In South Africa and in all other countries, agriculture as sector of the economy remains strategic. The breakfast, lunch and dinner meals come from this important sector so are the clothes, the belts and design fabric. Importantly, agriculture’s importance should not be confused with its relative contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP)especially in a developing country or developed country. If there is one matter that can be observed are the absolute number such as the gross values without comparing it to other sectors. The role of that agricultural sector in the country’s welfare has been communicated scholarly and in popular media. The message is simple, that the agricultural sector is important and needs to be adequately supported/protected to do the best it can do under the prevailing climatic conditions and international obligations. The reason I am penning this piece is to remind the public (including those who are always critical of agriculture) of the key role farmers and farm workers in the agricultural sector play despite their daily experiences of harsh, and unforgiving circumstances conditions of work such as the extremely hot sun, and excruciating coldness. Each of us has a role to play in helping this sector remain evergreen – that can only be achieved when famers are happy, and farm workers are equally happy. I have chosen to identify a few role players who work in the space and briefly point out at their value add.
Advocacy voices – the role of civil society formations
Our (the sector’s) experiences of civil society formations are mixed with good and bad. Civil society formations have communicated some of the challenges they have seen in specific situations as the overall way of acting in each commodity. It is important to advocate that these organisations need to write about the good, the bad and the agly. As they do, they should present the situation as it is without making deduction that may harm the very existence of the sector. The affected commodity groups need to act timely to protect and preserve their image. As I pen this subsection I am reminded of the significant role of civil society in the agricultural ecosystem such as safeguarding the conditions of farm worker and biodiversity through advocacy. With that said, civil society formations have a huge role to play in agriculture as some of these organisations are positioned to champion issues related to protection of health of farm workers while others are positioned to ensure the welfare of the animal on farms. Those whose interests are to protect the health of farm workers play an active role in the development and conceptualisation of best practises in respect of how chemical producers need to display the protective procedures in the application of chemicals. Moreover, ensure that there is safe keeping of these important chemicals that could be dangerous if not used with due care.
There are civil society organisations whose aim is to ensure that the welfare of animals is not compromised or matters relating to biodiversity are not compromised with increased agricultural production. There are those that are more into ensuring that policy development takes care of the environment, social and economic issues. For the sector to thrive, each of the actor need to dispense their roles and functions in ensuring that the lives of farmers improve (business objective function) and conditions of farm workers continue to improve. At all times there must be a balancing act to keep the ecosystem efficient and functional with all involved continuing to derive value from their participation.
A stakeholder that is the one that takes the blame for all the wrongs – government has a role too.
Most of the recommendations emanating from attendance to conferences, reading articles on popular magazines, and even in scholarly articles are made for government as policy and strategic interventions to execute one thing or the other. Bureaucracy is one of the systems weaknesses of government process in terms of the inefficiency of the tedious time it takes to process information to a decision and execution. This means even in matters of life and death, the established processes or procedures need to be followed to ensure transparency and accountability. At times policies that guide the actions of government officials are unappreciative that government officials operating in agriculture manage biological assets. The challenge with biological assets is that they are living organisms that cannot be assumed to survive without certain inputs and constraints.
The role of government in agriculture remains particularly important. In South Africa, government has the instruments to protect the sector from unfair competition. Additionally, government has a role in finding markets for the products the country produces more than the domestic demand and those whose production is aimed to serve the demand outside the county. In a dynamic geopolitical arena, the role of government to safeguard it public/national interest remains important and hopefully agriculture forms part of the public/national interest. Government protects the environment through development of legislation, policies and procedures relating to the production and use of chemicals such as Act 36. Further, the establishment through legislation of government entities such as Weather South Africa, Agricultural Research Council, Perishable Products Export Control Board, Boarder Management Agency, and many others serves the public through services especially to the agricultural sector. Instruments such as the diesel rebate need to be made easy to access while not compromising it from predatory behaviour.
The circle of agriculture is big – Other chain actor’s roles.
In academia, agriculture is studied through amongst others experimental farms. The data collected is then used (analysed) and deductions are made which ought to propel the sector to a higher economic performance trajectory. Some of the deductions are at macro level meaning they provide broad perspectives or aggregated views of the matters. In contrast, micro level analysis provides area specific analysis which is often used at farm-regional level and are extremely useful to the identified micro level area. There is an assertion that South Africa in a La Niña period and while that may be correct those who have received less that 20ml of rain in the last four weeks with scotching hot days visiting them regularly may cast doubt the La Niña phenomenon.
There are service organisations to the agricultural sector such as banking, transport, and insurance service to mention but a few. At one point I learned that agricultural workers are less unionised compared to sectors like mining. The voices of concerned groups are better served once those affected organise themselves for improved bargaining as commodity organisations to which may apply to workers. The reason there is less unionisation is a matter I never followed up closely.
Concluding remarks
Consistent with 2nd Corinthians 9:6 “those that sows few seeds will harvest a small crop whilst those that sows many seeds will harvest a large crop. Agriculture is business and agriculture is a way of living. To those who derive economic value, the sector must be propelled to generate economic value (through profits and wages) and taxes to government through (value added tax and income tax). The utility derived from agriculture by farmers and workers must compete with other sectors of the economy. On rainy days farmers and workers continue to work while majority of us sit in the comforts of our homes or officers. Let us appreciate, respect and love those that work to ensure that communities can access safe and nutritious food.
