EFF statement on the status of extension and advisory services for commercial farmers in South Africa
11 September 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes the report by the Department of Agriculture on the status of extension and advisory services for commercial farmers in South Africa.
The report, presented to the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture in Parliament yesterday, indicates 1 official of the department appointed as an extension officer is expected to service about 1 760 farmers which is practically impossible to reach.
Even more concerning is the department's prolonged failure to provide tools of trade to its workers. Many offices lack basic resources, such as vehicles, to transport workers from the office to the farmers they are meant to serve. The absence of these essential extension and advisory services has further hindered the departments ability to maintain a reliable farmer register.
These officials were responsible for collecting the data necessary for compiling the register, which explains why today, we are told that there are approximately 3,314,000 farmers in a country of 62 million people. The inaccuracy of this farmer register has severely hindered effective government planning. The department has therefore failed to ensure that all farmers, regardless of their location, are properly accounted for and supported in their farming efforts.
In particular, extension and advisory service remains a key and a critical function performed by the department to support farmers in our localities. However, it is clear that the department has neglected this critical function that plays an important role in supporting the development of black farmers, particularly in guiding them toward best farming practices.
The majority of these farmers rely on farming to support their families, yet the lack of proper resources continues to impede progress. This is not surprising, however, as it has become an observable trend that ANC govemment has shown no real interest in developing black farmers, as the Department of Agriculture constantly faces budget cuts every years, making it practically impossible for the department to reach some of its key objectives.
Thirty years into democracy, black farmers continue to be deliberately neglected to preserve the status quo. Unlike their white counterparts, who benefited from inputs, support, and access to markets during apartheid, which has now turned into generational privilege, black farmers have been denied similar assistance. Yet the prevailing attitude persists that black farmers are somehow incompetent, further entrenching systemic inequality.
Now that the Department of Agriculture is under the racist DA leader John Steenhuisen we can only expect it to get worse for black farmers as all resources will continue to be channelled to white farmers; continuing the tradition of gatekeeping the farming industry.
The EFF recommends the ideal ratio of 1 extension officer per 200 farmers, however, will therefore remain far from being realised under the DA-ANC coalition. There are no concrete plans to appoint the additional 11 ,324 extension and advisory officers required.
This failure not only deprives farmers of necessary support but also leaves countless agricultural graduates lingering in the streets, reduced to R350 grant beneficiaries. These graduates, equipped with essential skills the sector desperately needs, are left to sit at home instead of contributing to the growth of agriculture in South Africa.
The EFF will continue to hold the Department of Agriculture to task in the Portfolio Committee until they put a clear plan in place to fill vacancies of advisory and extension services that are much needed in shaping the agricultural sector as a matter of urgency.
Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 12 September 2024
