Sifiso Ntombela | War, power woes, soaring prices: But the Agriculture Master Plan can still work

The Master Plan to boost the agricultural sector didn't deliver as planned, derailed by factors including load shedding, spiralling food prices and the Russia-Ukraine war. But all is not lost, writes Sifiso Ntombela. 

It is roughly a year since the signing of the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP). The plan has been hailed as the commitment of value chain actors in agriculture and food sectors to build a competitive, transformed, and growing agricultural economy that also creates sustainable jobs and ensures food security in the country.

The AAMP is effectively an operational framework that seeks to fast-track the implementation of the National Development Plan goals, which were also affirmed in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. The value chain players, together with the government, agreed that the AAMP interventions must be implemented in a private-public approach capitalising on skills, resources, and knowledge available at industries and state, including labour and civil society.