The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Ms Dina Pule, today stressed the important role of Agriculture in the South African economy. This is despite agriculture only contributing a relatively small share of 2.8% to the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP).

Ms Pule said this when she addressed the annual State of the Beer Economy event, which was held at the Caledon Farm Research & Development Facility in Caledon, in the Western Cape today, where the South African Breweries (SAB) showcased its significant contribution to the agricultural economy.

The event, which was attended by members of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and the Minister of Agriculture, offered an in-depth exploration of the beer sector’s shared value and its inclusive role in growing the economy.

Ms Pule said that while agricultural contribution can be seen as relatively small compared to the contribution of other sectors, that does not make it less important. The sector has relatively large linkage effects with the rest of the country’s economy, and when considering the whole agricultural value chain, the sector is estimated to contribute up to 12% to the national GDP.

She said: “As we all know, South Africa has a dual agricultural economy characterised by a well-developed, highly productive and export-oriented commercial sector and emerging smallholder and subsistence-oriented sectors that are often under-resourced and concentrated in the country’s rural and former homeland areas.”

Ms Pule highlighted the challenges facing emerging producers in agriculture, which she said are attributed to, among other things, a lack of financial and technical support, marketing infrastructure and market knowledge, and insufficient produce volumes. She commended the investments that the SAB has made, including its partnerships, in the development of emerging producers to address some of the challenges of the emerging sector.

She said the committee applauds the SAB for sourcing 95% of ingredients for beer making from local farmers when some industries may choose to rely on cheap imports at the expense of local producers and thus transferring job opportunities elsewhere.

“We are happy to learn that SAB’s research activities are not only confined to barley and hops, the main ingredients in beer making, but wheat, canola and other crops to develop the agricultural sector and support local farmers,” added Ms Pule.

The partnerships between the SAB’s Research and Development Centre and other research institutions to strengthen local capacity in technology and innovation were commended by Ms Pule and she called for the support of those partnerships.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, MS DINA PULE.