Agri SA bemoans agriculture programme budget cuts
Industry body Agri SA says the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s (DALRRD's) salary bill should be cut by a higher amount rather than the cuts announced in funding for programmes for food security, land reform, production aid, infrastructure and rural development.
“Scaling down of the budgets of core State departments responsible for recovery of the economy, and the channelling of funds towards interventions to combat the pandemic, hold serious implications for the National Treasury’s promise to kickstart economic growth in the country,” the industry association says.
Agri SA explains that it makes no sense that the budget for programmes promoting food security, land redistribution and restitution, as well as agricultural support, has been reduced by R1.89-billion, considering that President Cyril Ramaphosa identified agriculture as one of the sectors with the most potential to stimulate the economy.
Additionally, the budget for production aid and infrastructure development has been cut by R276-million, which has "enormous" implications for emerging farmers who depend on this aid, it says.
DALRRD’s salary bill, which amounts to R4.44-billion, has been reduced by only R300-million, says Agri SA, adding that this is the elephant in the room that the government refuses to address.
“The government’s inability to cut its salary bill and its continued focus on welfare interventions rather than on unlocking wealth-creating opportunities, will cost us dearly because it is to the detriment of economic growth,” the association states.
Comments
The
functionality
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation