Political threats to implementation of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan
The importance of the agriculture sector in South Africa, both economically and societally – in terms of engendering a more egalitarian society, cannot be over-emphasised and has been argued almost ad nauseam.
However, transformation within the sector is far from ideal, albeit significant recent gains, which remain largely anecdotal. There is widespread agreement that transformation within the South African agriculture, or food system – if one prefers, both to address imbalances created by past policies and generally opening up the sector to be more inclusive and representative of the South Africa population demographics.
Unfortunately, there is no consensus as to what constitutes transformation, how to get there and how to know whether we are on the right track or not. This is because there is no robust measure or indicator of transformation, hence the need for a scientifically sound barometer, metaphorically speaking.
The recent development of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), championed by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (Dalrrd) and its minister and its endorsement as the agricultural policies to foster agricultural development and transformation has been hailed as an important milestone and resounding achievement of the department.
Although the AAMP is a “social compact” between various sectors of society and was signed by the social partners in Parliament and is one the priorities identified by President Cyril Ramaphosa is his 2019 State of the Nation Address, it’s still not a White Paper, thus can be viewed as a policy and strategic document of Dalrdd.
However, the AAMP is still an important and pivotal sectoral growth strategy that sets out immediate and medium-term actions needed to enable the agricultural sector to grow and transform.
Notwithstanding the targets set in the AAMP measuring progress towards their attainment remains a mirage. For example, the plan sets a 20% transformation within agricultural value chains target, but the lack of a succinct measurement tool is a gaping shortcoming. This is just one conspicuous drawback to the transformation agenda in the agricultural sector and has contributed, in part, to the apparent dismal failures in the land reform process and the attendant inability of its proponents to defend it.
That being said, transformation in the agricultural sector, just in other sectors of the South African economy, is both inevitable and indispensable.
As with most policies in South Africa, the AAMP is a well-articulated and grafted policy document which is a product of extensive stakeholder consultation and robust engagements across a broad-spectrum of role players.
However, its implementation has been slow and not without apparent reluctance from some quarters within the sector, despite the consensus that was evident at the signing of the policy in Parliament.
With 2024 being an election year, nothing will be spared from politicking and contestation, including the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan. Hence, it is lamentable that not much ground and traction has been gained in terms of its implementation.
The implementation part of the AAMP as a policy of the current government administration has suffered from what one may call vacillation from the bureaucratic process of government and identified implementation agents.
Furthermore, there have been stalling tactics from some sectors of the agricultural spectrum, justifiably and otherwise.
With the election imminent, political parties and opportunistic elements in society will be angling to put their views across to score political points and advance their constituents’ agendas. It is also well known and accepted that complete consensus is a myth when it comes to policy formulation and implementation.
However, the overall welfare intention of the AAMP to achieve transformation in the South African agriculture sector is undeniable and should not be sacrificed at the altar of political bargaining that is likely to ensue after the election as political parties pursue coalitions in their attempts to garner sufficient support and representation in all spheres of government.
Therefore, it is important to defend the AAMP and withstand any form of filibustering from those who oppose it or harbour reservations against its intentions and the outcomes of successfully implementing the AAMP.
Dr Thulasizwe Mkhabela is an independent agricultural researcher and policy analyst. He is also a director and Senior Researcher at Outcome Mapping: thulasizwe.mkhabela@gmail.com; an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Agriculture, Earth, and Environmental Sciences and an associate for the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network.
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