During the State of the Nation address this year President Thabo Mbeki reminded us yet again of our mandate to liberate our people from the scourge of poverty in all its manifestations, and eliminate all its offshoots.
Since 2004 this ANC Government in the Western Cape has done much to push back the boundaries of poverty. In Agriculture we have made the plight of farm workers our business and produced the only strategic plan for farm workers in the country. Yet farm workers and their dependents are still the most vulnerable members of our society. During the past year there were many incidents that placed the emphasis on the plight of 220 000 farm workers who work on farms in the Western Cape as well as their estimated 1,5 million dependants.
The loss of lives in the tragic train disaster touched our hearts deeply and once again drew our attention to the circumstances under which some of our farm workers live and work on a daily basis.

The eviction of farm workers both legal and illegal often result in calls to come to the aide of families living next to the road or under a bridge with their children and their few belongings. I engage extensively with various role players on the critical issue of security of tenure. The Premier has appointed a task team to investigate the extent of the problem and to look into the role of various departments in the province in addressing this problem. I have already on various occasions requested the national minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs to set a process in motion to review ESTA.
I want to reiterate it again that I believe that the processes is flawed in that some magistrates are not 100% adhering to the regulations as set out in the act, before granting a final eviction order. In this matter my attention have been drawn to a Human Rights Commission report, which reached the same conclusion.

There is something wrong in our farming community when you have 645 applications for evictions from farms in the Western Cape, over 3 years. Of these applications 222 were granted 10% were set aside by the Land Claims Court. The question arises whether the remaining 423 became illegal evictions, or what happened to their constitutional rights.

As a housing solution for farm workers Agri villages seems to be the right option. We will need the full cooperation of all departments and spheres of government to succeed. Farm workers will gain access to full title of a property in this way.

As much as we acknowledge the contribution of the majority of farmers to improve the circumstances of their workers there are still to many reports of incidents of maltreatment of workers and the non-compliance to the minimum wage structure and health and safety regulations. Too many workers are still spraying chemicals without protective clothing.
The eight themes as contained in the agri-business sector plan for growth and development are not only in synergy with the programs and emphasis of the Department but it is either in line with the objectives of ASGISA or it will support these objectives in reaching a growth rate of 6%.

With the start of the 2007 academic year, a total of 154 first year students enrolled for our Higher Education-programmes. Of these, 24% are women, and 38% are from the Black population. Students from Agricultural Colleges are excluded from financial assistance through the National Student Financial Aid Fund. Therefore we supported 38 black students with bursaries to study in agriculture and carried approximately 50% of the total cost of R1,1 million.

A further 28 Black students obtained a National Certificate in Agriculture through our Learnerships programmes. This year 60 students from the farm worker community benefits from in our Learnerships programmes. We aim to increase this number with another 100 during the course of this year.
The delivery on accelerated land reform and the administration of ESTA is confronted by the structure of the national departments of Land Affairs and Agriculture under one ministry - the same does not apply to provinces. Yet we are held responsible for matters related to Land Affairs. I have raised the issue of greater delegated authority to provinces with the National Minister. The linkages with the provincial land reform office (and officials) must be clarified with a structured relationship if we want to achieve the land reform targets we have set for ourselves.
Through our joint concerted efforts we have managed to transfer 125 000 hectares of agricultural land to emerging farmers during 2006, whilst only a total of 85000 hectares to beneficiaries in the previous 12 years have been transferred

I agree with the premier that our strategy remains the only reliable way to overcome poverty, unemployment, inequality and social fragmentation. Ours is the correct strategic path in realising our vision of making the Western Cape a home for all and in ensuring shared growth through our Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) - iKapa Elihlumayo

Alie van Jaarsveld
Spokesperson
Ministry of Agriculture: Western Cape
Tel: 021 483 4930
Fax: 021 483 3890
Cell: 084 604 6701
Email: avjaarsv@pgwc.gov.za