AGRICULTURE SECTOR GROWS EMPLOYMENT BY 65 000 The agricultural sector grew employment by 65 000 from December 2009 to December last year, says Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel. Employment in agriculture grew by around 65 000 from December 2009 to December 2013, reversing a trend of job losses stretching back to the 1970s. In an effort to improve the rural economy, household income and access to nutrition, a total of 1 740 555 hectares of land were acquired, redistributed and restituted or restored from 2009 up to September 2013. The minister added that about R20 billion was spent between 2009 and 2013 to implement land restitution and distribution. To ensure sustained production on productive land, he said, 700 000 smallholder producers - including those under the recapitalisation and development programme - were supported through various initiatives, including access to finance and mentoring.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 08:09:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015