adminconcerns ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Jacob Zuma, agriculture minister said yesterday.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson said the dialogue will be held today under the theme “Dialogue with the farming sector for the advancement of sustainable rural development and social cohesion.”
The talks will primarily focus on the potential of the agriculture sector as identified by the National Development Plan (NDP).
“The dialogue is part of a series of public engagement initiatives that are planned around the Sona. The NDP identifies agriculture as a major employment creator.
“The meeting will thus be a conversation between the different stakeholders on how to harness this potential for socio-economic development in rural areas,” Pettersson said in a statement.
Western Cape farms have been hard hit by violent labour protests which nearly paralysed the agricultural sector in South Africa.
Pettersson said the dialogue will be facilitated by her department in conjunction with Rural Development and Land Reform.
Sona is an opportunity for the president to present government strategies to tackle the country’s domestic and foreign situations for the year ahead.
It will take place at the National Assembly on Thursday this week in Cape Town.
The Presidency said the 2013 Sona will be the first to be delivered in the context of the NDP, which has been adopted as the high level framework and national roadmap to which all government programmes and plans will be aligned from 2013 with a focus on implementation.
The plan was endorsed by all political parties in the National Assembly in August last year, and enjoys the support of all sectors of society. — Xinhua.
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