The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) has stressed the need to follow up commitments with “real action”, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on February 12.

“There are several positives that we have to recognise: South Africa’s removal from the [Financial Action Task Force’s] grey list, the disbursements towards blended finance and the classification of foot and mouth disease (FMD) as a national disaster.

“While the commitments regarding local government reform and infrastructure spending are encouraging, we will hold off on celebrating until we witness tangible implementation of these reforms,” Agbiz chairperson Sean Walsh says.

He notes that interruptions in water and electricity supply and neglected infrastructure are the biggest challenges to doing business for agribusinesses in rural towns.

“Agribusinesses spend millions each year performing the functions that municipalities should fulfil. We do so because we have to, but it increases the costs and erodes our ability to operate sustainably.

“We are actively participating in the White Paper on Local Government, but there must be financial consequences for municipalities that don’t perform. In this regard, we will watch the development of the incentive scheme closely, and we call on the government to follow through with its threat to remove functions from local governments that don’t perform,” he emphasises.

The broader reform commitments outlined during SoNA, including reforms to rail and road infrastructure, intensified action against organised crime, continued restructuring of the electricity sector, the elevation of water security to national crisis level and the positioning of agriculture as a priority growth and job-creating sector alongside mining, services and the green economy, are “critically important for agriculture”, AgriSA CEO Johann Kotzé says.

“Reliable transport corridors are essential for moving livestock and agricultural products, energy stability underpins production and processing and tackling organised crime is fundamental to restoring confidence across rural economies and value chains,” he emphasises.

FOOT AND MOUTH

Agbiz CEO Theo Boshoff welcomed the President’s recognition of the importance of combating FMD, but called for more details and the opportunity for private sector assistance, noting that the State’s efforts must complemented by pre-emptive, voluntary vaccination by the sector as soon as sufficient vaccines are available for purchase.

“The focus must surely now be to vaccinate as many animals as possible in the shortest possible time. For this to work, we need to collaborate in the same manner as we did during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout,” he asserts.

AgriSA echoed these sentiments. “While government leadership is essential, disease control equally depends on strict compliance at farm level and across the value chain,” it stresses.

The organisation’s expectation is that declaring the disease a national disaster will create an enabling regulatory environment required for a better coordinated national response, Kotzé points out.

Agbiz also welcomed the announcement that additional capacity is being made available for trade negotiations.

“Many subsectors are trying to find alternative markets after the imposition of 30% tariffs by the US. The private sector can find markets, but we will only be competitive if the State can negotiate tariff concessions akin to those enjoyed by our biggest competitors in the southern hemisphere.

“The world is lining up to negotiate new trade agreements, and we need to be right in the mix of things as a country,” Walsh avers.