Implementing CAADP in South Africa

“In order to deliver results, smallholder farmers and small enterprises need to go beyond basic production to impact extensively on poverty alleviation, food security and wealth creation,” said Mr Martin Bwalya, NEPAD Agency’s Head of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Mr Bwalya gave the opening statement on 8 April, at the South African National Planning Workshop on developing the national CAADP Compact in Johannesburg. In his statement, Mr Bwalya remarked that after ten years of the adoption of CAADP by African heads of state and government, African countries have clear priorities and plans to achieve growth in agriculture and create jobs and wealth for their people. Current trends show that there has been marked increase in African financing for agriculture between 2010 and 2013.

South Africa has just concluded the process of stakeholder consultations in all its nine provinces, the outcomes of which will inform the design of its CAADP Compact. A CAADP Compact is a country-led agreement between Ministries of Agriculture and Finance, non-state actors and the private sector on the priorities and strategy for a country’s agricultural development. It contains priorities for national agriculture which reflect local needs and aspirations.

The development of the CAADP Compact in South Africa will take into account the reports received from its provinces after months of extensive consultations and dialogues with various stakeholders such as farmers, youth, policy officials and farmer organisations. The concerns raised during the consultation process include the need to build trust among all role players; building a more secure and enabling environment for agricultural growth and; identifying champions for agriculture to make it more a more attractive sector for increased participation.

Professor Edith Vries, Director-General at the South African Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) said, “CAADP implementation in South Africa is not a parallel process to the National Development Plan, it merely sets out to enhance inclusive development, and will underpin the numerous programmes, strategies and policies for agriculture and food security.”

At the workshop, Professor Sheryl Hendriks (from the University of Pretoria), highlighted the appropriateness of CAADP implementation in South Africa which takes a broad approach in identifying national priorities. She underscored the fact that jobs in agriculture are declining in South Africa. Professor Hendriks also stated that even though poverty is on the decline, malnutrition and stunting in children still remains a challenge.

Thus far, the emerging priorities for South Africa also include capacity and infrastructure development, increased research, land and water access, market access, value chain development, nutrition, access to credit and finance, communication and coordination and knowledge systems.

The next steps in CAADP implementation in South Africa entail aggregating the results from the provincial consultations and dialogues in order to have clarity on the goals and targets that need to be achieved with appropriate policies and regulatory environments to achieve tangible results. Appropriate interventions will be set in key five broad areas:

1. Intensification and development of sustainable production systems;
2. Agribusiness, value chain, and market development
3. Education, capacity and professional development
4. Social development and programmes for resilient livelihoods
5. Institutional development

It was stressed that while political will and leadership are important to upholding the priorities identified in South Africa’s provinces, partnerships and alliances are also crucial in the delivery of results.