LIMPOPO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT TE Briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on 06 March 2018

Contents Background Progress in implementing Fetsa Tlala - 2017/18 Food security indicators Fetsa Tlala Planting plans for 2018/19 FY Progress on Commercialisation of black farmers Progress on the rehabilitation of agricultural land in the Province. Fall army worm updates Placement of Unemployed graduates Challenges and mitigation measures

Background One million hectares of arable land under production by 2019 across the country. Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has adopted food production support through Fetsa Tlala programme. Focus is on stable food crops, such as maize, sorghum & beans Communal land under Traditional Authorities and land reform projects Funding source – Ilima-Letsema for production inputs and mechanisation

Cont …. Reduction of households vulnerable to food insecurity by 9.5% by 2019/20, food security for all by 2030 – nationally. Limpopo – highest number of households with adequate access to food – 91,8% against national average of 77,2% (StatsSA 2015 GHS report, released in June 2016). Correlation with the number of households that are involved in agriculture Contribution of Fetsa-Tlala programme to some extent. Due to adequate rain on some parts of the Province in 2016/17 financial year, 12429.24 hectares were ploughed out of a target of 10 000.

Cont ... The province targeted at least 13 006 hectares to be under production for the financial year 2017/18. LDARD provide mechanization support services to the farmers through government tractors and private tractors services. Private tractor services to augment government tractors, as and when the need arises Maize seeds that has been procured is mainly drought resistant. Fetsa-Tlala Standard Operating Procedure was reviewed – to close some implementation gaps

Progress in the implementation of Fetsa Tlala Targets for 2017/18 planting season. Target is 13 006Ha Actual as at the end of Feb 2018 is approximated as 10745 hectares. Validation of Ha is still in progress and will be concluded before the end of April 2018 Breakdown of Ha are provided in the next two slides

Progress in the implementation of Fetsa Tlala Targets for 2017/18 planting season. The table below indicates the figures as at the end of Feb 2018 per district and only covers ha where mechanization support was provided. Lesser number of Ha is attributed to rain which came late during active rain fed summer cropping season. District Private Government Total Capricorn 313.15 Mopani 156.97 Sekhukhune 306 1148.5 1454.5 Vhembe 27 12 39 Waterberg 45 333 1675.62 2008.62

Progress in the implementation of Fetsa Tlala Targets for 2017/18 planting season. The following Ha are where the department only provide production inputs and farmers themselves covered planting costs 2002 Ha for vegetable production 5500 Ha for grain production and 1235 Ha for fruit production 8737 Ha were then supported with inputs Validation of Ha are still in progress and will be concluded before the end of April 2018 .

Food security indicators As at the 3rd quarter

The highlighted in red colour indicates the Provincial figures Number of hectares cultivated for food production in communal areas and land reform Indicator: Number of hectares cultivated for food production in communal areas and land reform Annual Target Quarterly Targets Reported by PDA Budget allocated and spent Mechanisation provision [government/private] Smallholder supported [evidence] Validated Final % Achieved Comments Quarter 1: 12071   13006 400 290 81 357.951 Government Smallholder 20.25 123.4% No evidence Quarter 2: 1300 1097 102.05 102.045 7.9 9.3 Quarter 3: 12071 13006 9771 6413 536 508.3 smallholder 5.5 7.3 The highlighted in red colour indicates the Provincial figures Evidence to be presented to the committee

Number of smallholder producers supported Indicator: Number of smallholder producers supported Annual Target Quarterly Target Reported by PDA Validated Final % Achieved Comments Quarter 1: 11715 11 010 600 909 1987 1370 129 331 150.1 129 verified on training Quarter 2: 3108 2289 2585   83.1 112 Quarter 3: 6507 4573 3947 86.3

Number of Households Supported with Agricultural Food Production Initiatives Indicator: Number of Households Supported with Agricultural Food Production Initiatives Annual Target Quarterly Target Reported by PDA Validated Final   % Achieved Comments Quarter 1: 5500 500 501 0.0 100.2% No evidence Quarter 2: 2500 2411 96.4 Quarter 3: 2000 576 542 28.8 27.1

Fetsa Tlala Planting plans for 2018/19 FY

Planting plans for 2018/19 FY 13 654 Ha are target for 2018/19 financial year Hectares will include vegetable, grain and fruits. Breakdown per district is in the table below. Districts Estimated area to be supported (Ha) Estimated number of beneficiaries Capricorn 2122 869 Mopani 1500 1705 Sekhukhune 4849 4200 Vhembe 2500 Waterberg 2683 578 Total 13654 8852

Planting plans for 2018/19 FY The tables below provides Ha that will be covered by government tractors and private tractors Table 1 : Government Tractors Table 2: Privately owned tractors District No of tractors Estimated ha ploughed and planted Estimated beneficiaries Capricorn 14 600 240 Mopani 15 500 300 Sekhukhune 18 1349 900 Vhembe Waterberg 10 354 37 Total 72 3303 1977 District Estimated ha ploughed and planted Estimated beneficiaries Capricorn 1522 629 Mopani 1000 1405 Sekhukhune 3500 3300 Vhembe 2000 Waterberg 2329 541 Total 10351 6875

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED Planting plans for 2018/19 FY DISTRICT COORDINATES / LOCAL MUNICIPALITY TOTAL HECTARES NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED TONS OF SEED TO BE ORDERED AND DISTRIBUTION PLAN SEEDLINGS TO BE ORDERED AND DISTRIBUTION PLAN TONS FERTILIZER TO BE ORDERED AND DISTRIBUTION PLAN NO. OF MECHANIZATION UNITS AVAILABLE (Government) No. of MECHANIZATION UNITS FUNCTIONAL OVERALL LEVEL OF READINESS RATING BY % [STATE OF 2018/19 BUSINESS PLAN AND ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN]   Sekhukhune 4 849 4 200 77 275 50 000 36 000 18 90 Vhembe 2 500 1 500 21 950 155 400 480 000 15 Mopani 1 705 17 000 1 571 200 47 100 Capricorn 2 122 869 83 600 350 000 750 000 14 Waterberg 2 683 578 1 344 135 000 65 300 10 13 654 8 852 201 169 2 261 600 1 378 400 72 -

Distribution plan for seeds and seedlings Production inputs are procured at the district level. Local agricultural offices i.e. municipalities are supplied for them to distribute to the services centres. Services centres will distribute through local traditional offices where applicable or through local farmers structures to the list of eligible farmers. This is done prior to the planting season.

Feedback on the impact of drought resistance seeds in the province. Grain producing dry land area in the province were faced with the a challenges of continuous dry spell and late start of rain for 2017/18 summer crop planting season. 15.8 tons of WEMA 3128 maize seed cultivar was purchased an distributed to the farmers.

Black commercial producers update Department has identified 50 farm entities owned by 79 farmers. Most of the farming entities are family units with more than 1 family members or beneficiaries. To date the Department has conducted farm assessments covering 30 farm entities. At present ten farm enterprises are been supported in area such as record keeping to ensure certification with SAGAP, farm management improvement and expansion of primary production through infrastructure development. R14 million will be set aside in 2018/19 to compliment R10 million already linked to entities where development is progressing. The R14 million will be allocated to entities once a proper Business Development Plan is completed.

Continue Improved record management systems. The lack of proper recording system reduces the ability of the farmers to get credits, and some packing facilities are unable to get certification by accredited institution like PPECB. Procurement of enabling production resources. The lack of tractors, implements and harvesters limit many of the farmer’s capacity to produce in time and also harvest in time. Transport to different markets destinations is also a challenging factors. Improved and expansion primary production infrastructure. Production inputs Support procurement of high value production inputs, which include seeds, fertilizers and chemicals.

Continue The challenges faced by smallholder farmers is South Africa are well documented by many authors, commentators and scholars. Many of those are highlighted as the lack of proper resources to produce at the maximum level, credit record, land tenure rights and high production costs. Black Producers Commercialization Programme (BPCP) guideline is regarded as a blueprint to advance farmers with an opportunities to get support that will enable them to create sustainable income and improved production.

Progress on recruitment of Veterinarians and Extension Officers The number of Veterinarians is 34. 5 at management level. All vacancies for field VETS on the establishment are now been field, only 3 management posts are still to be field. Four Veterinarians sponsored by LDARD qualified from the University of Nairobi in Kenya. They are now authorised by the SA Veterinary Council and are working as State Veterinarians under Supervision. They are still to pass the SA Vet Council Exam before full registration. Two Veterinarians who qualified from the University of Pretoria are now working in the Department. They are fully registered under the SA Vet Council

Management of animal diseases Disease control is mainly by movement control, surveillance, vaccination, dipping and treatment. Movement control presents the most challenge as fences are damaged, starting with the northern border fence. Kruger Park fencing and fences to separate livestock in the FMD control area from those in the FMD-free area also need to be upgraded. This will involve major infrastructure development with resultant job opportunities and economic spin-off from improved animal marketing opportunities. Vaccination for controlled animal diseases is provided by government for free to communal farmers At the end of quarter 3 the department managed to conduct FMD vaccination sessions on 266 of the annual target of 148 and number of dipping session on communal cattle totalled 4632 with the annual target of 4450. Number of handling facilities completed to date totalled to 21 with the annual target of 27. Number of inspections on abattoirs and processing facilities visited for compliance are 438 with an annual target of 512.

Progress on the rehabilitation of agricultural land in the Province. As part of the global call for land degradation neutrality and Outcome 10, the LDARD has up to the third quarter of 2017/2018 rehabilitated 10 000 ha from the 14 000 ha. This is undertaken through the LandCare Programme with specific interventions such as soil conservation, climate smart agriculture. Number of hectares cleared of alien invasive plants and weeds are 1461.9 Ha with the annual target of 2200Ha.

Update on Fall army worm (FAW) Incidences of FAW were reported during maize growing season in the Province. All Districts have reported incidences of FAW A total of 9848 Ha was affected through 1272 reported incidences. LDARD consulted and agreed with National transferring officer of CASP to reprioritise funds for procurement of insecticides to support farmers. About R9M has been reprioritised for procurement of pesticides for all detected exotic pests in the province of which R2.8M was prioritised for FAW. Currently 22 500 litres of insecticides (12500 litres of Chloropyrifos and 10000 litres of mercaptothion) have been procured for FAW and are distributed to farmers to respond to report of infestation.

Placement of Unemployed graduates The Department will place 120 unemployed graduates in the field of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from May 2018. Farm assessment were done checking the potential of farming entities to place the graduates. At least 25 farming entities will host the graduates

Challenges and mitigation Unpredictable rain fall. Government fleet tractors is aging Procurement processes to repair government tractors. Increasing demand on mechanisation support service

Mitigation Continuous advisory services to farmers based on South African weather service (SAWS) reports Continue training farmers and field officers on climate change in collaboration with SAWS Engagement with Landini to shorten turn around time on tractors repairs and speedy response to maintenance Provision of mechanisation support services within government available resources and encourage more contribution on part of the farmers.

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