Page 443 - Provincial Treasury Estimates.pdf

Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) – 2023/24 Financial Year

1.4 Main Services

The main services of the department are as follows:

x Support and promote enterprise development in rural areas using Eastern Cape Rural Development
Agency (ECRDA) as the implementing agent for High Impact Projects (HIPS) which provide high returns
on investment;
x Facilitate Rural Development which is planning and alignment of rural development activities, promotion
of social facilitation, initiating capacity building programmes, support of rural business and non-farm
rural activities, increased rural participation and social mobilisation and attracting rural investments and
partnerships, referrals, monitoring, evaluation and reporting;
x Create short term jobs (agricultural infrastructure) through the Expanded Public Works Programme
(EPWP) Integrated Grant for Provinces and the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme
(CASP) conditional grant;
x Increase crop production and improve production;
x Apply technologically advanced diagnostic procedures for diagnosis and research on animal diseases
of economic importance to the province and zoonotic diseases that may pose a risk to human health;
x Support human capital development initiatives in order to boost skills in the agricultural sector in the
province through the implementation of the Agriculture Education and Training Sector Strategy;
x Expand on the research support to commercial and emerging farmers to boost productivity and enhance
access to marketing services; and,
x Provide agricultural training to commercial farmers, emerging farmers, agricultural students and people
residing in rural areas.

1.5 Demands for and expected changes in the services

Agriculture remains one of the critical sectors in the province given the wealth of natural resources that the
Eastern Cape province possesses. This then continues to place the province on the map with regards to
its potential to become the food basket of the country. Therefore, the department is steadfast in strides in
implementing the Agricultural Transformation Strategy (AET) strategy to assist provincial farmers to
operate and trade at a commercial level, and thus improve the agricultural contribution to the regional
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This can be achieved through Food Security initiatives, and the
department is tasked with the huge responsibility of creating wealth in rural and urban areas so that there
is access to food and nutrition.

To increase our contribution to the GDP in growing the economy, create employment opportunities and
increase the scale of production, the department initiated Agriculture and Agro-Processing Value Chain
Blended Finance (loan and grant) Scheme. The blended finance leverages private and public sector
resources to increase investments in the sector. The finance scheme will be implemented in partnership
with ECRDA and Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC). This is done at the brink of the province
having started the process of establishing the Provincial Economic Development Fund through ECDC,
which will then be utilized as a central provincial fund into which all economic development funds by various
departments will be consolidate under this fund. Therefore, this agriculture blended finance fund will be
consolidated into this provincial fund once all the processes have been completed.

Furthermore, RED hubs/ Agri-parks are also targeted for improved and increased production of white
maize and agro-processing in order to enhance the agriculture value chain within the province and thus
enabling the farmers to penetrate the market as well as unlocking the job market, especially for the young
people within the sector.

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