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Launch of Pilot Projects initiated by IDEAA
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Agriculture

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SPEECH BY MEC FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS, MR. MAX MAMASE, AT THE PROVINCIAL LAUNCH OF PILOT PROJECTS INITIATED BY THE INITIATIVE FOR 
DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY FOR AFRICAN AGRICULTURE, (IDEAA) HELD AT ENGCOBO, ON THE 25TH FEBRUARY 1999.



Chairperson,
 Distinguished guests,
 Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for the opportunity to address on the occasion of the maze and paprika pilot projects as initiated by the Initiative for 
Development and Equity for African Agriculture. (IDEAA)

This is a significant occasion for us in the Province, as I believe, IDEAA is indeed an idea whose time has come. The challenge we face as 
initiators, drivers and participants of this programme is to ensure that, the concept upon which it is based- namely that it affords 
African agricultural experts the opportunity to design programmes that strengthen African agricultural capacity- must be evident in the 
results and impact of projects.

In other words chairperson, it is time that through these pilot projects, we must ensure delivery in terms of qualitative outcomes and 
impact.



This launch is significant in the sense that it demonstrates a partnership of three countries within the region and in that brings us a 
challenge to give a new meaning to regional collaboration for growth and development.

REGIONAL CO-OPERATION

The redefinition of regional co-ordination due to the SADC restructuring process needs to locate agricultural development issues as a 
building block for economic growth and food security in our countries and improve trade relations between us.

Furthermore our co-operation should improve opportunities for exchange of experience, perspectives and expertise in the areas of 
agricultural research and new global trends in agricultural development.

The critical issue is to assess our problems now and devise effective strategies to move forward in the next few years. Southern African 
Agriculture is generally well endowed with good natural resources, land availability, water, sunshine, and a wealth of bio-diversity in its 
plants and animal kingdom.

Chairperson, I agree with the constraints facing Southern African small-scale farmers as pointed out at the IDEAA brainstorming meeting in 
Harare.



These problems are mostly evident in this province of ours, hence the involvement of IDEAA in the transformation of agriculture in this 
province is more than appreciated by this department.

FOOD SECURITY SITUATION

Chairperson, We live in a world that is expanding by 200 000 babies per day or 75 million people per annum. At this rate we are talking 
numbers equivalent to a new America or a new Eastern Cape every 56 days- assuming the province has 10 million people as the latest census 
report indicated.

Just to meet the present standards of food availability we will need to double our food output in the next 10-15 year. This is a formidable 
task considering that it has taken approximately 10 000 years to develop the present production capability. Considering the above 
statistics, we have a formidable task in ensuring food security for the people of this province.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO ?

In my view chairperson these are the things we need to concentrate on:

1.  Promotion of productive resource use and combat environmental degradation

We should all of us be part of the "Land Care Campaign" that educate people on being jealous land users who value any arable piece of land. 
Our geographic Information System is available to give information on the physical data of our agricultural potential land and farmers 
should make full use of this before they can embark on any farming activity.

2.  Stimulate diversification

We must ensure that agriculture stimulate linkages with the rest of the economy. This can be realised chairperson, if we bring high value 
crops to the main cropping arena. I am very excited by the fact that you have decided on a paprika project because these are very scarce in 
many European countries and can open trade links for our farmers with European countries.

We have already started the olive tree project for olive oils production and we hope to start with other marginal crops. Other crops that 
come to mind are Artichoke and sugar beet.

3.  Technological Resource

We need new technologies that can be combined with the traditional farming methods to improve our production. These include biotechnology, 
microelectronics, computer sciences, satellite imagery and communication technologies. We also need to invest on people because it is them 
who at the end of the day apply these technological resources. The challenge therefore is to ensure that our education institutions are 
more close to the people as to produce people that will be more attuned to their problems.

Chairperson, the list of our priorities is endless. There is land question, marketing, financing, infrastructure, and institutional 
support.

I am happy that once again the projects we are launching are women dominated because society has tended to overlook the role of women in 
economic development especially in the agricultural sector.

In reality women are major productive agents of the agricultural sector and our Rapid Impact Programme proved that and even today it 
continues being evident.

Let us give women their rightful place in agriculture and I want them to use present legislations that give them better access to land and 
agricultural financing.



CONCLUSION

Chairperson, I must thank the brains behind the IDEAA programme for such a wonderful thought and I hope with our support it will continue 
to flourish in this province and farmers must make full use of this programme. Let me also thank Kellogg Foundation for funding these 
projects and we hope it a beginning of a promising partnership between you and this province.

Lastly chairperson I must remind my fellow brothers and sisters that IDEAA as an agricultural initiative should locate its process within 
the broader challenger for the revival of the continent. This does not imply making political pronouncements rather, it means dovetailing 
the programme to ensure that benefaction through this programme is essentially about African rebirth.

I Thank You!!!

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