By Sifiso Ntombela
Like many economic sectors in the country, the agricultural sector is not unfamiliar with the Government of National Unity (GNU) because the sector was led by the National Party minister, Dr André Kraai van Niekerk, between 1994 and 1996.
At the core of GNU1 was to build a stable, competitive and internationally inclined agricultural economy. As a consequence, there was a radical shift in agricultural policies from strong state control towards a policy era that is characterised by the privatisation of farm credit, information and inputs; liberalisation of trade and deregulation of markets.
Essentially, policy reforms adopted during the first GNU aimed to minimise state interventions in agriculture and make agriculture export-oriented. There is sufficient evidence to believe that GNU1 was successful in deregulating and privatising the sector. Today, 55% of the agricultural value is generated from export markets and private companies are the main generators of technology, markets and trade activities.
The GNU2 came into power post the May 2024 general elections, which saw the agricultural sector once again landing in the leadership of a non-majority party.
Under Minister John Steenhuisen, issues facing the sector are slightly different than those, that faced agriculture under the first GNU arrangement.
Today, the challenge of new pests and disease outbreaks which requires a strong biosecurity system is probably the main issue risking the sustainability of the sector.
Second, weather variability and climate change which causes frequent drought and flooding events require urgent attention to develop crop insurance and invest in new crop varieties and animal breeds.
A third set of challenges which are not necessarily new are the slow pace of transformation in the sector, coupled with the rising protectionism in the international markets and dwindling availability of affordable credit for farmers.
If there is one lesson from the first GNU it is the speed and depth in which reforms and implementation were effected with precision and dedication. Fortunately, for Minister John Steenhuisen, the stakeholders in agriculture have formulated and adopted the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), which set out the priorities and practical interventions by the private and public sectors to deal with challenges such as biosecurity; crop insurance and R&D investments; inclusivity and transformation of the sector; fragile international markets and diplomacy; and access to affordable credit.
While there is a clear and well-supported AAMP policy framework, the diversity of stakeholders and their competing interests could be one of the hindrances that will sidetrack the implementation.
There are multiple farmer associations, labour unions and commodity groups, including agribusinesses, which all have a role to play in the sector and each year, at least a new player enters the field. The true test of the GNU 2 is what type of stakeholder mechanism it will devise to ensure the interests of various groups are catered to, albeit with limited time and resources to implement the AAMP.
At a technical level, the CEOs Forum is a useful platform to engage various stakeholders and workshop the modalities of implementing a programme or policy. However, the CEOs Forum is more effective on issues that enjoy consensus on ideologies and policy choices. In agriculture, issues such as transformation, labour, land, water, crop insurance and farmer credit are constantly evolving and require a consensus on ideology and approach.
There is a need to create a platform that will promote consensus-building on ideologies and approaches on issues deemed critical for the growth, profit, inclusivity and sustainability of the sector.
Professor Mohammad Karaan and Dr Vuyokazi Mahlati, together with industry leaders from Agbiz, AgriSA, TLU and NAFU established an Agri-Sector Unity Forum (Asuf) in 2011.
Asuf was a child born out of the need to build ideological consensus among the diverse agricultural stakeholders, including the government. One cannot confirm the operational status of Asuf today, however, the need for such strategic forums is more prominent and urgently required by the government to bring unity in the sector.
A platform similar to Asuf could be an important mechanism that will build consensus amongst stakeholders on crucial sector ideologies and approaches to policy and resource allocation. Consensus built in the Asuf structure could then be channelled to the CEOs Forum for programming and allocation of resources.
Among the issues that could land on the Asuf agenda are food security and farmer extension; crop insurance; farm safety and farm workers’ conditions and the minimum wage; land reform in particular the land redistribution and tenure reform pillars; water reform; agro-logistics especially the rail, ports and rural roads and the pace of transformation.
Sadly, Mahlathi and Karaan are no longer with us, but the seed of unity they planted needs to be nurtured. Other founding members of Asuf remain in operation and they have the obligation to continue the idea behind the the organisation.
Organisations such as the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy and Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa could be strategic advisers and generators of data and evidence to support the strategic debates and testing of policy ideologies at Asuf.
Sifiso Ntombela (PhD) is an agricultural economist. He served as the special adviser to former minister Thoko Didiza, in the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. He is an elected president of the Agricultural Economics Association of Southern Africa.