WeeklySA_AdminBUDGET: Government has allocated the biggest share of the Agriculture Department’s budget to food security and farmer support as it targets export growth, rural jobs and stronger agricultural value chains.
By WSAM Reporter
The Department of Agriculture has allocated R3.2 billion to food security and farmer support programmes in the 2025/26 financial year, as the government intensifies efforts to expand agricultural production, create jobs and improve market access for emerging farmers.
Presenting the department’s Budget Vote in Parliament today, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said the allocation to the Food Security and Support Programme reflects the government’s focus on boosting productivity and inclusion across the sector.
The department also allocated R2.5 billion to biosecurity, research and natural resource management, with funding directed toward research, diagnostics and export compliance systems. Part of the funding will continue supporting vaccination programmes aimed at containing livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.
Steenhuisen said the budget supports the government’s broader target of increasing agricultural value-add by 30% while helping unlock 300 000 jobs across the value chain. Agriculture currently supports nearly 950 000 jobs nationwide.
The Blended Finance Scheme, implemented with development finance institutions, has already supported more than 14 000 jobs through the Industrial Development Corporation and Land Bank initiatives. Government has also deployed 370 Assistant Agricultural Practitioners to strengthen support services for farming communities.
Steenhuisen highlighted agro-processing, irrigation infrastructure and renewable-energy-linked farming projects as key drivers of future employment growth. The proposed biofuels blending programme alone could generate up to 25 000 jobs, particularly in rural areas.
South Africa’s agricultural exports continued to show strong momentum, reaching R268.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 — a 9% year-on-year increase — while generating a trade surplus of R24.6 billion. The country has expanded export access for products such as citrus, table grapes and stone fruit into markets including China, the Philippines and Vietnam.
South Africa also became the world’s largest citrus exporter by volume in 2025, shipping 2.9 million tonnes globally.
The Minister said the government would continue investing in biosecurity, infrastructure and market access to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness while improving the participation of smallholder farmers in formal markets.
