Page 556 - Demo

Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) %u2013 2025/26 Financial Year%uf0b7 Provide support to post settlement support in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development %uf0b7 Promote research and development to improve productivity and competitiveness 1.4 Main Services The main services of the department are as follows: %uf0b7 Facilitate comprehensive rural development %uf0b7 Provide Agri-business support for commercialization of the agriculture sector; %uf0b7 Support agriculture commodities to create growth and employment %uf0b7 Increase land under sustainable crop production %uf0b7 Revitalisation of irrigation agriculture %uf0b7 Commercialisation of livestock production %uf0b7 Community based land rehabilitation %uf0b7 Support vulnerable households for food and nutrition security %uf0b7 Agriculture skills development %uf0b7 Stimulate ocean economy through aquaculture and fisheries productions %uf0b7 Provision of mechanization services %uf0b7 Provision of agriculture infrastructure %uf0b7 Agro-processing initiatives %uf0b7 Promote research and development 1.5 Demands for and expected changes in the services Through a government gazette and endorsement by EXCO, the Department has since changed its name from the Department of Rura Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR), to Department of Agriculture (DoA). The change does not affect the mandate of the Department rather the coordination of the rural development will now be done by the Office of the Premier (OTP). However, the Department will still contribute towards rural development as expected from all other departments. The agricultural sector in the Eastern Cape has experienced significant growth over the past 15 years, with total annual income increasing from R7 billion in 2007 to R38 billion in 2022, according to Statistics SA Censuses of Commercial Agriculture. However, this growth has been primarily driven by the established, predominantly white commercial sector. The Agriculture and AgroProcessing Master Plan indicates that black farmers contribute less than 5 per cent of the total agricultural output across all commodities. Conversely, the province continues to face high levels of food insecurity. The National Food and Nutrition Security Survey for the Eastern Cape reports that 73.4 per cent of households experience food insecurity, with 20.2 per cent suffering from severe food shortages. The severity of food insecurity varies across districts. Furthermore, a 2022 South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) inquiry revealed that a significant number of children in the province suffer from various forms of malnutrition. Despite having the highest number of households engaged in agriculture (38 percent, Stats SA Household Survey, 2022) and the largest percentage of households with access to land (67 percent, excluding communal grazing land, National Food and Nutrition Security Survey Eastern Cape, 2023), the sector remains largely underutilized, exacerbating poverty and food insecurity. Lessons learnt from above imply that the department must strengthen its efforts around developing a strong cadre of black commercial and smallholder farmers to position the black community as a significant player in the economy. 535