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Having spent R140b on agriculture, SA should legislate wisely
Pretoria University's Prof Johann Kristen said on Wednesday that South Africa spent R140 billion on agriculture and ground development between 2000 and 2010. Speaking to members of the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) at its 115th anniversary in Pretoria, Kristen asked: "Did it relieve rural poverty? Did it increase jobs?"
According to Independent Online, Kristen was speaking about principles for agricultural and rural development in South Africa.
"If the answer is no," he said, "then there is something drastically wrong in the design and execution of the agricultural policy in South Africa." Kristen believes that a sensible agriculture policy was needed for expansion and growth in the rest of the economy, because it could relieve rural poverty and provide food to communities. Agriculture was the main source of growth and income in rural areas, and bad growth and policies caused loss of labour.
Kristen said he felt "upbeat" about the fact that the National Planning Commission (NPC) had placed agriculture in the foreground, as "Agriculture was influenced by policy and legislature outside of agriculture." He added that the NPC's optimism in agriculture suggested, among other things, sensible and effective spending of state funds, effective functioning of national and provincial governments, and a good partnership between commercial farmers and agri-business, Independent Online reports.
Read the full article on www.iol.co.za[.
