In November 2001, President Mbeki published the Strategic Plan for South African Agriculture with the vision of “A united and prosperous agricultural sector” and its main strategic goal “To generate equitable access and participation in a globally competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector contributing to a better life for all”. The plan aims to achieve this through employing three core strategies that aim to:
• Enhance equitable access and participation,
• Improve global competitiveness and profitability, and
• Ensure sustainable resource management in the sector.
Five complementary or enabling strategies support the core strategies. These are good governance, integrated & sustainable rural development, knowledge & innovation, international cooperation and safety and security.
In support of the President’s call for closer partnership between the public and private sectors to develop action plans to help realise this vision, South Africa’s cotton growers joined by their input suppliers, output processors and the National Department of Agriculture, developed a strategic plan for the South African Cotton Sector with the following strategic objectives.
• Growing farm output to a stable 370 000 lint bales by 2007,
• Broadening participation to enable emerging farmers to contribute on average 25% of the National cotton crop by 2007 and 35% by 2014,
• Ensuring sustainability through ongoing commitment from all major role players and through forms of support and methods of operation that are affordable, internationally acceptable (economically, socially and environmentally) and that do not compromise competitiveness,
• Raising productivity by training at least 60% of emerging farmers by 2007 and by improving research and extension services and technology transfer,
• Expanding exports by value, diversity, country of destination and client base and
• Accelerating the elimination of unfair competition through promoting regional/international co-operation and through more effective lobbying in international trade forums.
