The Contribution of the Small-Scale Agricultural Sector into South Africa’s Food Value Addition Agenda

The South African Government National Development Plan (NDP) adopted the agro-processing strategy in the national food security agenda. Despite these efforts, agricultural production and agro-processing, are sluggish and accompanied by job losses. The chapter unearths factors driving these developments and what can be done to reverse them. Two key themes are discussed: (a) The prevailing food value addition policies implemented in South Africa and how they relate to the agro-food processed output; and (b) Challenges inhibiting the South Africa small-scale farming sector from achieving the food value addition objective. Like overall agriculture growth, food value addition is hampered mostly by chronic under-funding of the sector that has affected vital support functions. The South African government needs to re-think its funding policy for agriculture and agro-processing to prioritize programs that enhance farmers’ access to information about technology and markets, improve the knowledge and skills of farmers to undertake agro-processing, and raise awareness of food quality standards and customer preferences.