Signed by Infrastructure South Africa, the Free State provincial government, AgriSA and Agbiz, the agreement created a structured framework to identify and prioritize the rehabilitation of rural roads in the Free State. Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson was responsible for the agreement.
“As the Free State serves as the breadbasket of South Africa, the province is the ideal location to pilot this program to support farmers and improve the efficiency of their operations,” said Macpherson.
Roads in the Free State carry large amounts of agricultural freight. Photo: Pexels
“We thank the provincial government for its cooperation and support in implementing this program. We know that if farmers succeed, South Africa will succeed too, and we believe this pilot project is a critical first step in ensuring farmers have the infrastructure needed to thrive.”
Provincial road corridors that carry large volumes of agricultural freight and have a significant economic impact will be identified for maintenance and improvement. The initiative, which grew out of discussions he had last year with Agricultural Chamber CEO Theo Boshoff and Agriculture SA CEO Johann Kotzé at Nampo, will play an important role in supporting farmers in the Free State, Macpherson said.
By using data from AgriSA and Agbiz to identify high-volume corridors where investments will have the greatest impact, the initiative will help drive economic growth and support job creation within the agricultural sector, which has significant potential to create thousands of new employment opportunities.
Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson. Photo:
“With this initiative from Infrastructure South Africa, in partnership with AgriSA and Agbiz,” Macpherson said, “we will be able to calculate the economic impact of roads carrying large volumes of agricultural production in the Free State, and demonstrate how much costs can be reduced if those roads are improved and rehabilitated.”
It will help all government sectors focus infrastructure investments on roads with the greatest potential to reduce logistics costs for farmers, which in turn will help reduce costs for consumers. “Working closely on road infrastructure projects can support farmers’ activities,” he said.
“When rural roads fail, farmers bear the burden first. Higher transportation costs reduce profitability, limit reinvestment in farms and ultimately threaten the sustainability of farms.”
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