Agri MEC’s festive message

On behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, may I offer my best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all farmers, developing partners and other stakeholders.

Christmas, like any special occasion, provides an opportunity for us all to pause, reflect, and celebrate the things that we rightly cherish and work diligently to diminish issues that work against us.

It is a time when we, as important stakeholders of the entire food and agriculture sector turn our minds to what is really important to ensure sustainable food and agriculture growth and development.

Proceeding, may I take this opportunity to congratulate farmers of our province and our stakeholders for heeding the call in the fight against drought, and I further urge you to sustain the momentum of fulfilling the key interest of our province, Better Lives For All.

I hope from 2016 and beyond, agricultural performance on programmed activities would be excellent.

I am delighted to inform you there is a consensus in Limpopo, that the resilient food and agriculture policies and programmes we have designed and guided their implementation are making significant improvements in the lives of the citizenry, not forgetting the beneficial impact of these policies and programmes on the social and economic development of our province.

Overall, I have been pleased with our performance to date and look forward to the future with optimism.

Despite the few challenges we have encountered, especially around drought, our current programs have provided an outcome of fulfillment. However, we cannot take anything for granted.

The department, working through the Public Private Partnership, is fully engaged in developing new interventions for the future to ensure together with our partners, we will consistently achieve the desirable results.

We must resolve with certainty we are going to work together as a solid team to achieve the ANC government’s vision for the agriculture sector, the Modernization Agenda of ensuring sustainable food security, growing incomes, real poverty reduction, widespread employment and rural development.

As amazing as it may be, another year is about to end and the New Year is almost upon us.

2015 has not been an exciting year for our farmers, due to drought. However, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.