The role of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in strengthening existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in South Africa

Abstract

The study was undertaken to establish the role that should be played by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to strengthen existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in South Africa to ensure that they are able to provide support services to member cooperatives. Ten existing second-tier agricultural cooperatives in the Zululand district of the province of Kwazulu Natal took part in the study. The results indicate that although these cooperatives understand the services to provide, they lack capacity mainly due to lack of the necessary infrastructure, finance and skills. The study recommends that DAFF should recognise the significance of this tier of cooperatives and provide direct and focused support. DAFF should develop a Cooperative Development Strategy for the sector that clearly articulates how it is going to support this level of cooperatives. Among others DAFF should also provide initial infrastructure to these cooperatives and facilitate private-public-partnership initiatives.