1 TUESDAY, 27 MARCH 2018 PROCEEDINGS OF THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT The sign † indicates the original language and [ ] directly thereafter indicates a translation. The House met at 10:00. The Speaker took the Chair and read the prayer. The SPEAKER: Please be seated. Good morning, hon members. It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome you. To our guests in the gallery and also the staff, welcome to the sitting today. I just need to remind the guests in the gallery, we appreciate your being here, however you are not allowed to participate in the proceedings of the House. I will now ask the Secretary to read the First Order of the Day. The SECRETARY: Debate on Vote 11 – Agriculture – Western Cape Appropriation Bill [B 3 - 2018]. The PREMIER: Hear-hear! The SPEAKER: I see the honourable, the Minister, Minister Winde. 2 [Applause.] The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM: Thank you very much. Madam Speaker, Premier, Cabinet colleagues, members of this House, the Head of Department and the Department of Agriculture, the citizens of this province: It is impossible to stand here today and address you on the state of agriculture in the province and not mention the drought. Madam Speaker, I know you have not seen me here in a jacket of late, so if you do not mind, I am going to take my jacket off because, as this House knows, from 1 February or Level 6B water restrictions, I have been wearing jeans and a T-shirt to work for three days in a row before I wash them. Today is day three for this shirt so hon Ministers around me, I apologise. I, in my own household, in the month of January, used 42,6 litres per person per day and in the month of February 32,2 litres per person per day and the message is that we all have to continue to use as little water as possible right into winter so that we can make sure that we give our dams the opportunity to fill when the rains come. This once in 400-year-event has made everyone from the mega-farming enterprise, to the subsistence farmer, to the man on the street, equal. It has also brought with it important lessons which will hopefully prepare us for a 3 more resource efficient, sustainable future. As we have said there is a whole new water economy developing at the moment. The most important of these is standing together and creating partnerships that will help us to not only withstand the challenges that come our way, but also to nurture the green shoots of possibility. Agriculture has been hit hard by the drought. This sector is one of the most important in our economy, and without it, food security and rural household finances are under serious threat. This, coupled with several other knocks like avian flu, and a number of agricultural pests, means the sector has had a very rough time and are still having a very tough time going forward. Agriculture and agri-processing contribute a combined R54 billion to the provincial GVA. Of all the province’s exports, 52% come from the agriculture and agri-processing. As a sector it represents 10% o f the provincial GDP and employs 340 000 people, mostly in rural areas. We estimate that the impact of the drought on agriculture or the agricultural sector will run up to R5,9 billion, with the total production volumes likely to be 20% down or smaller this year. Agriculture is one of the major employers in the rural areas of our province, and for many agri-workers their jobs are their lifeline. We have also seen a year-on-year loss of 57 000 agricultural jobs. We expect these losses to hit 4 our female seasonal workers the hardest, who are often the breadwinners of the households ensuring young people are fed, clothed and educated. In a bid to minimise the impact of the drought on farmers and agri -workers, we have provided over R100 million in relief funding which has been used to buy feed for livestock for farmers to ensure that they are able to keep farming. In some rural areas we have assisted with the drilling of boreholes and the provision of clean drinking water for rural communities. We have also partnered with the Department of Social Development to ensure that humanitarian support is provided for those in need. Our agri-worker household census which we conducted last year has provided us with valuable details which will help steer resource al location to where the greatest need exists. We have requested R136 million in disaster relief funding from National Government for the 2018/19 year. Following the declaration of the … [Interjection.] The SPEAKER: Order please. The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM: Welcome, hon member Dyantyi, it is good to have you here. I am sorry that you were late and missed the beginning of the speech but welcome. If you listen you will pick up the rest of the detail. 5 We have applied for R136 million in disaster relief funding from National Government for the 2018/19 year, following the declaration of the drought as a National Disaster earlier this month and we will be engaging the National Government on possible additional funding, especiall y to use existing EPWP projects and change the conditions of employment to include agri -workers in the affected areas. This sector is vital in sustaining rural economies and we have had to ensure that we are able to support it through this difficult perio d. But, even when the rains do eventually come, South Africa remains a water scarce country and the Western Cape is only set to get drier. We have to prepare for a future in which climate change is a reality. This is why we have been conducting pioneering research into conservation agriculture at our Langgewens Research Farm. These techniques, which are showing excellent results where they are being implemented, include minimal soil disturbance, crop diversity and permanent soil cover. We also partnered with industry and academia to develop our Smart Agri Plan in 2016. This plan serves as a roadmap for a future in which climate change is certain, laying out potential responses to potential shocks like drought. We have also developed FruitLook as a tool, in partnership with our crop farmers, which allows them to access satellite images, and soon drone - gathered imaging, to determine which crops need irrigation and when, 6 resulting in much smarter use of water. When we launched Project Khulisa, we set ourselves a target of creating 100 000 jobs in the agri-processing sector. By the fourth quarter of 2016, we had exceeded that target, however, the outbreak of avian influenza and the drought last year impacted on this sector heavily. We are currently reporting a net gain of 37 370 agri- processing jobs and 60 000 agriculture jobs since Project Khulisa began, mitigating some of the losses experienced due to the drought. Madam Speaker, perhaps I need to highlight, there are so many job numbers flying around, 57 000 jobs this year which we have lost due to the drought. At the end of the year, these are Statistics South Africa numbers, we clawed back 32 000 jobs because coming into the harvest, although as you have said 20% depressed. We know through the BFAP research that we did, which looks at the whole drought impact across multi -years, that 30 000 jobs in our system, are at risk. And these jobs are both permanent and seasonal jobs. Madam Speaker, because of the economic and jobs impact of agri -processing, we will continue to prioritise support for this sector. Over the medium term, we will continue to focus on the promotion of South African Halal products in strategic markets and our plans to position the province as an Halal hub. This year we completed investor p rospectuses for three potential Halal sites and are now aggressively marketing these sites to the private sector. We are also mapping best practice certification methods globally to ensure our practices meet world standards. In doing so we will be 7 opening the doors for our produce to export markets, growing the strength of this sub-sector, and creating additional jobs in this space. Last year we had to cull millions of our province’s layer hens as a result of a national outbreak of avian influenza or avian flu. This had a devastating effect on the poultry industry which is still being felt as farms await the all clear to start restocking. Farmers are very, very nervous. They are nervous about taking the risk in restocking. They have lost R800 million thus f ar in culled birds in the system. And they are specifically worried because winter is coming. The Western Cape is not yet free of avian influenza, but we have contained infections in the commercial poultry sector and no new infections have been recorded since late last year but the virus continues to spread in wild birds and in particular sea birds such as terns, and now as everyone sees, also in the penguin colonies. The current incidences of avian influenza, Fall Armyworm, Oriental Fruit Fly and Tuta Absoluta are clear indications of the impact of climate change and, accompanying our water and heat conditions, on animal and plant disease complexes. These plant and animal diseases, if not contained, could have a serious impact on our market access opport unities and our role as a global agricultural player.