Solving rural problems requires establishing and prioritising goals and programmes within goals. Explicit goals are needed to guide implementation and to provide standards by which programme performance can be measured. Six strategic areas with problems sufficiently pervasive to justify an appropriate provincial role are: Income and employment policy; Education and retraining; Eliminating rural poverty; Using and protecting natural resources; Improving rural health delivery systems; and, Financing rural services. The Gauteng Agricultural Development Strategy has discussed extensively the performance of the agricultural sector. The agricultural sector has generally maintained a steady growth rate of between 0.2 to 2.5 percent per annum over the last half decade. Nevertheless, this growth is considered inadequate for poverty reduction, particularly in rural areas. The agriculture sector has focused mainly on producing more food to enhance food security and reduce poverty, with the ultimate goal of self-sufficiency in basic food requirements. The constraints and obstacles hindering the development of the sector include: Competing land uses, which has affected high potential agricultural land; Inadequate access to and/or delayed delivery of inputs and lack of timely advice; Poor transfer of knowledge from researchers to farmers, inadequate access to extension services and over -centralisation of the management of extension services; Decline in the use of improved farm input packages, particularly improved seed, fertilizers and agro-chemicals; Very poor infrastructure and lack of comprehensive market information; Inadequate credit for agricultural production and marketing; Weak management of co-operatives and members’ loss of confidence; Slow implementation of the Land Reform process; Dominance of low technology, with the majority of smallholder farmers relying on the hand hoe; and Dependence on rain, thus subjecting agriculture to the whims of nature. To tackle these constraints and to strengthen efforts to improve food security, the Gauteng Provincial Government has introduced several measures. It has also made various administrative structural changes to support farmers, especially emerging farmers. Targeted communities have been supported through backyard food gardens, community food gardens, food banks and several other measures. To support its overall approach the Gauteng Provincial Government has adopted the following strategies: Improved agricultural production incentives that encourage the production of non-traditional export crops. Support to research and extension to improve its effectiveness, and to promote private sector participation in production, processing, storage, input supply and marketing. Improved rural infrastructure. Reduced post harvest losses. Introduction of an Early Warming and Crop Monitoring System to more regularly and systematically assess the national food situation.
CHAPTER SIX: COORDINATION OF THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION 6.0. Background The Gauteng Rural Development Strategy is a comprehensive and holistic approach to an improved economic and social development of the rural and less urbanised areas. The strategy cuts across sectors and institutions, and is closely linked to the implementation of other national policies and strategies. Thus, the strategy is part and parcel of a much broader strategic change to the way in which Gauteng society functions. It is, in fact, a key part of that strategic change, and therefore requires involvement of the political authorities at the various levels. The proposed mechanisms of co-ordination and co-operation must be seen in the context of the four priority areas of the strategy: economic development, infrastructure and provision of social services, good governance, and the management of risk and vulnerability in the rural areas. Implementation of the strategic actions relating to each of these four areas will require the co-operation of several actors along the vertical and horizontal dimensions at central, regional and local levels. 6.1. Institutional Framework for Rural Development The institutional framework for the GRDS will focus on the monitoring and coordination tasks, as actual activity implementation will take place by institutions in the various sectors. However, there are some areas where new or restructured institutional arrangements are recommended in order to facilitate implementation of the proposed rural development programmes: Rural development involves many stakeholders. All GPG sector departments, local authorities and executive agencies have a role. The private sector, civil society and donors also have a major part to play. Given the diversity and number of stakeholders, implementation of the RDS will need extensive coordination and effective monitoring. Stakeholders will need to be drawn together, and assisted to work in partnership. It is therefore recommended to establish a Task Team which will have the mandate of promoting and monitoring rural development, programmes in all sectors. 6.2. Rural Development Secretariat The implementation of the RDS needs the support of an office that has recognised influence and authority. It will also need a professional permanent body to drive the implementation forward. Thus, to promote the initiatives and host co-ordination and co-operation a Rural Development Secretariat will be located where the Task Team is placed. The secretariat will be small and be given a status that will allow it to interact directly with all Departments on a continuous basis. The Rural Development Secretariat will be responsible for: