The Footprint of Forestry in the National Development Plan (NDP) For discussion at the 49 th Annual Conference of the South African Society of Agricultural Extension (SASAE) Ingwenyama Conference & Sport Resort White River Mpumalanga Province 2 -4 June 2015 By : Norman Dlamini

Presentation outline Who is Forestry South Africa (FSA) Policy context – NDP – NGP – DAFF APAP Forestry & chapter 3 Forestry & chapter 4 Forestry & chapter 5 Forestry & chapter 6 Forestry & chapter 7 Forestry & chapter 9 Forestry & chapter 10 Forestry & chapter 13 The Extension Link

FSA Formed in 2002 There was a political imperative to create a single, all inclusive organisation that represented all private timber growers Why? SA Timber Growers Assoc. (commercial farmers) Forest Owners Assoc. (corporate growers)

FSA … in essence FSA is a voluntary Association of timber growers whose overriding role is to represent the best interests of its members MEMBERSHIP All 11 Corporate timber companies in SA commercial timber farmers small-scale timber growers ACTIVITIES Acts as a Lobby Group Acts as collector & distributor of funding Acts as the keeper, analyser & distributor of information Co-ordinates, organises and capacitates small-scale growers * TOTAL PLANTATION AREA = HA: FSA MEMBERS 91.6%*

Policy Context

National Development Plan The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 The NDP and its proposals will need to be implemented in the right order over the next 17 years Long-term plans of Govt Departments must be aligned with the NDP NDP is a plan for the whole country Plan will shape budget allocation over the next 17 years NDP will strengthen the ability of Local Government to fulfil its developmental role Evidence-based monitoring and evaluation should inform planning and implementation The President and Deputy President will be the lead champions

Forestry & Forest Products in … Economy and Employment Total contribution to GDP - R45.5 billion Forestry contribution to Agricultural GDP % Forest Products Industry contribution to Manufacturing GDP – 6.1% Forestry employment in Agriculture - 9.6% ( jobs out of in total) Total “direct” jobs in Forestry and Forest Products Industry – Exports of Forest Products in 2014 – R23bn Trade surplus in 2014 – R6bn (DAFF 2012, FSA 2014, STATSSA, 2014) ha afforestation potential in Eastern Cape & ha in KZN can add a substantial contribution the current footprint

Forestry in… Environmental sustainability and resilience More than 80% of timber plantations in SA are FSC certified Mission of FSC is to promote environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economically prosperous management of the world's forests SANBI Grasslands Programme DEA & FSA – Environmental Impact Assessment and Management system Dr Oscar Mokotedi (DEA) and SA Forest industry – Climate Change M & E

Forestry in… Improving Education, training and innovation Substantial funds are spent annually on the provision of bursaries at the Universities of Stellenbosch, NMMU and Venda through FSA and the FP&M SETA FSA involved with developing: – New QCTO aligned qualifications – Sector Skills Plan – New curricula at US, NNMU and Fort Cox – Establishment of training centres (through KZN DARD and UNIDO) – Small-scale grower certification system – Forest Engineering and other research programmes (e.g. forest protection) to benefit small-scale timber growers FSA in discussions with Government to second staff to act as FSA “extension officers”.

Forestry in… Nation building and social cohesion The Forestry Industry provides the following: Clinics Schools Crèches Transport to and from work Sporting facilities Feeding schemes “Out-grower” schemes: – Subsidised loans – Seedlings and other inputs (e.g. fertilizer) – Extension services – Guaranteed market

The Extension Link Good extension requires strong and capable management which is a scarce commodity Extension management challenges are compounded by the separate extension services for each commodity Globally, extension systems are increasingly multi- focal and address diverse issues Contemporary extension, advisory and innovation systems involve multiple actors (Public, Private, Commodity groups, Producer organisations, NGO’s) Public extension personnel are increasingly leaving behind their role of technical advisers to become facilitators to enable the people they serve to access a wide range of support services

The Extension Link – Current Situation It has increasingly become evident that Government provided agricultural / forestry extension services are not producing the required results. Why is this? 1.There are far too few extension officers. 2.Those who are in-field are “generalists” and do not have in-depth knowledge of any particular sector. 3.In terms of the Forestry Industry, the Forestry Companies themselves employ qualified “Extension Foresters” to service the needs of the small-scale growers supplying them with timber.

The Extension Link – Solution Solving the current situation in order to address the needs of Small-Scale Timber Growers, is fairly straightforward. Firstly, we have to determine what are the outcomes expected of such extension services. In essence, this is to improve the financial sustainability of small- scale grower operations. Secondly, we need to train qualified forestry extension officers to be able to give the necessary advice to growers to achieve the above outcome. This can be achieved through: – Funding the training of such forestry extension officers – Seconding potential / existing forestry extension officers to the private sector (FSA plus Companies)

Thank-you! Siyabonga!