The Mpumalanga provincial government has proposed a policy that will see state entities in the province compelled to buy produce from black-emerging farmers, with prison sentences on the cards for officials and business people who contravene the directive.
The mooted policy will also see farmers supplying schools in the province with products in furtherance of the National Schools Nutrition Programme.
“In those instances where it is unable to supply the commodities required… such a provincial organ of state or any such an entity appointed must obtain written confirmation from the market … of the unavailability of the commodities concerned,” reads a government notice issued by the province.
To benefit from the scheme, farmers will have to have a permit that would not exceed three years.
In determining who qualified for the scheme, the department said it would take into account the need to “address imbalances resulting from past discriminatory practices” in the agriculture sector, stressing the importance of primarily empowering and advancing historically disadvantaged people (HDP).
According to the policy, HDPs should not have an annual income exceeding R10m to qualify
The Mpumalanga provincial government is looking to set up a blended finance scheme and “province specific agricultural finance scheme” for black farmers to compete for opportunities in the sector.
Mpumalanga is one of SA’s most productive and important agricultural regions. The MEC of agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs, Nompumelelo Hlophe, says the Nutrition Sourcing Bill she has introduced “seeks to address the historical injustices of the past”.
Hlophe, in the introductory note of the bill, which is out for public comment, further says policy looks to diversify the agriculture sector by allowing “meaningful participation in the agriculture value chain by farmers disadvantaged by unfair discrimination,” by facilitating financial assistance to black farmers.
The bill, if it becomes law, will see the creation of a market for historically disadvantaged farmers in the province to supply commodities.
To this end, the province intends to create a market via agricultural hubs to support its agrarian reform programme.
The products encapsulated by the policy cover the whole spectrum of the agriculture sector, ranging from meat and dairy products, grain and grain by-products to horticultural products.
The department has proposed fines and or two years’ imprisonment for those who contravene the prescripts of the Mpumalanga Nutrition Sourcing Bill.
Agri Mpumalanga, the provincial affiliate of Agri SA, said it was aware of the bill but wished not to comment on it. With more than 600 farmers as its members, Agri Mpumalanga is the biggest agriculture organisation in the province, which is a key contributor to SA’s agricultural exports.
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