On Tuesday (26 March) the Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, tabled the department’s budget of R1,018 billion in the provincial parliament.
He said: “Despite compounding challenges, such as intensified delays and inefficiencies at the ports, increased geopolitical uncertainty and load-shedding, the agriculture and agri-processing exports increased from R63 billion in 2018 to R104 billion in 2023, which is an annual average growth of 11%.”
Meyer announced the following key budgetary allocations: R196,2 million to promote the sustainable use and management of natural resources, R40,3 million budgeted for ecological infrastructure, R38,5 million for river-protection works and R38 million for flood damage support.
Also, R216,4 million will go towards producer-support services.
The department’s Extension and Advisory Services have been allocated R35,4 million and R16,7 million, which will go towards food-security initiatives.
Also, R57,8 million will go towards providing animal-health services to prevent and control animal diseases, while R97,8 million is for improving agricultural production through research, focusing on mitigation and adaptation options for farmers in response to climate change.
A total of R30,6 million is for providing production economics and marketing services to agri-businesses, while R48,2 million will go towards education and training as well as agricultural skills development.
The minister also announced that the refurbished SANAS-accredited Provincial Veterinary Laboratory is set to re-open for business on 1 April.
