17 October 2023
By: Carien Kruger
Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, acknowledged at Agri SA’s annual congress on Monday that the government has not met the agricultural sector’s need for vaccines.
“It really has not been a good year for our farming sector in terms of how we, as the government, were able to meet your specific needs regarding vaccines from our local company,” Didiza said in her message at the start of the two-day congress in Kempton Park.
“We have taken note of the weaknesses in our own vaccine factory, which we are (now) strengthening.”
The appointment of a new board for Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) is on its way to the cabinet. She said while improving OBP, her department is looking into the registration of more companies that can produce vaccines to meet local needs.
Didiza talked extensively about the crisis the poultry industry is experiencing due to highly contagious bird flu. The department has had discussions with producers, agricultural businesses and retailers about what needs to be done.
“We hope that through this collaboration, amicable solutions can be found, despite the different positions we sometimes take.”
There is a debate in the poultry industry about whether vaccination should happen, if it should be done urgently and whether breeding stock should be vaccinated.
“However, vaccination alone is not the panacea for all the problems. Biosecurity remains one of the important things we need to push for,” said Didiza.
“We must ensure that the vaccine is truly effective, of quality, will counteract the strain (of bird flu), and will also be safe for workers, owners, and consumers.
“From the government’s side, we are allowing vaccines to be registered under the provisions of Act 36 of 1947. Evaluations continue to determine the safety, effectiveness and quality of the proposed vaccines.”
Collaboration bears fruit with market access
Didiza emphasised the importance of cooperation between the government and industries, saying it has helped to achieve greater market access for agricultural products.
“We will use the upcoming Agoa (African Growth and Opportunity Act) forum (to be held in November in Gauteng) as a platform to further open market access for agricultural products.”
Regarding market access, South Africa must strengthen its sanitary and phytosanitary measures, improve its agility regarding permits for imports and exports, and be flexible about cooperation between the government and the industry.
Didiza referred to the market access now available for beef in China and Saudi Arabia. South African avocados can be exported to China, and an agreement for access to Japan will be concluded soon.
Regarding the citrus industry’s market access issues in Europe, she said the industry and the state, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, are working to address the issue of European protectionism. She is confident that the issue will be resolved, although perhaps not in the short term.
“We continue diplomatic discussions at technical and head-of-state levels, and at the same time we are exploring possibilities for resolving trade disputes within the World Trade Organization. The third pillar of our approach is to find alternative markets outside Europe for citrus.”
Pessimism sometimes overshadows success
Since 2019, agriculture has performed well despite various problems. “The sector is now 25% larger than three years ago. Agricultural exports have grown by R47 billion, and 52 000 new job opportunities have been created, while the rest of the economy has lost jobs.
“Sometimes, however, our success is overshadowed by pessimistic sentiments and dualities issues that we need to address.”
Although agriculture alone cannot solve South Africa’s socioeconomic problems, it has a special role to play and is expected to do more regarding food security, job creation and equality. Collaboration is needed to unlock the sector’s potential, tackle crime and ensure new entrants to agriculture remain sustainable.
