The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture received briefings from the Department of Agriculture on the progress and updates on the development of the regulations for the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land (PDAL) Act and the Plant Health Act; and on the development of the Farmer Register; as well as an update on the review of the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan; and plans to develop a strategy to commercialise goat production for markets.
The objectives of the PDAL Act which was signed into law on 20 December 2024 include the preservation of agricultural land, the protecting of agricultural land for farming activities that support food security and rural livelihoods. The Act is meant to support the development of the agricultural sector by creating an enabling environment for agricultural growth, job creation, and economic development.
The committee heard that the Department of Agriculture held a workshop in November this year and that the stakeholders requested for adequate resources as the budget of R4 million is insufficient to support this Act nationally. While the Act has been welcomed as a positive step, some stakeholders have expressed concerns about potential government overreach and limitations on landowner autonomy.
The committee was briefed on the Farmer Register which was launched in February 2022. The committee has noted the progress as the number of registrations improved from 95 000 in February 2022 to more than 150 000 in February 2025 and now stands at more than 200 000 of registered farms.
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The Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Dina Pule, advised the department that they must ensure that the demographics of the farms are captured in such a way that provides information on women owned, subsistence or large scale farms and the type of products they produce.
The capturing of the exact coordinates are important to identify where the farms are. The committee also noted that there has been progress with the capturing in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Mpumalanga and there are smaller numbers of farms registered in Free State and Limpopo. The Gauteng and Western Cape provinces need to work with speed to catch up with the other provinces to reach the targeted number of 400 000 farms by next year.
The committee noted that the lack of progress on the development of the Food and Nutrition Security Plan and urged the department to move with speed as food insecurity will threaten the nation's security on all levels.
The committee further heard from the department on its plan to develop a strategy to commercialise goat production for markets such as the Middle East. The committee called on the department to find a suitable alternative to the export of live animals to markets outside the country as animal rights activists have raised serious concerns over the well-being of animals who are transported by sea to the various markets.
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