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Agriculture

Vrede dominates ARD budget vote debate

───   SABRINA DEAN 20:32 Tue, 24 Mar 2015

Vrede dominates ARD budget vote debate | News Article

Bloemfontein - Acting MEC for Agriculture and Rural development in the Free State, Olly Mlamleli, says no budget allocation is ever going to be enough, but she remains confident the department will manage to do what it needs to do with the resources at its disposal.

This was during an interview with OFM News after she tabled the department’s R744,5-million budget.
 
She highlighted the importance of agriculture for the province, saying Free State is recognised as the breadbasket of the country. “For the first time on record, plantings in the Free State have exceeded those of Mpumalanga,” she says.
 
Mlamleli says the province supplies significant portions of the country’s sorghum (51,1%), sunflower (44%), soya beans (42%), wheat (15%), maize (41%), potatoes (33%), groundnuts (38%), dry beans (32%), as well as 90% of SA’s cherries.
 
“On livestock the province contributes as follows: milk (22%) and red meat (15%),” she says, adding that due to these figures the province can be “regarded as one of the most important food hubs in South Africa”.
 
PRAISE FOR COMMERCIAL FARMERS
 
Mlamleli also praised commercial farmers and organised agriculture in the province:
 
‘Olly Mlamleli’
 
She did, however, call upon farmers to do more to improve the lives of farm workers and dwellers on their farms. “As government we will take decisive steps to prevent evictions of farm workers and dwellers,” she says.
 
The controversial Vrede Integrated Dairy Project only received a brief mention during Mlamleli’s speech but featured prominently in the budget vote debate.
 
ANC MPL Thabo Meeko told the house “Vrede Dairy is here to stay”, while Wouter Wessels of the FF+ says the party is not against the project, per say, but finds it unacceptable that so many millions have been spent and the cows are only producing 12 litres of milk per day.
 
The DA’s Roy Jankielsohn meanwhile highlighted the need to evaluate all projects and to stop throwing money at unsustainable or inviable projects. “The Department and the Free State Development Corporation must carefully consider what they want to achieve with Vrede… The National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, as well as national Treasury have also voiced the same concerns,” he says.
 
POSITIVES AND CHALLENGES
 
Mlamleli meanwhile highlighted numerous positives and challenges for the department.
 
She spoke with great excitement about, among others,  empowering women in agriculture, expansion into the deciduous fruits market, plans to establish an Agri-Park and initiatives such as the Grain Field Chicken abattoir in Reitz and plans for expansion in Lejweleputswa and Fezile Dabi districts that will see the province become the “poultry hub” of SA.
 
On the challenges, Mlamleli says the drought is certainly a major issue for the province, with the Crop Estimates Committee in March predicting we would obtain 30% less production of maize. “The department is continuously assessing the situation together with other departments and will take appropriate action to mitigate the drought impact and consequences,” she says.
 
She says a Provincial Drought Task Team is currently busy with analysis. “The Task Team consists of members from relevant sectors including government departments, Grain SA, organized agriculture, SA Weather Services and members from institutions of higher learning, among others,” she says.
 
Sabrina Dean/OFM News 

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