G20 Durban meeting calls for fair trade, market access
KZN MEC for Agriculture, Thembeka kaMadlopha-Mthethwa, says she hopes this year’s G20 efforts will help farmers to thrive, particularly emerging ones.
She was speaking at the closing the three-day G20 Agriculture Working Group and Food Security Task Force in Durban.
" We are advocating for fair trade amongst [the] countries. We don't want to see a country saying, because it’s South Africa, we have to buy this at this price, while other countries are buying it at a different price.
"We want fair trade among [the member countries]. We must also ensure that we mitigate food price fluctuation and ensure affordability of the food."
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Deputy Director-General in the Department of Agriculture, Dipepeneneng Serage, says South Africa’s focus at this week's meeting has been on improving market access for local farmers across G20 member countries.
" You've got food that is being produced in abundance, but equally at the same time, you've got people who are hungry and cannot access food. This is because there are challenges with access of food and the whole supply chain. So we realise that there are farmers who produce food, but there are unable to sell [it].
"So we, our first priority is to ensure that those that are farming and producing food are able to have their food access and reach the market."
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