Christo says: Agriculture master plan a symbol of hope for the future of the sector

[{“type”:”text”,”content”:”Despite there being some disagreement on certain proposals in the master plan, all stakeholders recognise the importance and value of developing and executing a plan of action to make the agricultural sector more competitive and inclusive. nnThe agricultural sector is an undervalued contributor to the South African economy. In addition to providing the country with life-sustaining food, the sector also employs more than 800,000 workers and contributed more than R199 billion to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. It is this sector that provides many of the much-needed jobs in South Africau2019s rural communities and contributes USD 12,4 billion in export revenue in 2021.nnCurrently, this critical sector is plagued by several serious barriers to growth and existential threats. This includes policy proposals that threaten the sectoru2019s future viability, as well as practical constraints like poor access to infrastructure, which are throttling its immediate potential to generate greater revenue and create more jobs for the countryu2019s nearly 8 million unemployed.nnIn this context, the master plan provides a framework and a forum within which stakeholders can collaborate to address these challenges. Perhaps the greatest impediment to effective problem-solving in most endeavours is the problem of stakeholders working in silos. Undoubtedly, both the sector and government are committed to promoting the growth and greater inclusivity of the sector. Yet these potential partners frequently work against each other to achieve the same objective. This is the type of problem that the master plan is designed to solve, and it appears to have catalysed renewed excitement within the sector to work more collectively in addressing the sectoru2019s challenges.nnAs the adage goes, the first step to solving a problem is to acknowledge that there is a problem. To this end, the master plan represents a comprehensive analysis of the issues facing the sector. Finally, we have a diagnosis of our problems, a forum to address them, and a roadmap for going about this monumental task. The strength of this diagnosis is that it has come about through two years of consultation, capturing the concerns of all stakeholders, and ensuring that we are all invested in solving these problems together. nnBut itu2019s not enough to know what to do; we need a why, and the master plan captures this in the form of an agreed vision of the future of the sector. Together, the signatories to the master plan have identified a shared commitment to building an u201cinclusive, competitive, job-creating, sustainable and growingu201d sector. As a country and a sector, we want to address the unequal access to opportunities that continues to characterise South Africa by making the sector more inclusive. This means more than redistributing the pie; it means growing the pie and creating more opportunities to absorb South Africau2019s large unemployed working-age population. This can only happen if the sector is globally competitive, and these benefits will only last if the industry is sustainable. nnWhile we celebrate this strengthening, it is equally important to acknowledge and address some of the threats to the successful implementation of the plan, and the weaknesses we must shore up to realise the full potential of this platform to transform the sector.”,”position”:0,”id”:”1L2eHSlvRLfydgjx”}]