Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Bronwynn Engelbrecht MPL.
The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development MEC, Vuyiswa Ramakgopa, constantly fails to spend the department’s allocated budget and conditional grants while farmers struggle with resources, infrastructure, access to disaster relief, a lack of veterinary capacity and the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) crisis.
Weak planning, slow procurement, poor financial controls, and an inadequate response to the FMD crisis are holding back Gauteng’s agricultural sector.
According to the department’s fourth quarter report for the 2025/2026 financial year, only 66.5% of the budget was spent. Conditional grant expenditure stood at only 76% for the financial year. This means that farmers and rural communities were not supported, hence they continue to struggle.
The department delivered zero out of two disaster relief schemes. This is despite Gauteng farmers battling to contain the spread of FMD, which has had a devastating impact on the sector.
Furthermore, the department delivered zero of the six planned agricultural infrastructure projects, which include irrigation systems and farm structures. These are value-adding infrastructure and practical support that could help emerging farmers become sustainable.
The report also confirms that only 85 green jobs were created against a target of 200, largely because purchase orders were issued too late in the quarter. This is unacceptable in a province facing a high unemployment rate. Late paperwork has real consequences as it robs residents of income, dignity, and opportunity.
The department fails to empower businesses owned by youth, persons with disabilities and military veterans. Procurement from youth-owned businesses reached only 6% against a target of 30%. They failed to meet targets for procurement from businesses owned by persons with disabilities, reaching only 1% against a target of 7%, and zero procurement from military veterans.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng will continue to put pressure on MEC Ramakgopa to ensure that all the department’s allocated budget is spent to benefit farmers. Every rand not spent, every project delayed, every vaccine not accounted for, and every farmer left without support weakens Gauteng’s agricultural future.
A DA-led provincial government would prioritise spending the allocated budget to ensure adequate support for farmers and vaccine delivery, transparency, and measurable outcomes.