ways in terms of increased production, as
well as job creation,” she said. She said
thisfinancial yearthe departmentwill also
completea tomatopasteprocessingfacility
for Norjax (Greater Tzaneen) by October
- Ndalane said the move comes after
the plight of and request from the tomato
growersfortherefurbishmentof thistomato
pasteprocessingfacility.
“The facility was no longer producing the
rightqualityof thepasteandasa resultthey
hadlost the marketfor the end products,”
shesaid.Ndalanesaidduringthe2019/20
financial year farmers would be assisted
with irrigation systems to support primary
production. The support will include water
sourcedevelopmentandreticulationsystems
which involves equipping of boreholes,
installation of a water reservoir, pipelines,
boosterpump,fertigationunit,centrepivots;
installation of power supply infrastructure,
de-bushing and grubbing, as well as land
preparation.
A budgetof R10,5millionhasbeenallocated
forthissupport. Shesaid thisdevelopment
initiative is about supporting smallholder
potato farmers to commercialise in
partnershipwithPotatoSouthAfrica,which
is a commodity organisation and McCain,
whoalsoprovidesa marketforthepotatoes.
Ndalane said the signing of the operating
lease and other related documents for the
Lebowakgomoabattoirwilltakeplaceduring
August. It is envisaged that the abattoir
will start
o peratio n s
before the end
of thisyear.“Over
and abovethe jobs
that would be created
by the abattoir, the 14
broiler farms who will be
supplyingthisabattoirhave
thepotentialto createat least
100 directjobs,”shesaid.Detailsof LDARD
2019/20budgetallocation:InsummarytheoverallbudgetforVote4:
AgricultureandRuralDevelopmentis
R2,770billion.The budgetis madeupof R1 658425000
equitableshareallocationandconditional
grants amounting to R342,345 million.
The overall budget has increased by 4.1%
onconditionalgrants.Theamountfor
conditional grants comprises R247 million
for comprehensive Agricultural Support
Programme(CASP),LetsemaatR75,254
million,Landcaregrantis R12 863 million
andEPWPR7,686million.Administration has been allocated R402,3
million to cater for normal administrative
costsandcontractualobligations.Sustainable
Resource Management has been allocated
R92,2milliontoprovideagricultural
supportservicesto farmersin orderto ensure
that there is sustainable management of
agricultural resources. Farmer Support and
Development has been allocated R1,190billionwhichconstitutes60%of thebudget
of the Department, including CASP and
Letsema conditional grants.Veterinary
ServiceshasbeenallocatedR63,7million to
render veterinary services. Research and
Technology Development receives R62,3
million to render agricultural research
services and development of information
systems regarding agricultural and natural
resourceutilizationtechnologies.Agricultural Economics Services has been
allocated R29,6 million to provide timely
and relevant agricultural economic services
to the sector in support of sustainable
agricultural and agri-business development
to increase economic growth. Structural
Agricultural Training received an allocation
of R151,4 million for the two Colleges of
Agriculturein theProvinceto providestudent
academicprogrammes,Collegeinfrastructure
revitalisationandlearnershipprogrammes.Rural Development has been allocated
R9,1millionto facilitateandcoordinatethe
planning and implementation of integrated
rural development programmesinline with
theLimpopoIntegratedRuralDevelopment.