2022’s prospects

by Mary James

Taking pride in public service excellence, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) is excited to continue our support for the agricultural sector as we enter 2022.

The WCDoA is constantly in touch with our partners and key stakeholders, positioning our services based on the needs presented by the sector to ensure the realisation of the Western Cape’s key priorities, namely: JOBS, SAFETY AND WELLBEING.

Climate change remains a hot topic and with good reason. It is important for everyone to take a stance, making this a critical subject and priority that the department has been addressing together with the sector for quite some time. We will continue our efforts to ensure increased adaptation by farmers towards “climate proofing” the agricultural sector through new farming systems in our efforts to ensure long-term sustainability of the sector.

Drone technology : An out-of-thebox approach is important as we delve into opportunities brought about by the fourth industrial revolution elation. Drone technology is one such initiative we will continue to spearhead to improve the efficiency of the agricultural sector, with continued support to our farmers in acquiring their Remote Pilot License (RPL).

Here are a few actions the sector can look forward to:

Market access is a key factor in ensuring the profitability of any farming establishment and more work around this Ministerial Priority can be expected this year. We will continue to put pressure towards ensuring the efficiency of the ports, which is critical, particularly for our agricultural exports.

Agri-processing: Another exciting venture that will be taking off early this year is our Agri-processing on wheels project. This will not only reduce food wastage in the long run but will also ensure food security through value addition and contribute positively to job creation in the rural communities.

Disease management will also remain a key focus area for 2022. Biosecurity is key for any export activity, and it goes without saying that this will be prioritised given the nature of our agricultural sector in the Western Cape.

Farmer support: The WCDoA will continue with our commodity approach to support land reform in the Western Cape , and we look forward to seeing more success stories coming out of these interventions.

Agriculture can be viewed as the sunrise sector with many possibilities on the horizon and we look forward to taking the journey with our farmers as we make it a year of abundance #ForYOU

#ForTheLoveOfAgriculture AP

For more information, contact Mary James: