AGRICULTURE SECTOR AND WATER QUALITY & SECURITY

DWAF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE PRESENTATION

Dr. Shadrack Moephuli

AGRICULTURE SECTOR AND WATER QUALITY & SECURITY

DWAF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE PRESENTATION

Dr. Shadrack Moephuli

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AGRICULTURE VISION & MISSION AGRICULTURE VISION & MISSION

VISION: A united & prosperous agricultural sector

MISSION: lead and support sustainable agriculture, thereby promoting rural development through:

Access to safe, sufficient & nutritious food Maximising growth, employment & income in agric. Eliminating skewed participation & inequity Sustainable management of natural resources &

ecological systems Effective and efficient governance Knowledge and Information Management

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AGRICULTURE SECTOR PLAN AGRICULTURE SECTOR PLAN

CORE ELEMENTS Enhance equitable access and participationImprove global competitiveness and profitability Ensure sustainable resource management

SUPPORTIVE ELEMENTS Good governanceIntegrated & sustainable rural developmentKnowledge & innovationInternational cooperationSafety & security

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People’s ContractPeople’s Contract

Hungry & Food Security

Vulnerable

Small & Household

Food Producers

Farming & Agri-Business Enterprises

Macroeconomy

Info

rmation

&Know

ledge

Managem

ent

Regula

tory

serv

ices

Technic

al &

advisory

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ass

ista

nce

Tra

inin

g &

capacity b

ldng

Mark

ting &

busi

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dev.

On-

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infrast

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GOVERNMENT OFFERINGS

CIVIL SOCIETY AND PRIVATE SECTOR DEMANDS

AGRICULTURE SERVICE DELIVERY PROTOCOL

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LAND & AGRARIAN REFORM LAND & AGRARIAN REFORM

Post Settlement SupportPost Settlement Support Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme

• Extension SupportExtension Support

• InfrastructureInfrastructure

• Regulatory ServicesRegulatory Services

• Finance – MAFISAFinance – MAFISA

• Training & Capacity BuildingTraining & Capacity Building

• Knowledge and Information ManagementKnowledge and Information Management

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AGRICULTURE PROGRAMMES AGRICULTURE PROGRAMMES

LRADLRAD IFSNPIFSNP

• Household Programme for Food ProductionHousehold Programme for Food Production AGRIBEE AGRIBEE CASPCASP LandCareLandCare

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COMPETITIVENESS & PROFITABILITY (ASGI – SA) COMPETITIVENESS & PROFITABILITY (ASGI – SA)

Land Reform Land Rehabilitation Irrigation Biofuels Livestock Crops – Horticulture

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WATER IN AGRICULTURE WATER IN AGRICULTURE

Dry land Crop Production Dry land Crop Production Grazing Land (Livestock production)Grazing Land (Livestock production) AquacultureAquaculture GroundwaterGroundwater Irrigated LandIrrigated Land Agro -- processingAgro -- processing

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CHALLENGES TO AGRICULTURE ON WATER CHALLENGES TO AGRICULTURE ON WATER

Access – Allocations (WAR) Aquadams? Water storage facilities Infrastructure – schemes (e.g. RESIS) Quality (PIP, Exports) Governance

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WATER ALLOCATION REFORM WATER ALLOCATION REFORM

Irrigation schemes for black/new entrants• Water from upper Gariep/Orange river for 12

000 Ha of irrigation land. Review current allocations to enable access for

CASP and other land reform beneficiaries. Review allocation in alignment with use

efficiency – water pricing

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INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE

Rehabilitation of existing schemes (36?)

• Revitalization of Small Irrigation Schemes (RESIS)

• ICON New irrigation schemes for new entrants Additional dams ?

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QUALITY QUALITY

Pollution • Informal Settlements (sewage & waste)• Industrial effluent• Soil erosion • Pesticides & Herbicides

Overexploitation • Recycling• Groundwater• Salinity

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Berg River Case StudyBerg River Case Study

Pollution of Berg River Valley (294 km, 7715 km2): Produce deciduous fruits – peaches, grapes, apples,

pears, apricots & plums. Extensive orchards & vineyards – water Deciduous fruit industry is worth approx. R1 billion. 70 % of the fruits are exported to EU

Problem Lack of sanitation for poor residents – bucket

system Disposal into river & storm water drains Paarl & Wellington human faeces observed on

river bed

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Berg River Valley Case Study continuedBerg River Valley Case Study continued

Implications: Dr. Barnes isolated infectious bacteria from the water in high

quantities (e.g. E. coli, Staphylococcus) E. coli counts of 5 000 to 2 400 million! Dangerous!! Possible infections to humans – possible diseases – public

health risk Possible Disaster for Fruit Industry in the

Western Cape• Export markets – EU because of

EUROPGAP, SPS• Knock – on effect if fruit producers lose

markets – packaging and bottling will have to close and more job losses.

• This is a competitiveness -- weakness

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PROPOSED ACTIONS ON QUALITY PROPOSED ACTIONS ON QUALITY

Pollution:• Informal settlements – expedite or secure

clean water for agricultural production• Industrial manufacturing – regulatory

compliance needs enforcement• Pesticides – Pesticides Initiative Programme

Overexploitation • Rainwater Harvesting • Improve infrastructure to reduce seepage

and water loss from schemes • Incentives and disincentives for water use to

encourage conservation

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PROPOSED SOLUTIONSPROPOSED SOLUTIONS

Housing & industrial effluent management systems Integrate river basin, watershed & groundwater management

& introduce measures to improve efficiency of water infrastructure to reduce losses

Promote and create incentives for water quality among all users

Maximise water retention capacity of soils Promote water harvesting and conservation technologies

On Informal settlements Possible Task Team between:• Agriculture• Water Affairs• Housing• DPLG • DEAT• DoH

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CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Water quality is important to agriculture because it gives life and better livelihoods.

It’s crucial the problems of water quality and security are resolved as a matter of urgency.

Department of Agriculture will continue to do its part to improve quality, use and conservation of water in the sector

We urge others to do the same.

THANK YOU