EXCLUSIVE: Our editor asked Minister Steenhuisen the important questions

By Lebogang Mashala

The inaugural South African Agricultural Extension Week 2025 marked the 100th anniversary of Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) in South Africa. This event was held in conjunction with the 58th Conference of the South African Society for Agricultural Extension at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng. Lebogang Mashala caught up with Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen after he delivered the opening address at the conference.

Q: What is the significance of this conference for extension and advisory services in the current state of the industry?

A: I believe if one examines the role extension services have played over the last 100 years, they have been catalytic in terms of their ability to provide technical assistance to small-scale, medium-scale and large-scale farmers. Therefore, I think the conference is important. It’s a celebration of 100 years of agricultural extension services in the country, but also an opportunity for the extension and advisory sectors to gather and discuss plans for the future. Even with the most significant technological advancements, you can’t replace human capital on farms, nor can you replicate the ability to hand down advice and offer technical assistance. Therefore, we must enhance our extension and advisory services as part of ongoing support to farmers across South Africa.

Q: The land reform programme has faced significant failures in the past, and a lack of technical support has been identified as one of the problems. What role do extension and advisory services play in a successful land reform programme?

A: Unfortunately, many land reform projects have failed. Upon examining the reasons for these failures, it often comes down to a lack of expert knowledge. It is in the interest of land reform, rural development and the Department of Agriculture to provide new-era farmers with the support they need to become sustainable, viable and profitable in the long term. This support is crucial because, without expert services, we will continue to see agricultural projects and land reform initiatives fail. As a result, people may lose faith in the system instead of understanding the real problem often lies in the lack of expertise. Therefore, it is important to adapt extension and advisory services in the agricultural sector to meet the diverse needs of all agricultural practitioners, from subsistence farmers to large-scale commercial farmers.

Q: You joined about a year ago, but farmers have been expressing concerns that we either lack sufficient manpower or, even with the staff we do have, they do not possess the capacity and expertise to fully assist the farmers. In your opinion, is this situation improving?

A: I believe we are making progress, but we also face a challenge with large promises that haven’t been fulfilled. This issue needs to be addressed. For instance, during one SONA speech, it was announced that we would hire 10 000 agricultural extension officers. If I were to hire that many, I would have no budget left for any of the other departmental functions. This situation has led to unmet expectations due to a mismatch between projected needs and budget constraints.

As the Department of Agriculture, we did not make that announcement; it came from the President’s speech. Now we must address the consequences of those promises, particularly given our limited budget and fiscal constraints. This year, we will be hiring 230 new agricultural practitioners within the department. While I would love to hire many more, I have a fiscal framework provided by the Minister of Finance that dictates our budget, and I must allocate funds for all departmental functions within that limit.

I truly wish I could hire 10 000 agricultural extension officers; it would be an incredible advantage. However, that is not feasible in reality. We need to address the situation where commitments made by others have not been honoured. My promise is that, within the budget we have, we will enhance extension services, bring on new personnel when possible, and ensure they are well-trained and supported. Additionally, we will leverage technology and modern advancements to extend our services beyond their current reach.

Q: Please tell us more about our partnership with Japan? How is that connected? 

A: The SHEP programme, which stands for Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion, is a market-oriented approach developed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Its goal is to help smallholder farmers increase their income by shifting their mindset from “grow and sell” to “grow to sell.” The programme trains farmers to tailor their production specifically to meet market demands. 

This approach emphasises the viability and sustainability of agricultural initiatives, especially those led by smallholder farmers. We have trained several of our extension officers through the SHEP programme, in partnership with JICA, so they can return and train others on how to prepare agricultural products for the market. 

It is essential to understand there is little value in producing products if there are no customers or access to a market. This is the focus of the SHEP programme, and it’s also the direction our department is taking. When working on projects with communities and individual farmers, we must ensure there are market linkages. Without this, we risk repeating the same cycle each year, providing the same input and assistance without making our operations sustainable, viable, and profitable. This is where our attention needs to be.

Q: And Minister, lastly, what is the message for farmers coming out of this conference? 

A: It is essential for our new-era farmers to understand the department is committed to providing support tailored to individual needs. When we consider the spectrum of agricultural practitioners, we see a hierarchy: at the bottom are subsistence farmers, while at the top are large commercial operations, such as ZZ2. Our goal is to help these farmers progress through this spectrum and transition into commercial farming. The more commercial operations we have, the more jobs are created, economic activity is stimulated, and overall, the country benefits.

Each level of this hierarchy requires a different type of support from the department. For example, ZZ2 does not need extension services, but it does require assistance with accessing markets in the US and Far East. On the other hand, subsistence farmers, new-era farmers, small-scale farmers and family farmers need technical and commercial support. Therefore, it is crucial that the department tailors its assistance to meet the specific needs of each group. Offering courses on international market access, for instance, would not be beneficial to those who don’t require it.