South Africa records a large increase of workers in the agric sector during the first quarter of the year 2022, according to the Employment and Infrastructure Development Cluster (ESIEID).
The Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, and the Ministers of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, together with the Economic Sectors, Investment, Employment, and Infrastructure Development Cluster, gave a press conference to discuss the nation’s implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP).
In the first quarter of 2022, the number of people engaged in the agricultural sector surged by 6.6%, from 792 000 in the first quarter of 2021 to 844 000 in the same quarter of 2022, according to the data Kubayi gave.
According to the report, out of the 52 000 new jobs, 31 000 and 21,000 were generated, respectively, for men and women during the course of the two quarters.
“During the same period in total, the agricultural sector had 249 000 females and 595 000 males, compared to 228 000 females and 564 000 males,” Kubayi said.
The minister continued a total of 37 414 smallholder farmers out of 300 000 were assisted in the first quarter of 2022.
While the South African government had made headway in carrying out the agreement, Kubayi emphasized that “the full impact of the implementation can only materialize if all the social partners play their role.”
Hundreds of migrant farm laborers from Lesotho and Zimbabwe engaged in ongoing conflicts early this year as they competed for jobs at grape plantations in the Western Cape.
Source: Farmers Review Africa
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