Kwazulu Natal	Harry Gwala	Melville Park	Unit 2 of the reminder of Portion 1 of farm Bersheba, no 38 ES	R6 125 600	Livestock
Kwazulu Natal	uMgungundlovu	Runnymeade Farm	Portion 1 of the farm Runnymeade No. 15577 FS	R6 125 600	Livestock
Kwazulu Natal	Umzinyathi	Spitskop /Sibiya	Remainder of Portion 1 of the farm Spitskop No. 161 and Remainder of the farm Spitskop No. 161	R7 415 200	Field Crops
Kwazulu Natal	Umzinyathi	Stratherne	Stratherne No.4134, Meadowbank No.4130, Ongeluk No.8448, up and Down No.4962	R6 125 600	Livestock
Kwazulu Natal	King Cetshwayo	Tasma	Portion 2 of farm Lot 68 Umfolozi no.13568, Portion 2 (of 1) Lot 71 of farm Umfolozi no.13567 and other. Portions.	R7 737 600	Macademia
Kwazulu Natal	Ilembe	Tulele Fram	Portions 129, 200, 472 of Chaka’s Kraal No 865	R8 060 000	Horticulture
Limpopo	Capricorn	Dakalo Reginah Magwede	Ptn 1 & 8 of the farm Jakhalsfontein 119 MR	R6 125 600	Livestock
Limpopo	Mopani	Deerpark	Ptn 20 of the farm Deerpark 459 LT	R7 737 600	Subtropical
Limpopo	Waterberg	Doornlaagte	Ptn 1 of the farm Doornlaagte & Ptn 4 of the farm Platlaagte 614 KS	R6 125 600	Livestock
Limpopo	Capricon	Magwasha	Ptn 0 of the farm Liberton 298 MS	R6 125 600	Livestock
Limpopo	Capricon	Rhone farm	Ptn 2 of the farm Rhone 321 MR	R6 125 600	Livestock
Limpopo	Mopani	Sekgopo Community	Ptn 2 & R/E of Ptn 0 of the farm Roodedraai 378 LT	R6 125 600	Livestock
Limpopo	Waterberg	Sterkstroom	R/E of Ptn 6 of the farm Sterkstroom 105 KR	R6 125 600	Livestock
Limpopo	Waterberg	Temo Ya Tlhabane Holding	Ptn 1 of the farm Doornlaagte 619 KS	R6 125 600	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Ehlanzeni	Bellevue	Ptn of Farm Bellevue B 519 JT & Rem.Ext of Ptn 0 of Bellevue A2 520 JT	R7 415 200	Citrus
Mpumalanga	Nkangala	Elandspruit	Portion 39 (Of Ptn 2) Of Farm Elandspruit No.291 JS	R7 415 200	Grain
Mpumalanga	Gert Sibande	Haarlem	Rem Ext of Portion 3 of the farm Haarlem 39 IT	R7 415 200	Grain
Mpumalanga	Nkangala	Kalbasfontein	Kalbasfontein 284 JS Portion 22	R 7 415 200	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Ehlanzeni	Kliprievier (Elvis Meshack Dludlu)	Remaining extent of portion 1 of the farm Kliprievier 73 JT	R 6 125 600	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Nkangala	Klipspruit - JE Skhosana Farms & Logistics)	Portion 11(Portion of Portion 3) of the farm Klipspruit 199 IR:Remaining Extent of Portion 0 of the farm Stilte 223 IR	R7 415 200	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Nkangala	Klipspruit	Ptn 7 (Of Ptn 4) Of Farm Klipspruit No.199 IR	R11 928 800	Layers
Mpumalanga	Gert Sibande	Mooihoek	Rem Ext of Ptn 1 of the farm Mooihoek 168 HT	R6 125 600	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Gert Sibande	Rendal	Portion 2 (Nozika) of Riversdale 127 IT	R6 125 600	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Gert Sibande	Shepstone	Rem Ext of Shepstone 280 IT	R6 125 600	Livestock
Mpumalanga	Nkangala	Witklipbank	Portion 21 (Portion of Portion 4) of the farm Witklipbank 202.	R11 284 000	Broiler
North West	Ngaka Modiri Molema	Amantle Trading	Remainder of Portion 24, 25, 28,80,82, 91 and portions 44.	R 7 415 200	Field Crops
North West	Bojanala	Gosiame-Ramaila	Portion 799 of Hartebeesfontein (Gosiame-Ramaila)	R 6 125 600	Livestock
North West	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati	Kildare Carlow	Portion 162 of Farm Remaining Extent van Block C 2nd Railway Grant Nr 1 JM	R 6 125 600	Livestock
North West	Dr Kenneth Kaunda	Makwene Enooh	Pnt 36 of the farm rietkuil 397 IP and Pnt 22 of the farm Wolverand 425 IP	R 6 125 600	Livestock
North West	Dr Kenneth Kaunda	Mamusa Farms (Pty) Ltd	Portion 8 of Rooipoort 202 IP & 11 of Wilfontein 201 IP	R6 125 600	Livestock
North West	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati	Mogonedi Archibold	Portion 2 of the farm Alnwick 287 JM	R6 125 600	Livestock
North West	Bojanala	Raphulo	Portion 879 of Hartebeespoort C419 JQ ( Raphulo)	R 6 125 600	Livestock
Northern Cape	Pixley Ka Seme	Keilder	Portion 4 and 5 of Hedley Plains A No. 64, Portion 6 of the farm Doonies Pan No. 106.	R3 739 840	Livestock
Northern Cape	Namakwa	Klein vogelfontein	Portion 0 of the farm Klein Vogelsfontein No 920	R3 739 840	Livestock
Northern Cape	Pixley Ka Seme	Kranshoek	Farm kranshoek no 396.	R3 739 840	Livestock
Northern Cape	Frances Baard	Melkvlei	Farm no. 221 & R/E of portion 3 of Farm Longlands no. 231	R7 415 200	Livestock
Northern Cape	ZF Mgcawu	Vilander. No. 318	Remainder of Farm Vilander No.318	R3 739 840	Livestock
Western Cape	Eden	Forest Hall	Erf 562, Kurland in the Bitou Municipal area,	R5 480 800	Livestock
Western Cape	Cape Winelands	Mesco farms	Portions 2, 3, 4 and the remainder of Farm Ruytershove No.25, Stellenbosch	R8 704 800	Horticulture
Western Cape	Eden	Ruiterbosch	Portion 41 of the Farm Ruiterbos No 60, situated in the Mossel Bay Municipality	R3 739 840	Livestock

 

Reply:

1. Yes, Reference KRN6/2/2/E/42/0/0/25 was lodged by Mr. Mswelengi Bhekumuzi Bhengu on behalf of the Meyershoek Community on 23 December 1998, for the Remainder of Portion 0 of the farm Meyers Hoek No.847 in extent of 1513, 5256 hectares. The lodger and a few members alleged that they were not part of the settlement as they did not want alternative land.

Reference KRN6/2/2/E/42/0/0/202 was settled on 9 January 2000 in full and final settlement of a court order in respect of the following properties:

• farm Meyershoek No. 847;
• farm Onrust No. 848;
• Rem of Nels Rust; and
• Portion 8 of Nooitgedacht No. 903 collective extent of 3262.9193 ha.

2. The additional members that were not part of the original claim (KRN6/2/2/E/42/0/0/202) were added on the name verification list in the Section 42D memorandum for KRN6/2/2/E/42/0/0/25, after the homestead identification was analyzed against the original list.

3. (a) The outcome will be based on the further research recommendations.

(b) The delay was due to obtaining a legal opinion on the court order.

(c) Further research is needed as there is a position taken through the Court Order to see if the matter can be taken further.

(d) The Legal Unit of the Department will present the final further research report and the legal opinion on the matter based on the Court Order.

Reply:

(a) The following zones are in place for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) control purposes. These zones are not unique to South Africa but is an accepted international way to deal with zones of different FMD risk in a country.

• The FMD Infected Zone, which is the Kruger National Park and adjacent game reserves. This zone is permanently FMD infected, due to the presence of FMD infected buffalo which are permanent carriers of the disease;
• the FMD Protection Zone is the zone adjacent to the Kruger National Park, with mainly communal cattle and small stock farming areas. It is assumed that these are the communities that are referred to in the question above, although the term “red zone” is not used officially or internationally; and
• the FMD Free Zone is the rest of the country, although this status is currently suspended due to outbreaks that occurred between 2019 and 2022.

The high risk posed by the buffalo in the infected zone is the reason for the permanent protection zone in the adjacent communities. The control approach is multi-layered, to provide for prevention of outbreaks, early detection of outbreaks, and limiting the spread of outbreaks as much as possible. The layers include fencing around the Kruger National Park, routine vaccination of cattle populations in the protection zone adjacent to the fence, regular inspection of all cattle in the protection zone, and movement control for cloven hoofed animals and products out of the protection zone. If the above system of prevention works well, then no outbreaks are reported in the protection zone and the zone serves its purpose well. That is currently the status. Should an outbreak occur in the protection zone, the systems are in already in place to detect the disease quickly and prevent its further spread.

(b) If there are reports of FMD in a specific part of the protection zone, premises with cloven hoofed animals in that area will be placed under quarantine to prevent further spread of the disease. Animals in such areas cannot be moved or marketed until the quarantine has been lifted. Farmers in the protection zone, in areas without active FMD outbreaks, are unfortunately negatively affected by the permanent restrictions placed on the area. Provision is made for moving of unvaccinated animals out of the protection zone. These animals are subject to quarantine and testing prior to movement and government subsidises the payment of some of these tests for non-commercial movements. There is also a drive to promote market access for farmers within the protection zone and government is engaging with a number of stakeholders in this regard.

Work on supporting the development of a system to improve market access for producers in FMD high risk areas as part of efforts to reduce the risk of live cattle movements to markets in areas of low risk including the previously WOAH-recognized FMD free zone without vaccination has been proposed. This work involves the setting up of feedlots and quarantine camps to support this activity particularly for animals intended for slaughter.

Reply:

1. Yes. According to the National Disease Database, 13 406 disease outbreaks of controlled and notifiable diseases were reported and followed up by Provincial Veterinary Services in the ten-year period from January 2013 to December of 2022. A list of diseases and the number of outbreaks per province is attached as Annexure A.

2. The disease control measures relevant to the different controlled diseases are detailed in Table 2 of the Regulations to the Animal Diseases Act, No 35 of 1984, attached as Annexure B. These are the requirements for the control of the diseases as required by law. Since the epidemiology of each disease is different, the control measures are different for different diseases. Furthermore, different outbreaks of the same disease may be handled slightly differently, depending on the situation on the ground, the numbers of animals involved, the farming practices and the areas affected. It is not feasible to provide detailed information for each of the 13 406 outbreaks noted above.

Notifiable diseases such as Rift Valley Fever, Bluetongue and Lumpy Skin Disease, are not controlled by government and there are no prescribed control measures. However. outbreaks must be notified to the state veterinarian and awareness is done on ways to prevent further outbreaks.

Reply:

1. Over the medium to long term, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) seeks to improve its collaboration and coordination with industry organisations, through programme and project design. The Value Chain Round Tables (VCRT), which are currently being implemented, serve as platforms to forge greater collaboration and coordination between government and industry organisations, both nationally and provincially. Through the VCRT, the industry will be in a better position to identify the required infrastructure and services at local government level. These will be tabled to DALRRD by way of the District Development Model. The Integrated Rural Development Strategy addresses the challenges of rural and agricultural infrastructure such as roads, agro-processing facilities, etc.

2. Yes, the Department further aims to improve on delivery in terms of the Agriculture and Agro Processing Master Plan (AAMP) at district level, through a value chain approach, where value chain analysis will be conducted to identify the required services and infrastructure needs according to the AAMP value chain. The analysis will in turn determine required programmes and projects at the district level, and in this way contribute to the national targets for growth per value chain identified within the AAMP.

3. Implementation of VCRTs discussed above, and a value chain approach to programme and project design and selection will form the cornerstone of what DALRRD sees as the bridging strategy between the AAMP, and the challenges experienced at local government level, as identified in the Auditor-General’s report.

Reply:

a) R214 million was allocated by National Treasury (NT) in the 2011/2012 financial year. In 2019 NT undertook to allocate an additional R400 million over the 2019-2022 MTEF in support of the project. With the additional allocation, the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine production facility project has started, and the work is projected to be completed around October 2025.

With the design phase being completed, the final estimates will guide further investment(s) to complete the facility due to the significant time lapse from the date of commissioning of the project. In the interim, R55 million has been allocated to the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) for the procurement of equipment and infrastructure to assemble an interim production system that will be used to produce antigens at a 200-liter scale (sufficient to produce 200 000 doses per annum) whilst the factory is under construction. The interim measure is expected to be ready to produce the vaccine by the middle of 2024.

b) Erecting fences in areas where the fences will obstruct established patterns of livestock and people movements are generally ineffective, due to vandalism, theft, and the inability to legally control movements on roads crossing the fences. Animal Health is, therefore, moving away from relying on fences as a first-line effective disease control measure and rather making use of alternative measures such as the use of perennial rivers, mountain ranges and adjacent lower risk establishments like farms.

The use of fences to prevent the spread of disease can only be implemented effectively where the fences also serve a purpose to the local community. For example, the fences on the western and southern boundaries of the Kruger National Park serve a disease control purpose, by preventing FMD carrier buffalo from having contact with cattle in the adjacent communal areas. It also provides a barrier to prevent dangerous animals from the Kruger National Park from roaming into the villages and hence it has value to the local community. The fences on the Kruger National Park boundary are maintained by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and SANParks. There are also fences that are used for disease control purposes, specifically FMD in specific areas of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal. The repair and maintenance of these fences is the responsibility of the respective provincial departments.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has developed, consulted, and attained consensus on the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP). The ongoing alignment process has to date shown the intent by different role players within the different sectors to achieve the set goals and a clearer picture is emerging in terms of defining targets and participation by the black producers in the value chain.

The attached Table 1, with specific reference to meat and dairy value chain implementation, depicts progress made and the envisaged increase in participation will be from 30 to 50 percent and 7 to 10 percent respectively.

Livestock
	Tons - (2010/11)	Tons - (2018/19)	Expansion 2012-2019	NDP 2030 growth target	Commercial Employment	Black farmer share current (%)*	AAMP output added (tons)	AAMP 2030 impact Real GPV	AAMP 2030 impact jobs	AAMP 2030 livelihood created	Black farmer future share (%)
Beef	628 000	763 000	135 000	282 600	18 541	34,0%	134 357	R8 175 448 721	3200	39600	50%
Dairy	2 685 302	3 341 000	655 698	522 735	33 410	7,0%	183 645	R1 396 998 405	222	16160	10%

Reply:

1. There are no plans to establish a task force to address food shortages. According to the Crop Estimates Committee (as per publications reflected on https://www.dalrrd.gov.za / crop estimates), South Africa is not experiencing any food shortages. South Africa is able to meet food demand both through imports and local production.

Furthermore, the government has established a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder institutional structure called the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan comprising of the core social cluster and economic cluster departments such as National Treasury and Small Business Development departments. The structure addresses food and the food system inclusive of the food value chain across the continuum from severly inadequate to self sufficiency. At its core the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan address the pillars on which the policy is based namely access, availability, utilisation and stability.

(2),(3),(4) Falls away.

5. The Department established a Sector Energy Crisis Task Team comprised of government, industry, research institutions and sector entities. The work of the Task Team, engaging with Eskom looked at immediate, short- and long-term contingency plans to protect the sector against the negative impact of load shedding. The interventions will cover the sector at large including all categories of farmers. The interventions are also being aligned to the pronouncements delivered by the Minister of Finance during his budget speech.

The proposed interventions are:

• Customers with dedicated supply infrastructure should apply for load curtailment.
• Customers supplied by the same feeder/ substation can group together and apply for load curtailment.
• Review the schedule (duration and or time) where possible, to accommodate the needs of the majority of customers (the criteria will be based on impact/number of commercial customers).
• Customers in municipal supply areas where switching is done by Eskom and where possible, to exempt/curtail, municipalities to be allowed to do own switching to accommodate customers.
• Reconfigure the network to allow possible isolation where possible.
• Install micro grids, PV’s and battery containers for critical loads especially during critical times such as harvesting, irrigation and refrigeration; this will require customers to identify the essential load.

• As announced during the DALRRD Budget Vote Speech, the Department is establishing the Agro-Energy Fund at the Land Bank. This is a blended finance instrument where the state will provide a grant on a sliding scale per producer category combined with a loan from the Land Bank. The focus of the Agro-Energy Fund is on energy intensive agricultural activities. These include irrigation, intensive agricultural production systems, and on-farm cold chain related activities. The blended thresholds and caps per category of producer are:

• a large-scale producer will receive 30% grant funding to be matched with a 70% loan portion, where the grant amount is capped at a maximum of R1.5 million;
• a medium-scale producer will receive a 50% grant to be matched with a 50% loan portion, where the grant is capped at a maximum of R1 million; and
• a smallholder producer will be supported by a grant portion of 70% to be matched with a 30% loan. For this category, the maximum grant funding is capped at the maximum of R500 000.

Table 1: Grant Limits

Farmer Categorization	Large Scale Farmer	Medium Scale Farmer	Small Scale Farmer
Turnover	>R10m <R50m	>R1m-R10m	>R50k -R1m
% Grant of the Cost (valid Quotation)	30%	50%	70%
Land Bank Loan Component	70%	50%	30%
Grant Caps	R1.5m	R1m	R500 000

• Grant caps will be according to Table 1 above; however, the cost of the infrastructure needed by the farmer will be informed by the farmer’s farm energy requirements assessment based on the kilowatts. The pre-assessment by a competent expert registered with the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) will be key so that the correct fit for purpose system is installed.

• The Blended Agro-Energy facility will be used by qualifying producers for the purchase of Capital Equipment and Infrastructure (CAPEX) for alternative energy sources directly linked to energy-intensive farming operations.

Table 2: Common high energy consuming activities at farm level

Dairy Farming	Piggery	Poultry	Field Cropping	Horticulture including (Greenhouse)
Milk cooling machinery	Heating	Lighting	Cold Storage	Cold Storage
Lighting	Ventilation	Feeding machinery	Tilling	Irrigation
Milking machinery	Lighting	Ventilation	Irrigation	Ventilation
Feeding machinery	Feeding machinery	Heating		Lighting

NB: the list is not exhaustive

Reply:

(1)(a)(i),(ii) Table 1 below reflects the vacancy rate of veterinary doctors in South Africa per province from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022 and since 1 January 2023.

Table1: Approved and vacant posts for veterinary doctors

Year	STATUS	NATIONAL	GP	NW	LP	MP	KZN	FS	EC	WC	NC	TOTAL
2019	APPROVED	38	36	39	39	36	27	15	48	30	16	324
	VACANT	13	4	10	10	17	17	3	25	4	10	113
	RATE	34%	11.1%	26%	26%	47.22%	62.96%	20%	48%	13%	37.5%	35%
2020	APPROVED	38	36	39	39	36	27	15	48	30	16	324
	VACANT	13	4	10	10	15	16	5	26	5	10	114
	RATE	34%	11.1%	26%	26%	41.67%	59.25%	33%	46%	16%	37.5%	35%
2021	APPROVED	38	36	39	39	36	27	15	48	30	16	324
	VACANT	14	4	10	10	16	16	6	28	5	10	103
	RATE	37%	11.1%	26%	26%	44.44%	59,25%	40%	42%	16%	37.5%	32%
2022	APPROVED	38	36	39	39	36	29	15	48	30	16	326
	VACANT	14	4	10	10	19	16	6	38	6	11	134
	RATE	37%	11.1%	26%	26%	52.78	55,17%	40%	38%	20%	31.25%	41%
2023	APPROVED	38	36	39	39	36	29	15	48	30	16	287
	VACANT	13	4	10	10	20	18	6	31	6	11	129
	RATE	34%	11.1%	26%	26%	55.56%	62,06%	40%	35%	20%	31.25%	45%

(b) The Department advertised vacant posts of state veterinarians in line with the available budget. There has been a challenge with constant efflux of state veterinarians who are being recruited by the private sector. In addition, there are also challenges to get suitably qualified applicants.

(2) The number of registered veterinarians and veterinary nurses as per the South African Veterinary Council register of May 2023 is as follows:

- There were 3 506 registered veterinarians (excluding veterinary specialists) and 731 registered veterinary nurses as at 31 May 2023.

- As with all other agricultural and related professions, the Department doesn’t keep records of unemployed graduates as it is not the only employer and it would be impossible to maintain the records throughout the sector. Vacancies are however, advertised as soon as vacated. Recent adverts for veterinarians attracted very few applicants, suggesting that most are absorbed in the sector.

- Mpumalanga is the only province that has employed 18 veterinary nurses out of an establishment of 24 (75% filled).

(3) The following measures are in place for the Department to deal with unemployed veterinarians and veterinary nurses to provide animal health services where there is a high need:

- All bursary holders are subject to servicing the Department for a period equal to the number of years sponsored by the Department.

- Unemployed veterinary graduates are deployed in areas where they are needed the most in the provinces under the Compulsory Community Service Programme for veterinary graduates. This ensures the graduates are employed for a duration of one year. Once they complete their community service the graduates are registered as veterinarians by the South African Veterinary Council and can service their contract with the relevant departments/provinces.

- Vacant funded posts are advertised nationally and prioritise unemployed veterinarians and veterinary nurses. This has proven to be a challenge as there are very few applications. Most veterinarians and veterinary nurses are attracted to the private sector.

Reply:

The available data is of communal land comprising traditional council areas, as derived from proclamations defining the areas of jurisdiction of traditional councils. Such traditional council areas are situated on the underlying surveyed farms and farm portions. Traditional council areas have not been surveyed for purposes of regularisation of communal land rights.

(a) (i) 96 percent of communal land is currently not surveyed in South Africa.

(b) (i) 13 420 197.89 hectares of communal land is currently not surveyed in South Africa.

(a)(ii),(b)(ii) Please refer to the table below.

Provinces	(a)(ii) Percentage	(b)(ii) Hectarage
Eastern Cape	90.1	3 533 227.74
Free State	97.1	137 955.91
Gauteng	93.2	7 466.36
KwaZulu Natal	99.5	3 353 136.65
Limpopo	98.8	2 839 458.40
Mpumalanga	97.3	655 812.14
North West	99.7	1 983 864.31
Northern Cape	99.9	909 276.38
Western Cape	0	0

Reply:

No. The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development has not launched any investigation into the ITB Holding company since the holding company is not part of the Ingonyama Trust Board as per the KwaZulu Ingonyama Trust Amendment Act, No. 9 of 1997. However, the Ingonyama Trust Board, in its response to the matter raised at the Portfolio Committee briefing on 2 May, has committed to look into the alleged misappropriation and take appropriate action.

Reply:

a) Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) purchases Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine from Botswana at an average price of 1,201.73(Pula) per unit which is an average of R1563.42 in South African rands, excluding freight costs (@2,9% = R45,33), import duties (@29% = R453.33), inventory and handling costs (@3,69% = R60,44), onsite costs (@4,6% = R72,54) and transport and logistics (@32% = R501.20). The inbound-landed cost per unit, therefore, is approximately R2696,26. The unit price is volume dependent on and influenced by currency fluctuation. Price changes per order depending on these two variables.

b) OBP sells the FMD vaccine to SA Government at R3 022,21

All these depend on the total of the vaccine. OBP has not increased FMD vaccine price in the past two years.

Reply:

1. African Swine Fever (ASF) historically only occurred in the northern parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West, due to infected ticks carried by warthog that came into contact with domestic pigs. The epidemiology of the disease has changed in the past few years. Outbreaks started to occur in domestic pigs without proof of direct contact with warthog and the disease spread to areas where it was never detected previously. ASF has now been detected in domestic pigs in all provinces.

2. The total number of outbreaks is 110.

• Eastern Cape –25
• Free State–17
• Gauteng–13
• Mpumalanga–12
• North West –6
• Western Cape –35
• KwaZulu-Natal – 2

3. Yes.

(a) All properties where ASF is detected are placed under quarantine, with movement control and biosecurity measures put in place. ASF is a controlled and notifiable disease and pig owners are required by law to report any suspicion of ASF.

All suspicions of ASF (including all reported significant increases in pig mortalities) will be investigated by the local state veterinarian and appropriate samples taken for confirmation. While the results of tests are awaited, pre-emptive quarantine will be placed on affected holdings and the focus of this quarantine placement will be to prohibit movement off the farm.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, quarantine will be confirmed. In addition to placing the affected property under quarantine, the risks for the area must be considered by the local state veterinarian, as well as forward and backward tracing to determine properties possibly at risk and possible sources of infection.

Surveillance activities must be implemented at high-risk properties, by means of clinical inspection and sample collection in the event of any sick or dead pigs. For the prevention of further outbreaks and the spread of ASF, the selling of live pigs at auctions in affected areas may be suspended if deemed necessary to prevent the mixing and distribution of infected pigs.

Movement controls (where movements require certification) and movement restrictions (where movements are not allowed) may be implemented in specified areas, as determined to be required.

Awareness campaigns on biosecurity (safe buying, safekeeping, and safe feeding) and other disease risks will be undertaken jointly with other roleplayers. Awareness is always done in affected areas to advise pig owners on the minimum biosecurity standards that will prevent ASF introduction into their farms.

The various control protocols and specified guidelines assist with infection control and prevention. Recording, analyses and reporting of clinical trials and sample collections assist to determine and monitor the effectiveness of the control protocols.This may be followed by self-audit and protocol adjustment.

(b) Monitoring of all disease control measures is done by the provinces.

4. The Department, together with the South African Pork Producers Organization, constantly issues media statements advising pig owners on biosecurity measures to empower owners to prevent the introduction of the disease onto their properties. Since ASF causes high mortalities in pigs, the disease generally does not go unnoticed. It is not expected or perceived that there are deliberate attempts to underreport ASF, once the disease is diagnosed. However, some farmers have the attitude of selling or slaughtering animals quickly, if they perceive that there might be an infectious disease in their herds. This undesirable behaviour is not limited to pigs and ASF, but applies to all livestock and different diseases.

Reply:

a) The total number of state-owned farms acquired for redistribution is 3 708 farms for which the Department has lease agreements with the tenant farmers occupying them.

b) 30 years.

Reply:

1. No, implementation of the money order was directed to Ingonyama Trust Board and not the department. ITB has decided to appeal the court’s decision and the application (appeal) by the Ingonyama Trust Board is still to be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

2. Yes, the Minister files a report to the court every 3 months on the steps taken to comply with the two court orders.

Reply:

a) Approximately thirteen percent (13%) of land in South Africa is communal land.

b) Approximately 16 million hectares.

(i),(ii) There is currently no disaggregation of occupied communal land in terms of apartheid-era Permission to Occupy Certificates and other forms of tenure.

Reply:

a) The farm belonging to Fortuins Kolk of the Rossouw Olivier Familie Trust (IT1990:2004) in Carnarvon was purchased in line with the Provision of Land and Assistance Act, Act 126 of 1993, using the Proactive Land Acquisition policy (PLAP) on 13 January 2023.

b) The comparative market values and prices of the farms that were sold in the Carnavon area between 2014 and 2023 are reflected in Annexure A: Comparable Market Values and Prices.

c) The indicators that the farm was bought within the realistic market value are based on the value determined by the Office of the Valuer-General in terms of the Property Valuation Act 17 of 2014 (PVA) of 2014:

The OVG price determination table:

Property description	Portion 2 of Farm Fortuins Kolk 37, Carnarvon RD
Land use	Grazing and irrigated land
Extent	3509.2669 Ha
Carrying capacity	32ha/LSU
Water sources	Boreholes and dams
Fixed improvements sizes	±695 m² in total
Current use value	R4 057 818.38
Market value	R18 161 321.00
PVA value	R11 110 000.00

d) The agreed purchase price of R11 110 000.00 is based on the provisions of the Property Valuation Act 17 of 2014 (PVA) and PVA Regulations.

Reply:

Yes. The agro-processing industry is considered a priority in the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), which is a social compact signed between government and industry in May 2022. The grounds for prioritising the agro-processing industry are as follows:

• The agro-processing industry has the potential to stimulate and spur demand for raw materials from the agricultural industry through backward and forward linkages. Demand for raw materials creates output markets, with the potential to increase income for farmers. As a result, farmers are encouraged to bring fallow land into production, which in turn creates demand for raw material downstream and contributes to job creation upstream. The value-add and food processing mitigate post-harvest losses.
• Whilst the AAMP is a sectoral plan, the contribution of government towards “competitive agricultural and agro-processing sectors, driving market-oriented and inclusive production to develop rural economies, ensures food-security, and create employment and entrepreneurial”, is articulated in the AAMP as follows:

Pillar-1: Resolving policy ambiguities and creating an investment-friendly climate:

Increase transformation of, and worker-ownership in agriculture, food and beverage value chains, actively support black-owned Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and women food processors and retailers by lowering barriers to entry.

Pillar-2: Creating enabling infrastructure:

A key challenge facing rural areas is the acute lack of economic infrastructure, both bulk and on-farm infrastructure. In mitigation, the President established an Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency to coordinate and align the development of bulk infrastructure (electricity, water, rail, road, ports, etc.) by the three spheres of government. Accordingly, the Infrastructure Office has developed a 203-project pipeline, costed at R1.8 trillion. About 13 of these infrastructure projects are directly located within the agriculture and agro-processing space such as processing facilities, irrigation schemes and fresh produce markets. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has budgeted R2.15 billion to support and develop farmers with production inputs and on-farm infrastructure.

Pillar-3 Comprehensive support, development finance, and extension services:

Efficient and effective advisory technical services are critical to the development of agro-processing activities in rural areas. Accordingly, researchers recommend participatory approaches geared to assist producers and agro-processors to restore their natural resource base, increase agricultural production, productivity, and value-add and equally, ensure compliance with mandatory food manufacturing standards and regulations. DALRRD is currently strengthening extension and advisory machinery through retraining and resourcing of Agricultural Extension Practitioners (AEP). DALRRD and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture (PDA) have recruited more than 3 500 AEP as part of providing comprehensive support to producers and agro-processors. In total, the number of AEPs recruited will be 10 000. The move is expected to improve the ratio of AEPs to producers toward an acceptable standard.

Pillar-4: Ensuring food security, expanded production and employment creation:

The agricultural sector contributes about 2.8 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, when food manufacturing is taken into consideration, the sector’s contribution to GDP could be as high as 7 percent. Similarly, the agricultural sector employs about 888 000 people whilst the agro-processing industry employs 264 029 people. An increase in agricultural production through the utilization of land under the Traditional and Cultural Council will expand the raw material base required downstream for value-add. The AAMP estimates that a 10 percent increase in the utilisation of land under Traditional and Cultural Councils, which is equivalent to 481 380 hectares is expected to create 501 000 job opportunities. The number is higher when factoring downstream jobs.

Pillar-5: Market access - domestic and export:

Access to markets is the lifeblood of agribusinesses operating in rural areas. Infrastructure backlogs in rural towns entail high transaction costs for producers and agro-processors. On the domestic front, the National Treasury (NT) is implementing the 30% set-aside geared to ensure penetration of small and medium producers into State institutional markets. Moreover, various municipalities are investing resources to revamp and revitalise fresh produce markets. On the export side, the recently signed Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfTCA) provides opportunities for growth and development of rural economies. The AAMP underscores the importance of maintenance of the current global markets and sourcing new markets.

Pillar-6 Import replacement and expanded agro-processing exports:

Localization strategy is a critical pillar of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). The thrust of localization efforts is to increase productivity while entrenching inclusive economic growth.

Programme	Intervention Plan
Rural industrial development	Identify and support smallholder farmers who have initiatives of industrialisation, such as goats and cattle massification; and Formalise the rural agro processors for linkage with industry role players.

Reply:

Yes. It is true that agribusiness migratory patterns result in unemployment and food insecurity for households that were directly benefiting from such establishments. It is also true that the opportunity should be seized to promote more self-employment within the sector. Of the nine objectives defined in the Agricultural and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), five objectives as highlighted below aim to broadly address the concerns raised in this question:

• Promote transformation in agriculture and agro-processing sectors;
• Increase food security in South Africa;
• Accelerate the opening of markets and better access conditions;
• Enhance competitiveness and entrepreneurial opportunities through technological innovations, infrastructure development and digitalization; and
• Create effective farmer support, agro-processing, food wholesale and retail incentives.

The work done through various committees is focused on developing integrated development plans to address and attain the broader strategic intent for inclusive economic growth.

Reply:

Yes. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has accurate data on the extent of loss of arable land due to mining in Mpumalanga. The information is based on recorded and considered applications lodged in terms of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act, 1970 (Act No. 70 of 1970). Based on analysis of applications reviewed for the 2020 and 2021 financial years, the extent of agricultural land in hectares lost to mining is as follows:

Year	Hectares lost to mining
2020	3 445,254
2021	2769.784
Total	6215,038

Agricultural activities in the form of cropping and grazing land for livestock facilitate food security and provision of rural community income. The loss of mentioned agricultural land impacts negatively on the growth of the agricultural sector.

The loss of agriculture land in the long-term is being mitigated by the introduction of the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Bill (PDALB) which promotes planning between the various affected sectors in a coherent and transparent manner, but specifically to safeguard arable land for continued food security without compromising each sector’s economic contribution i.e. by delineating high potential farming land.

Reply:

(a)(i) Please refer to Annexure A for damages in terms of livestock, crop and infrastructure. The losses recorded on livestock was R1 476 650,00, infrastructure was R165 325 422,00 and crop was R251 311 301,27 including sugarcane.

(ii) Long-term damages and or changes to the sector include reduction in the planting area due to hectares of land lost through soil erosion, which resulted in lower yields of sugar cane tonnage. Furthermore, there has been a lot of variation in the price per ton of cane sugar. However, the unrest that took place in KwaZulu-Natal also placed considerable strain on the industry. Currently, no shortage is envisaged but increased prices in sugar and its derivatives are one of the long-term effects that can be expected.

(b) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has not done an assessment on total number of farmers who lost operation and exited the market due to losses incurred in the floods nor has it received any report to that effect.

(c) DALRRD continues to issue early warning information and advisories as well as awareness to assist farmers with their preparedness plans.

(d) Reports attained showed that 1107 farmers incurred losses in grain, another 670 farmers had suffered losses in vegetable and horticulture production. There were also losses suffered by 482 livestock farmers for both small and large stock.

(e) During the 2022-2023 financial year, DALRRD allocated R30 million to support KwaZulu-Natal farmers with repairs of damaged infrastructure, fertilisers and seeds following the flood disaster. DALRRD further supported the provincial request for additional funds to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), however, the application was not successful as funding was depleted since priority was given to humanitarian and social relief.

Reply:

(a),(i) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) in collaboration with the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), implemented the National Red Meat Development Programme (NRMDP) from 2013. The NRMDP is a market aggregation facilitation programme that affords livestock developing farmers an opportunity to upscale their participation in the marketing of their livestock.

Farmers are capacitated on the various market channels, grading, classification, pricing and other formal market details. The programme supports household livestock farmers to develop the institutional capacity in rural areas through the establishment of custom feeding infrastructure and the facilitation of livestock auctions that empowers farmers to condition their animals using the aggregation model to make them ready for the market. The programme has benefited over 10 000 farmers to date.

Currently, DALRRD is working with its State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs) namely, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), NAMC and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) to finalize the legal tool that will enable the expansion of this programme.

As outlined in the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), DALRRD through round table discussions with the sector key role players including the industry is developing production schemes that will also upscale aggregation models. The engagements are at advance stages on prioritised production schemes like red meat, cotton and citrus.

(a),(ii) DALRRD is implementing the Blended Finance Scheme (BFS) as a co-funding instrument between government and the private sector. It should be noted that the Department is currently working with both the Land bank and the Industrial Development Cooperation. It is envisaged, as negotiations are unfolding that most if not all commercial banks will participate in the scheme, thus freeing some resources to be used in the development of small-scale producers.

(b) These programmes are already being implemented.

Reply:

1. None. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development did not in the last 10 years [2013-2023], provide funding to private companies that were responsible for technical support to emerging farmers either in terms of the Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP) or the current Land Development Support (LDS) Programme. Currently, the Department has a partnership with commodity organisations registered with the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) and collects levies in accordance with Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, No. 47 of 1996.

2. No, since no funding support was provided to private companies as indicated above.

(a),(b)(c) Falls away.

Reply:

1. No. The day-to-day management of Colleges of Agriculture is currently with the Provincial Departments of Agriculture.

2. Falls away.

3. Falls away.

Reply:

The Black Producers Commercialisation Programme (BPCP) pilot phase was launched in November 2018. The programme was suspended by April 2019 to undertake a review and assessment of the model. No approvals were recorded during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 financial years. The Blended Finance Scheme (BFS) was re-launched in October 2022.

(a)(i),(ii),(b) 2022-2023 financial year - implementation period: November 2022 to 31 March 2023

Client Name	Province	Districts	Commodities	Number of Client Approvals	Total Approvals (Loan and Grant)
Sefale Letsitsa	Free State	Lejweleputswa	Grains and Livestock	1	R7 130 400
Ntethe Farming CC		Thabo Mofutsanyana	Grains, Beans and Livestock	1	R19 998 307
Mandla Simon Mahlangu	Gauteng	Tshwane	Grains and Livestock	3	R1 402 300
Simphiwe Gift Mashiyana					R467 408
Sen-thaba Agriculture and Projects (Pty) Ltd					R1 340 208
Shakazi Farming	KwaZulu- Natal	uMgungundlovu	Sugarcane	2	R5 150 000
Kalajan Investments (Pty) Ltd		iLembe			R8 923 920
Lemo David Chaba	Limpopo	Capricorn	Livestock	2	R784 683
Motitoane Mabena		Waterberg			R203 850
Avoxeni Farms CC	Mpumalanga	Gert Sibande	Grains and Livestock	1	R5 325 420
Sibusisiwe Sugar Estate (Pty) Ltd		Ehlanzeni	Sugarcane	1	R39 806 692
Baleti Estate (Pty) Ltd			Nuts and Avocados	1	R26 261 121
Andre Smith	Northern Cape	ZF Mgcawu	Livestock	8	R415 571
Coenraad Van Wyk					R389 391
Danie Farmer					R406 168
Fritz Du Plessis					R10 141 591
Jakob Bok					R1 183 578
Jannie J Van Der Westhuizen					R13 226 906
Myra Jo-Ann Bezuidenhout					R3 274 070
Smith Boerdery Trust					R3 563 006
BL Smith Boerdery CC			Livestock Raisins Pecan nuts Lucerne	2	R11 895 360
Wathita Abafazi in Farming (Pty) Ltd					R12 627 166
Eilerd Driving and Training Academy CC		Frances Baard	Livestock	1	R8 959 595
Kalahari Lankgewacht Investments (Pty) Ltd			Livestock and Pecan nuts	1	R6 313 073
Andries Farmer		Namakwa	Livestock	2	R3 839 002
Elsies Vlak (Pty) Ltd					R1 169 238
Samuel Ivan Visser		Pixley Ka Seme	Livestock	1	R913 508
Dithabo Projects and Other (Pty) Ltd	North West	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District	Livestock	2	R3 077 304
Loago Boerdery (Pty) Ltd					R1 877 029
Eben Hazer Boerdery (Pty) Ltd	Western Cape	Cape Winelands	Table Grapes	1	R55 361 600
Total Approvals and Disbursements (Loan and Grant)	30	R255 427 466

Reporting period: 1 April 2023 to 15 May 2023

Client Name	Province	Districts	Commodities	Number of Client Approvals	Total Approvals (Loan and Grant)
Bokamoso Boatlegile Farming (Pty) Ltd	Free State	Mangaung	Grains and Livestock	1	R15 671 865
Sebolelo Miriam Khoabane		Lejweleputswa	Grains and Livestock	1	R2 809 881
Setjhoka Farming (Pty) Ltd	Gauteng	Tshwane	Grains and Livestock	2	R1 402 008
Kholekile Marinkie Ntuli					R519 208
Simphiwe Gift Mashiyana				0	R0
Mirror Ball Investments 128 (Pty) Ltd	Kwazulu Natal	uThukela	Vegetables	1	R5 913 024
Kalajan Investments (Pty) Ltd		iLembe	Sugarcane	0	R0
PJ Snyders	Northern Cape	ZF Mgcawu	Livestock	1	R1 031 882
PA Dorper Boerdery (Pty) Ltd			Livestock Raisins Pecan nuts Lucerne	1	R15 064 794
Myra Jo-Ann Bezuidenhout			Livestock	0	R0
Billy Rodney Kotze		John Taolo Gaetsewe	Livestock	1	R9 248 565
Dithabo Projects and Other (Pty) Ltd	North West	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati	Livestock	0	R0
Crispy Crop (Pty) Ltd	Western Cape	West Coast	Vegetables	1	R7 856 400
Total Approvals and Disbursements (Loan and Grant)	9	R59 517 627

Reply:

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

(i) SMME	(ii) Cooperative	(iii) Township Enterprises	(iv) Rural Enterprises
(a) Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD)
(aa) 2021/22 Financial Year (FY)
0% The Department did not set procurement allocations (targets).
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
0%: The 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations (including Regulation 4: prequalification criteria/ set-aside) were successfully challenged in court and replaced by the Preferential Procurement Regulation 2022 which is currently in force. Effective 16 January 2022 Regulation 4 (Pre-qualification criteria) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017 is no longer applicable. In view of the above, since April 2023 the Department does not apply the pre-qualification criteria/set-aside in line with the 2022 Regulations issued by National Treasury.
(i) SMME	(ii) Cooperative	(iii) Township Enterprises	(iv) Rural Enterprises
(b) Deeds Registration Trading Account
(aa) 2021/22 FY
0% The entity did not set procurement allocations (targets).
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
0%: The 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations (including Regulation 4: prequalification criteria/ set-aside) were successfully challenged in court and replaced by the Preferential Procurement Regulation 2022 which is currently in force. Effective 16 January 2022 Regulation 4 (Pre-qualification criteria) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017 is no longer applicable. In view of the above, since April 2023 the Department does not apply the pre-qualification criteria/set-aside in line with the 2022 Regulations issued by National Treasury.
(b) Commission on Restitution of Land Rights
(aa) 2021/22 FY
89%	0%	1.27%	76%
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
70.69%	0%	0%	1.21%
(b) Office of the Valuer General
(aa) 2021/22 FY
84.77%	0%	0%	0%
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
16.5%	0%	0%	0%
(b) Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB)
(aa) 2021/22 FY
0% ITB did not set procurement allocation targets.
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
0%: The 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations (including Regulation 4: prequalification criteria/ set-aside) were successfully challenged in court and replaced by the Preferential Procurement Regulation 2022 which is currently in force. Effective 16 January 2022 Regulation 4 (Pre-qualification criteria) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017 is no longer applicable. In view of the above, since April 2023 the Department does not apply the pre-qualification criteria/set-aside in line with the 2022 Regulations issued by National Treasury.
(b) National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC)
(aa) 2021/22 FY
0% NAMC did not set procurement allocation (targets).
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
0%: The 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations (including Regulation 4: prequalification criteria/ set-aside) were successfully challenged in court and replaced by the Preferential Procurement Regulation 2022 which is currently in force. Effective 16 January 2022 Regulation 4 (Pre-qualification criteria) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017 is no longer applicable. In view of the above, since April 2023 the Department does not apply the pre-qualification criteria/set-aside in line with the 2022 Regulations issued by National Treasury.
(b) Agricultural Research Council (ARC)
(aa) 2021/22 FY
0%: ARC did not set procurement allocation targets.
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
0%: The new Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022 that came into effect from 16 January 2023 compels government institutions to evaluate bids based on specific Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) objectives. Effective 16 January 2022 Regulation 4 (Pre-qualification criteria) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017 is no longer applicable.
(b) Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB)
(aa) 2021/22 FY
30%	0%	0%	0%
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
20%	0%	0%	0%
(b) Onderstepoort Biological Product (OBP)
(aa) 2022/23 FY
OBP currently only tracks 2 parameters with respect to procurement and based on the BBBEE Framework, i.e., (i) Black owned companies; and (ii) woman owned companies. OBP only approved the enterprise supplier development policy in Quarter-4 of 2022/2023. For the financial year 2022/2023, 45% Black owned businesses and 15% women owned businesses.”
(bb) Since 1 April 2023
0%: Effective 16 January 2022 Regulation 4 (Pre-qualification criteria) of the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2017 is no longer applicable and was replaced by the Preferential Procurement Regulation 2022 which is currently in force. In view of the above, since April 2023 the OBP does not apply the pre-qualification criteria/set-aside in line with the 2022 Regulations issued by National Treasury.

Reply:

1. (a) The details of production levels on the farm with regard to citrus are as follows:

1. Size in hectares under production: 309 hectares.
2. An estimated total of 130 000 cartons of citrus were harvested in 2014/15 for export market.

(b) The Department does not have records relating to revenue generated during the 10 years before being transferred to the beneficiaries.

2. (a) (i) The details of livestock that was kept on the farm are limited to the following:

• 50 heifers and 2 bulls that were received from the Industrial Development Cooperation Nguni scheme. The remaining portions of the grazing land are leased out.
• (II)The Department does not have records relating to revenue generated during the 10 years before being transferred to the beneficiaries.

(b) (i) 188 permanent workers lost their jobs.

(ii) Between 400 to 600 seasonal workers lost their jobs.

Reply:

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development does not have Provincial Heritage Resource Authority unit within its approved organisational structure.

(a),(b) Falls away.

Reply:

a) The delay could have negatively impacted on the timing for fertilization in some of the areas. However, farmers still could fertilise daily after the fertilizer was handed over.

b) The distribution of 116 415 bags of fertilizer will benefit 10 679 Small Scale Growers (SSGs) on 23 283 hectares of land. To date 103 451 bags of fertilizer were distributed to 6288 SSGs, applied to 13 803,55 hectares of land.

Reply:

(1)(a),(b) Yes. The Minister engaged both the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) as well as Industry, including the National Animal Health Forum and instructed that measures be put in place to ensure continuity in vaccine production and availability. The Minister further advised that there should be closer collaboration between the Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Research and OBP.

2. Yes. ARC and OBP have an established collaboration governed by a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). This MoA covers collaboration in the areas of:

• Research, technology transfer and any possible joint ventures between the two entities;
• Vaccine development and information and technical advice;
• Consultancy, diagnostic and analysis services;
• Commercialisation, training, and advisory services; and
• Human capital development and physical infrastructure sharing.

The ARC and the OBP also collaborate in the production of blood vaccines. The ARC produces blood vaccines that are bottled and marketed by OBP. The full list of vaccines produced by the ARC for OBP is African Red Water vaccine; Asiatic Red Water; Anaplasmosis vaccine; and Heartwater vaccines.

Reply:

a) (i) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development established a Sector Energy Crisis Task Team comprised of government, industry, research institutions and sector entities. The work of the Task Team, engaging with Eskom looked at immediate, short and long term contingency plans to protect the sector against the negative impact of load shedding. The interventions will cover the sector at large including all categories of farmers. The interventions are also being aligned to the pronouncements delivered by the Minister of Finance during his budget speech statement.

The proposed interventions are:

• Customers with dedicated supply infrastructure should apply for load curtailment.
• Customers supplied by the same feeder/ substation can group together and apply for load curtailment.
• Review the schedule (duration and or time) where possible, to accommodate the needs of majority of customers (the criteria will be based on impact/number of commercial customers).
• Customers in municipal supply area where switching is done by Eskom and where possible, to exempt/curtail, municipalities to be allowed to do own switching to accommodate customers.
• Reconfigure the network to allow possible isolation where possible.
• Install micro grids, PV’s and battery containers for critical loads especially during critical times such as harvesting, irrigation and refrigeration- this will require customers to identify the essential load.

As announced during my Budget Speech, the Department is establishing the Agro-Energy Fund at the Land Bank. This is a blended finance instrument where the state will provide a grant on a sliding scale per producer category combined with a loan from the Land Bank.

The focus of the Agro-Energy Fund is on energy intensive agricultural activities. These include irrigation, intensive agricultural production systems, and on-farm cold chain related activities. The blended thresholds and caps per category of producer are as follows:

• a large-scale producer will receive 30% grant funding to be matched with a 70% loan portion, where the grant amount is capped at the maximum of R1.5 million;
• a medium-scale producer will receive a 50% grant to be matched with a 50% loan portion, where the grant is capped at the maximum of R1 million; and
• a smallholder producer will be supported by a grant portion of 70% to be matched with a 30% loan. For this category, the maximum grant funding is capped at the maximum of R500 000.

Table 1: Grant Limits

Farmer Categorization	Large Scale Farmer	Medium Scale Farmer	Small Scale Farmer
Turnover	>R10m <R50m	>R1m-R10m	>R50k -R1m
% Grant of the Cost (valid Quotation)	30%	50%	70%
Land Bank Loan Component	70%	50%	30%
Grant Caps	R1.5m	R1m	R500 000

(ii) The Grant caps will be according to Table 1 above; however, the cost of the infrastructure needed by the farmer will be informed by the farmer’s farm energy requirement assessment based on the kilowatts. The pre-assessment by a competent expert registered with the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) will be key so that the correct fit for purpose system is installed.

The Blended Agro-Energy facility will be used by qualifying producers for the purchase of capital equipment and infrastructure (CAPEX) for alternative energy sources directly linked to energy-intensive farming operations.

Table 2: Common high energy consuming activities at the farm level

Dairy Farming	Piggery	Poultry	Field Cropping	Horticulture including (Greenhouse)
Milk cooling machinery	Heating	Lighting	Cold Storage	Cold Storage
Lighting	Ventilation	Feeding machinery	Tilling	Irrigation
Milking machinery	Lighting	Ventilation	Irrigation	Ventilation
Feeding machinery	Feeding machinery	Heating		Lighting

NB: the list is not exhaustive

b) DALRRD consulted sector stakeholders and continues to do so. The stakeholders consulted include the CEOs of industry, commodity organisations, research fraternity, farmers organisations and government entities including Eskom.

Reply:

(a),(b) The Department is implementing a three-pronged land reform programme. These are:

• Land Redistribution using the Provision of Land and Assistance Act, Act 126 of 1993. To give effect to this Act, the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy and the Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation policy are implemented to acquire and redistribute land;
• Land Tenure Reform programme implemented under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA); and
• Land Restitution programme implemented by the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights using the Restitution of Land Rights Act, Act 22 of 1994.

These land reform programmes are supported by various agrarian reform instruments to address both the financial and technical support for different categories of producers to maintain and improve agricultural productivity and poverty alleviation. These instruments are as follows:

• Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme and Ilima/Letsema which are aimed at resourcing and equipping producers towards increased food production and other value chain activities;
• Land Development Support which supports land reform farms with infrastructure; farm machinery and equipment, production development/inputs, and technical support including mentorship provided through commodity organisations;
• Blended Finance Scheme which supports the commercialisation process;
• SA-GAP Certification Programme which assists farmers to meet minimum food safety and quality requirements and thus eases access to markets;
• Collaborations with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), wherein the Department implements the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) approach, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for the implementation of the Farmer Field Schools. Both interventions enhance the provision of extension services for small-scale farmers towards attaining sustainable food production and market access;

• In our endeavour to reduce the ratio between farmers and extension officers for more extension and advisory services to farmers, the Department continues to recruit extension personnel. Over 4 500 Assistant Agricultural Practitioners were recruited to provide technical support to farmers;
• Skills assessment and mitigation strategy is implemented to attain sustainable growth and equitable participation in the sector. As part of the comprehensive farmer support, the Department provides capacity development interventions that are focused on capacitating producers with requisite skills and mentorship based on their needs at a farm level. This capacity building assists farmers to optimize both production and marketing operations;
• Presidential Employment Stimulus providing production inputs for the most vulnerable producers for household food security and self-employment;
• Farmer Production Support Units provide a centralised service centre for producers to get production inputs, mechanisation, and technical support;
• Land Care Programme to protect and preserve natural resources and create employment at a rural level;
• Animal and Veld Management Programme to provide animal husbandry-related infrastructure like fencing, handling and dipping facilities, and livestock water including boreholes;
• River Valley Catalytic Programme designed to revitalise irrigation schemes in our former homelands;
• Micro Agricultural Finance Institute of South Africa provides affordable loans for producers; and
• National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) Programme targeting unemployed rural youth for skills and capacity building for sustainable opportunities in the agricultural sector.

Reply:

(1)(a) 49000 doses of the African Horse Sickness (AHS) vaccine were produced by Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) between January 2022 and March 2023.

b) As of 17 May 2023, 15000 doses of the AHS vaccine are available in stock at OBP, with more vaccine doses still in quality check test.

2. No. The current available AHS doses are not sufficient for the next vaccination cycle. However, OBP is working diligently enough in preparation for making sufficient vaccines available for the upcoming vaccination season.

3. OBP is not prepared to supply its attenuated strains and serotypes to a private production entity for further development.

a) OBP’s attenuated strains and serotypes are intellectual property and a tangible asset for the OBP, the juristic person.

b) A plan/strategy to resolve shortages is currently being worked on by the OBP and will remain a priority for the entity. The objective is to ensure that vaccines are always available during vaccination season.

Reply:

There are only 11 residential lease applications that were received since 2021, where responses have not been sent to the applicants. These applications were put on hold because of ongoing litigation regarding residential leases.

Reply:

No. There was no wasteful expenditure as the event was not cancelled, but postponed to the following week. More than 116 415 bags of 50kg each were already distributed and used by the small-scale growers.

Reply:

No, This will be raised with the Chair of the ITB for further processing with the realm of the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Amendment Act, No. 9 of 1997.

Reply:

Yes, the schedule includes animals that may be listed as threatened species in accordance with conservation provisions, and therefore, their slaughter for human and animal consumption must be in line with the relevant conservation provisions and this covers lions and leopards. See attached draft amendment and the clarificatory notice.

The Schedule that Honourable Winkler is referring to was a draft amendment to the current Schedule 1, which was gazetted for public consultation. The process was not concluded due to a need to conduct further consultations and possible investigations before amending the Schedule.

Reply:

The control of invasive animal species primarily resides under the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will only get involved if such animals pose an animal health risk. The Meat Safety Act, 2000 (Act No. 40 of 2000) only applies to animals listed under schedule 1 of the Act, and therefore animals that are not listed under the schedule, including invasive animal species, are not covered under the laws administered by DALRRD, and therefore the meat thereof cannot enter the commercial food chain.