The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) recently launched the Western Cape’s producer and farmer register as a means of measuring agricultural performance in the Western Cape.
The register is intended to provide credible data on smallholder farmers and establish an up-to-date frame of reference for conducting agricultural sector surveys in the province, track the impact of agricultural support to beneficiaries in agriculture, and inform the development of strategies.
These will serve to help producers overcome the challenges related to natural disasters and assist with the planning and allocation of resources for smallholder development in the sector.
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture said it embraced the project and would drive the registration of farmers.
The province’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, said that the department believed that a credible, reliable database would improve the quality of the support and services the government rendered to the sector.
“We want to be able to deliver the project by March 31 next year.” – Zoë van Rooyen
