Steenhuisen hails 'youth budget' as 3,000 agriculture graduates land internships
Steenhuisen said this is part of a broader push by the government to uplift youth and tackle food insecurity.
The agriculture minister made this announcement during his department's budget vote speech, describing the allocation as 'a budget for the youth' and pointing to major investments in training, education and food security.
'More than 66,000 farmers have received training, and more than 3,000 agricultural graduates have been placed through our internship programmes. We are integrating all 11 agricultural colleges into the higher education system to ensure that they become centres of excellence,' said Steenhuisen.
The Macroeconomic Digest Labour Report for May 2024 published by the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) showed that employment in the agriculture sector increased by 50% on a long-term basis, from 627,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2011 to 941,000 in the first quarter of this year.
According to the NAMC, agriculture employed about 5.6% of the employed pool in the first quarter of this year, making the sector essential in the labour force.
It said data from Stats SA showed that men have been the primary participants in the agriculture sector from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2024.
The number of men and women actively involved in agriculture was 641,000 and 300,000, respectively, in the first quarter of this year.
'During the first quarter of 2024, the number of women increased by 8,000 (2.8%), while the number of men increased by 13,000 (2.1%) compared to the previous quarter. When combining both genders, the number of people employed in agriculture increased by 21,000 (2.3%) for the first quarter of 2024.' the report said.
In a time of economic uncertainty, agriculture has become a rare economic success story. The sector grew by 15.8% in the first quarter of 2025 — a performance that added 0.4 percentage points to South Africa's overall GDP.
This is in stark contrast to declines recorded in manufacturing, mining, electricity and construction.
Behind the growth figures lie urgent social challenges.
'According to the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey, only 36.5% of households are food secure. Nearly 18% experience severe food insecurity. These are not just figures. They are expressions of a child going to bed hungry, of a parent sacrificing meals, of dreams deferred,' said Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen said to address this, the department is implementing the 2024—2029 National Food and Nutrition Security Plan, in collaboration with the departments of health, education, social development and the environment.
'We are scaling up school gardens, community food hubs and home food production,' he said.
Steenhuisen also announced plans to promote neglected and underutilised species (NUS) such as amaranth, African leafy vegetables, and bambara groundnuts — crops known for their high nutrition, drought resistance and cultural value.
'These offer nutrition, resilience and cultural relevance,' he said.
He emphasised that the future of agriculture lies in innovation and youth participation.
'The future of agriculture will be decided by the next generation, not only those who inherit the land, but those who study climate-smart techniques, monitor disease outbreaks, and build data systems for traceability,' he said.
Steenhuisen said to support this vision, the department is opening pathways for young people into veterinary science, agritech, on-farm learning and extension services.
'Let us empower them to build a new kind of agriculture, one rooted in science, community, and opportunity,' he said.
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