Agri-park project set to take root

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The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has been allocated R6bn over the next three years for the project and will draw in financial contributions from other departments and the private sector.

The plan dovetails with the Department of Trade and Industry's focus on agro-processing to create jobs and boost exports, with some of the planned agri-parks linked with the department's special economic zones.

Bringing small, communal and commercial farmers into the agri-park net

The deputy director-general for rural enterprise infrastructure development in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Leona Archary, told MPs that it was working with other departments - including transport, water, energy, trade and industry, and science and technology - to ensure that agricultural production in the programme had the necessary inputs for success.

The aim was to bring small, communal and commercial farmers into the agri-park net, giving them access to training, infrastructure, equipment, logistics and markets, Archary said in a briefing to a joint meeting of the agriculture and rural development and land reform committees.

Agri-parks could act as a hub for other industries

Twenty-five state farms per province would be used for both farm production and agro-processing plants. "Agri-parks provide networks of contacts between producers, markets and processors" as well as the physical infrastructure required for the transforming industries," she said.

Agri-parks could act as a hub for other industries and as a catalyst for rural industrialisation.

The programme aimed to contribute to the creation of 300,000 new small-scale producers, as well as 145,000 new agro-processing jobs by 2020. The plan was to bring underused land, especially in communal areas, and land subject to land reform, into full production over the next three years.

Consultations had been held with provincial farmer organisations and municipalities, and talks with the Western Cape structures were planned for next week. So far, 39 of the 44 sites had been confirmed.

The department was also working on a corporate structure for the agri-parks, which would be 70% farmer owned, with 30% owned by the state and private sector, she said. The state would progressively reduce its stake over 10 years.

Source: Business Day