Title: SA: C Dowry: Opening of the launch of Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development (YARD) at Goudini

20 June 2008

Programme Director, Honourable Minister Xingwana, senior officials of government departments, delegates, on the second of this month I had the privilege of opening the conference that officially launched YARD in the Western Cape. It was indeed a personal milestone for me as I regard the youth as an integral part of agriculture not only in this province, but also in the country as a whole. Today I have the opportunity of opening this national launch of YARD. I want to thank you for inviting me to do the honours at this national launch of YARD. I must tender the apology of the Premier of the Western Cape Mr Ebrahim Rasool who has other pressing commitments and could unfortunately not attend this wonderful occasion.

I believe that as South Africans we are faced with two major challenges in the agricultural sector.

Globally the marketplace is changing on a daily basis with its own specific set of demands for agriculture. We have to keep up with the highly competitive invaders of our traditional export markets and unequal competition with subsidised produce that is offered to the consumers at much lower prices, even in our own country. Many of these countries understand the value of ongoing research with the emphasis on niche markets.

Locally we have to deal with the total transformation of the agricultural sector in order to rectify the injustices of the past and to make sure that land is distributed in a orderly fashion at the same time ensuring that all new entrants to agriculture become sustainable farmers who can contribute to the growth of the sector and thus making a meaningful contribution to the economy of the country.

The government is placing a very high premium on the development of human capital, which is also one of the core aims of Accelerated Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA). We believe that we can develop our human capital to become more productive and susceptible to the challenges of an ever-changing environment. Human capital development can therefore make a significant contribution to attain the goals for sustainable growth in agriculture as a whole.

We need to raise the awareness of people in and outside the sector about agriculture and to give recognition to the importance of the sector in the further growth of the economy.

We need to recognise that fundamentally, the skills required for the next decade or two must be developed now, and that the opportunities in agriculture must and will be shared with our young people. Young people must be informed, must be motivated, must be supported and must be encouraged to take up agricultural careers. Only through your endeavours can the current and future generations of farmers be served to reach the ultimate goal of being successful and competitive within a global context.

I believe that we need to invest fearlessly in our youth to change the face and complexion of the sector and to deal with the challenges set by our global competitors. We will however fail in our duty if we do not make sure that we incorporate young people from our disadvantaged communities to take up their rightful place within this sector.

At the opening of the Western Cape launch I quoted a Kenyan proverb that says: "The land that we work was not given to us by our parents, but was borrowed to us by our children."

Closer to home, I believe that we should seek no further than the freedom charter if we want to find our inspiration and mandate to ensure that the you, the youth of today takes up your indispensable role in agriculture.

The late Oliver Tambo spelled out the true meaning of the Freedom Charter to our country and people in the 8 January 1980 statement, at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the charter, when he said:

"The Freedom Charter contains the fundamental perspective of the vast majority of the people of South Africa of the kind of liberation that all of us are fighting for. Hence it is not merely the Freedom Charter of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies. Rather it is the charter of the people of South Africa for liberation... Because it came from the people, it remains still a people's charter, the one basic political statement of our goals to which all genuinely democratic and patriotic forces of South Africa adhere."

These words still remain true to this day. The charter embodies a vision of an alternative society to the society we inherited. It constitutes the programme of the people of our country for the creation of a truly democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, united and prosperous country where everybody has the right to take up their rightful position in building a better and prosperous South Africa.

The Freedom Charter guides us towards the broader outcomes we must pursue to achieve the strategic goal we have set ourselves - to eradicate the legacy of racism, sexism, colonialism and apartheid.

Our challenge remains to translate the ten clauses of the charter into solid progress towards the realisation of a better future for all the people and agriculture has a vital role to play in this.

It is our duty as government to make sure that you will also experience and share in the country's wealth and I believe that agriculture could be your vehicle to obtain that wealth. We need to make every effort to involve you as young people in agriculture, in order to equip you to take full ownership of the land that belongs to you.

Since the birth of our new democracy this Government has worked tirelessly to make sure that every citizen who has the desire to own a piece of land and to work that land, has an equal opportunity to do so.

One of the greatest challenges is to eradicate poverty and to improve the quality of life of all the people. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in our fight against poverty and starvation.

You need to become our partners to promote and develop agriculture amongst the youth and to create an awareness of the need to improve agricultural activities in order to ensure food security and economic stability of the country.

Agriculture has a huge impact throughout our communities not only in producing enough food on a sustainable basis but also in connecting communities.

Through agriculture we can develop leadership and entrepreneurship. YARD is the perfect vehicle to build the foundation for a knowledgeable and inclusive national network of young rural leaders that can take their rightful place in all spheres of the South African life.

You need to become equal partners within the decision-making process in agriculture and rural development.

In my deliberations with many role-players within the agricultural sector they are very clear on one thing and that is, that it is the sector's duty to see to the sustainable development of youth in agriculture in an effort to ensure economic growth in rural communities, through mentorship and training and development of skills which will enhance the environment and improve the quality of life of rural families and youth.

In order to obtain these goals we want the youth to become full partners through programmes that will empower girls and boys at an early age; to look at agriculture as the very essence of our subsistence and to have a full knowledge of the importance of the protection of our resources through land care, environmental protection programmes and best practises in agriculture.

As partners we need to establish Economic and Business Development Programmes that would assists in providing you as young people the access to opportunities in agriculture and land affairs by focusing on building viable market economies and creating jobs.

We should promote the equitable deployment of knowledge and communications resources for civic empowerment, and promote the society to be well informed about agriculture and land affairs through well planned information programmes, such as the programmes that are run by the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training at Elsenburg.

As partners our initiatives should aim to develop the analytical, research, and self-expression skills in order for young people to think critically about their world in order to become the messengers that will influence the total South African society about agriculture an and land affairs.

Here in the Western Cape we have implemented scholarship programmes in order to mobilise students and scholars by providing bursaries for students who wants to do agriculture. I believe that by doing this we will teach our youth that agriculture is not only about tilling the land and watering the fields, but that agriculture is the cornerstone of the economy. I believe that we should look at these programmes at a national level.

We need to establish an awareness that agriculture is not only for men, but that it is equally attractive to young woman.

We need to tell the youth that agriculture is more than merely ploughing, sowing and harvesting. Agriculture can provide careers for professionals and laymen alike.

Programme director, at the launch of YARD Western Cape I referred to the importance of youth day and I cannot help but to do so again. On 16 June we celebrated 32 years since the youth uprising in Soweto on 16 June 1976. We all know that that day continues to occupy a special place in our national consciousness - and in our hearts. It was a day on which the young people of this country stood up against the oppressive Bantu education system, and the system of apartheid itself.

They declared to the world that they were prepared to make the personal sacrifices necessary to liberate themselves and their fellow country people.

At the Department of Agriculture we are very aware of the struggle that you as the youth of today are encountering in many areas of your lives.

Just as much as the youth came together in 1976 and said they had enough of the circumstances that they lived under and were educated under, we need you to take hold of your future. We need the youth of this country to once more empower themselves, to take control of their lives and to improve their circumstances and not wait on other people to do so for you.

I already indicated that the greatest challenge facing our nation is to conquer poverty and joblessness, homelessness, illiteracy and ignorance.

This challenge more so faces you as the youth - black and white. We must broaden our skills base; improve our productivity; and make our goods more competitive in a world that is growing increasingly smaller.

We want to believe that a working youth is critical to our future. The economy depends on you. With your hard work and efforts at improving your skills, you can make ours one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Hand-in-hand with the many able professionals in all sectors, you have the energy to lead the nation in achieving this goal. You might say to yourself: "what hope is there for me." I want to ask you not to despair. I want to urge you to build this vehicle called YARD to develop yourself and to become our partners in growing agriculture and to make sure that we put enough food on the table and in that process also overcome poverty.

Programme director, I want to remind you of the words of the late Nkosi Albert Luthuli when he said:

"The task is not finished, South Africa is not yet a home for all her sons and daughters. Such a home we wish to ensure. The past cannot hope to have a life sustained by itself, wrenched from the whole. There remains before us the building of a new land, a home for man who is black, white, brown, from the ruins of the old narrow groups, a synthesis of the rich cultural strains, which we have inherited.

Somewhere ahead there beckons a civilisation, a culture, which will take its place in the parade of God's history. It will not necessarily be all black, but it will be African."

Only when we have finally succeeded to create an environment where our people are totally free; where they are the rightful owners of the land; where they are full participants in the economy; only when we have finally shifted the frontiers of poverty, and the shackles of the past is truly "no more", will we be able to say that we have finished our task.

It is a time for you to construct and build on your future and I believe that agriculture is ready and able to assist you in this effort.

I wish you well with your deliberations over the next three days.

Enquiries:
Alie van Jaarsveld
Cell: 084 604 6701

Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Western Provincial Government
20 June 2008