Latest news with #NationalFoodandNutritionSecurityPlan
TimesLIVE
10-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Steenhuisen hails 'youth budget' as 3,000 agriculture graduates land internships
Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has revealed that South Africa's agricultural sector is experiencing a surge of momentum with more than 3,000 recent agricultural graduates placed in internship programmes. Steenhuisen said this is part of a broader push by the government to uplift youth and tackle food insecurity. The agriculture minister made this announcement during his department's budget vote speech, describing the allocation as 'a budget for the youth' and pointing to major investments in training, education and food security. 'More than 66,000 farmers have received training, and more than 3,000 agricultural graduates have been placed through our internship programmes. We are integrating all 11 agricultural colleges into the higher education system to ensure that they become centres of excellence,' said Steenhuisen. The Macroeconomic Digest Labour Report for May 2024 published by the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) showed that employment in the agriculture sector increased by 50% on a long-term basis, from 627,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2011 to 941,000 in the first quarter of this year. According to the NAMC, agriculture employed about 5.6% of the employed pool in the first quarter of this year, making the sector essential in the labour force. It said data from Stats SA showed that men have been the primary participants in the agriculture sector from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2024. The number of men and women actively involved in agriculture was 641,000 and 300,000, respectively, in the first quarter of this year. 'During the first quarter of 2024, the number of women increased by 8,000 (2.8%), while the number of men increased by 13,000 (2.1%) compared to the previous quarter. When combining both genders, the number of people employed in agriculture increased by 21,000 (2.3%) for the first quarter of 2024.' the report said. In a time of economic uncertainty, agriculture has become a rare economic success story. The sector grew by 15.8% in the first quarter of 2025 — a performance that added 0.4 percentage points to South Africa's overall GDP. This is in stark contrast to declines recorded in manufacturing, mining, electricity and construction. Behind the growth figures lie urgent social challenges. 'According to the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey, only 36.5% of households are food secure. Nearly 18% experience severe food insecurity. These are not just figures. They are expressions of a child going to bed hungry, of a parent sacrificing meals, of dreams deferred,' said Steenhuisen. Steenhuisen said to address this, the department is implementing the 2024—2029 National Food and Nutrition Security Plan, in collaboration with the departments of health, education, social development and the environment. 'We are scaling up school gardens, community food hubs and home food production,' he said. Steenhuisen also announced plans to promote neglected and underutilised species (NUS) such as amaranth, African leafy vegetables, and bambara groundnuts — crops known for their high nutrition, drought resistance and cultural value. 'These offer nutrition, resilience and cultural relevance,' he said. He emphasised that the future of agriculture lies in innovation and youth participation. 'The future of agriculture will be decided by the next generation, not only those who inherit the land, but those who study climate-smart techniques, monitor disease outbreaks, and build data systems for traceability,' he said. Steenhuisen said to support this vision, the department is opening pathways for young people into veterinary science, agritech, on-farm learning and extension services. 'Let us empower them to build a new kind of agriculture, one rooted in science, community, and opportunity,' he said.
IOL News
09-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Steenhuisen optimistic about collaboration to combat US tariffs
DA leader John Steenhuisen says the tariff announcement by US President Donald Trump will signal the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which gives South Africa duty free access to the US for more than 6,000 products, including goods in the automobile, agricultural and textile industries. Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen on Tuesday said he was looking forward to working with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau to seek a way to avoid the US 30% tariff for the agricultural sector. Presenting the department's budget in the National Assembly, Steenhuisen noted that US President Donald Trump sent a letter to a number of countries, including South Africa, announcing his intention to persist with the 30% tariff on South African goods and produce exported into the US from August 1. He said the agricultural sector remained particularly exposed in areas of citrus, wine, nuts and table grape. 'Now more than ever it highlights the need for urgent reforms in South Africa so that we can ensure our economy meets the requirements of our trading partners around the world. 'I look forward to work with Minister Tau and others in the coming weeks to urgently seek a ways through this impasse and to ensure we avoid a 30% tariff for our agricultural sector,' he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Steenhuisen said the budget was grounded in the 2025-30 strategic plan articulated on seven strategic priorities. These were partnerships for growth, a modern and progressive legislative environment, improving market access, providing effective farmer support, strengthening biosecurity and disaster preparedness. He further said they were implementing the 2024-2029 National Food and Nutrition Security Plan that was coordinated with the departments of health, education, social development, and environment. ANC MP Dina Pule said the budget continued to prioritise food security initiatives from community and school nutrition guidance to commission food production schemes while also easing the cost of living by expanding the free food basket food. 'Food security is not achievable without active inclusion of our thousands of small-scale and subsistence farmers across the country.' Pule urged all to support the budget, saying it was truly a budget for security and inclusion because the food security and farmer support programs received the largest allocation from the vote. In rejecting the budget, MK Party's Andile Mngxitama said over 15% of the nation was without food security. 'However, this sector, which is white agriculture, is produced for export markets. Our people eat heads and feet of chicken. The much praised white agricultural sector can't produce enough chicken to feed the nation. The state has created a conducive environment for exports to thrive. That is why the minister is lamenting the fact that Trump has imposed those tariffs,' said Mngxitama. He also said the budget vote does not contribute to dismantling the apartheid and colonial agricultural sector. EFF MP Kenneth Montwedi said the budget failed to appreciate the challenges faced by the agricultural sector and did not bring any tangible solution to addressing such. He said the country was in a man-made crisis of foot and mouth disease because the minister dropped the ball and dissolved a multidisciplinary team established by former minister Thoko Didiza. 'We must locate the current challenges of foot and mouth disease right on the doorstep of the Minister of Agriculture,' Montwedi added. Cape Argus
Daily Maverick
03-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Hunger crisis — rights group calls for state action as 23% of South Africans struggle to access food
The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa has launched a report that unpacks the cause of South Africa's food poverty crisis and looks at legal frameworks to strengthen food security. 'People are not ignorant about nutrition, rather they are unable to access nutritious food and/or have to make strategic trade-offs,' it reads. Civil society organisations are calling for amendments to the updated National Food and Nutrition Security Plan to address and monitor affordability and food pricing and give people economic access to nutritious food. This is one of the recommendations in a new report by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri). The report, launched on Tuesday at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, spotlights the struggles and the remedies people seek to put nutritious food on the table. The report is titled Food for Thought: Reflections on Food (In)Security. Laws, Experiences, Interventions. In the lead-up to its publication, Seri embarked on a #FoodJusticeWeek, during which it shared the experiences and coping strategies of partner organisations to highlight the impacts of food insecurity on the back of World Hunger Day. 'Seri stands in solidarity with communities around the country who experience hunger and food insecurity daily. Despite South Africa having the means to feed its population, millions still struggle to access sufficient and nutritious food,' the organisation said. The report notes official statistics that paint a bleak picture. According to Statistics South Africa's General Household Survey published in 2023, 23.1% of households nationally – more than one in five – report inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. A 2023 study commissioned by the then Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council found that half of all adults in South Africa are considered overweight or obese, while 69% of adults who are obese live in households that are food insecure and therefore have little choice in the food they eat and its nutritional value. 'The triple burden of malnutrition exists in the country, which happens when undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition exist simultaneously in society. Despite this, it is estimated that 10 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in South Africa, which constitutes about one-third of all available food. A disconnect exists between available food and those who struggle to access their next meal. Like the rest of the world, South Africa faces critical questions about how to produce food in a just and sustainable manner. Food wastage is not only a social and humanitarian concern, but also an environmental one,' the report reads. The report recommends the drafting of national framework legislation, such as a 'Food and Nutrition Security Act', which will be in line with recommendations from United Nations General Comment No 12 on the Right to Adequate Food. The report also highlights instances where the law has been used to compel the government to act on the right to food, including: Ensuring pupils received meals through the National School Nutrition Programme during Covid-19 lockdowns; Challenging barriers to access for the Social Relief of Distress Grant, linking to the right to social protection and food security; and Upholding the rights of artisanal fishers to access marine resources. The report also asserts that South Africa's National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security could help set out the roles and responsibilities of the different actors in relation to food security in South Africa, including an interdepartmental body with oversight responsibility. Other recommendations include: Implementation of a universal basic income grant; The Department of Employment and Labour to monitor the implementation of the national minimum wage and develop effective enforcement mechanisms; Civil society organisations and organisations and unions representing those in precarious work to keep advocating for a living wage; and The Department of Employment and Labour to monitor the working conditions of those in precarious work, such as domestic workers and farm workers. The research included case studies and anecdotes, including from a participant in a meeting in Slovo Park, who said: 'This hunger thing, it's changing our personality and it's changing our humanity. We have become like animals among each other. In order for me to have something in my stomach I have to do anything so that I don't go hungry.' DM
