Better infrastructure necessary for agri growth
[{“type”:”text”,”content”:”This was Agri SAu2019s finding after Stats SA announced the GDP results for the fourth quarter of 2021 on Tuesday, 8 March 2022. The results clearly demonstrate the immense contribution that the agricultural sector makes to the South African economy, as well as its potential to provide even greater opportunities for job creation and earning of foreign exchange through agricultural exports.nnnYet the sectoru2019s growth continues to be hindered by declining infrastructure, amongst many other challenges. nnnAgri SA will therefore write to the National Treasury to request a briefing for the sector on the plans in place to accelerate infrastructure investment, as announced by minister of finance Enoch Godongwana in his 2022 Budget Speech. This letter will also request further information on the implementation of the Public Private Partnership framework.nnnIn its GDP report, Stats SA announced a 1.2% overall growth in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2021. The report identified agriculture as one of the key drivers of growth. The agricultural sector was the best-performing economic sector, contributing 12.2% to the countryu2019s total economic activity.nnnDespite these positive results, Stats SA noted that the economy has yet to recover to the levels of the second quarter of 2021, before the civil unrest in July 2021 and the stricter lockdown measures impacted the economy in the third quarter of last year.”,”position”:0,”id”:”lpxuAKR0V5mkxPWq”}]