This comes after the initial budget tabled earlier this year was R16.8 billion. This budget was re-adjusted to R14.4 billion during the supplementary budget vote in June this year. Didiza briefed parliament on the department's budget cut on Tuesday and said the cut affects food distribution, land redistribution and restitution. Here is Didiza:

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She said these programmes are core to achieving outcomes in food security and achieving economic transformation priorities through redress and equitable access to producer support. Food security has cuts of R939 million, land redistribution and tenure reform R544 million and land restitution R403 million.

According to her the food security programme in the budget comprise of the transfer allocations from the national department as covered by the Division of Revenue Act. The Ilima/Letsema and Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme (CASP) budget readjustments will mean  for the 2020/21 financial year, provinces will receive lesser allocations for producer support for production and infrastructure. Provinces will therefore need to re-prioritise projects for this financial year.

She said in terms of land redistribution and tenure reform the land development support was scaled down and this support will be extended to the identified 146 projects within the Pro-Active Land Acquisition Strategy. The other applications relating to land support will only be considered in the 2021/22 financial year. Relating to land acquisitions, new projects will not be considered and no new valuations will be conducted on land for acquiring. The current funding will only cater for current commitments.

Relating to land acquisition, no new projects will be considered this financial year, however, her department will ensure that evaluations relating to land restitution go ahead.

Didiza, said the rural development budget has been cut by R199.7 million which will negatively affect rural social infrastructure, which includes the revitalisation of irrigation schemes. This coupled with the cuts in the CASP,  infrastructure allocations will lead to delayed implementation of on-farm infrastructure projects. 

Therefore the focus for this financial year will be on the completion of multi-year infrastructure projects and those that started in the 2019/20 financial year. 

The Economic Development, Trade and Marketing programme had a R135.9 million cut which will lead to reconsideration and prioritisation of projects within the agro-processing, marketing and rural industrial development space.

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