BLOEMFONTEIN: The DA in the Free State has applauded the province’s agricultural sector for its constant contribution to food security in South Africa. This praise followed the latest report by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), “Agricultural Industry 2023: An overview of the results,” which revealed the Free State remains in second place regarding the total economic contributions to the agricultural sector in South Africa.
Dated 26 June 2025, the report indicates that out of a national agricultural sector contribution of R424,5 billion in 2023, the Free State’s contribution was R68,2 billion, second only to the Western Cape with R84,7 billion.
Furthermore, the Free State’s national agricultural sector contribution to employment is 10,5%. The province’s agricultural sector consists of, among others, 42,5% livestock, 51% field crops, and 6,5% horticulture.
“The DA regards the agricultural sector, which includes the entire agricultural value chain, as provincial assets that must be protected and nurtured. The sector provides employment and sustains small towns and rural economies. The agricultural sector in the Free State continues to punch above its weight regarding contributions to national food security, the national agricultural economy and employment, despite challenges,” said Roy Jankielsohn, DA spokesperson on agriculture.
He indicated that little support from the provincial government or municipalities during the devastating fire seasons that cause injury and deaths, add to their costs, damage property, and destroy livestock and grazing.
According to Jankielsohn, many fires originate from government and municipal-owned properties, adding prolonged challenges cripple the sector reach the full potential.
“Negative political rhetoric and political threats with no consequences. Constant threats of expropriation without compensation and a poor roads infrastructure add to already high production costs. High levels of rural crimes that include farm attacks, stock and other theft, incidents of vandalism and maiming of livestock, and a porous Lesotho border. These also add additional costs to this sector which is responsible to provide their own security.
“The DA remains the only party with a comprehensive rural safety policy that includes declaring farm attacks priority crimes, improving sectoral policing that was meant to replace the commando system, the use of technology in rural safety efforts, intelligence-driven operations and a dedicated police rural safety rapid response task force that is enabled to carry out hot pursuit operations,” said Jankielsohn.
