South Africa's agriculture sector created 65 000 new jobs between December 2009 and December 2013, reversing a trend of farming job losses in the country that stretched back to the 1970s, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a post-State of the Nation Address media briefing in Cape Town, Patel said that the government had spent about R20-billion on land restitution and redistribution between 2009 and 2013, during which period a total of 1 740 555 hectares of land had been acquired and redistributed or restituted.
To ensure sustainable production on productive land, he said, 700 000 smallholder producers had been supported through various initiatives, including access to finance and mentoring.
Regarding the Fetsa Tlala programme, which was launched by President Jacob Zuma in October last year, Patel said that planting was taking place on 230 000 hectares of land in six provinces, with half of this land set aside for smallholders.
"A total of 10 271 resource-poor, historically disadvantaged producers were supported to access water for agricultural purposes, and over 18 000 hectares were irrigated during this period. From 1 April 2009 until 31 December 2013, a total 2 400 000 hectares of land has been added to the area of land under rehabilitation and restoration."
According to the minister, a total of 3 486 000 hectares was cleared as part of follow-up treatment.
"A further 33 341 smallholder producers were assisted to access markets, and 1 284 producer cooperatives and marketing depots were established in order to increase their competitiveness and take advantage of market opportunities." READ MORE
Source: SAnews.gov.za #IFAMAFRICA
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