2015年-世界发展银行全球_The_South_Africa_Agriculture_Public_Expenditure_Review_97页_2mb

Summary of the South African Agricultural Public Expenditure Review (AgPer)

Core Content

This report is part of a series of studies conducted under the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) in Sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to improve budget and policy prioritisation in the agricultural sector. It provides an in-depth analysis of the agricultural public expenditure in South Africa, focusing on the level, composition, quality, and effectiveness of spending, as well as the institutional and programmatic frameworks involved.

Main Goals

• Provide a baseline for future tracking and review of agricultural public expenditure
• Build a dataset that links the South African budget system with the COFOG system
• Identify emerging patterns in agricultural expenditure levels, composition, and effectiveness

Key Findings

Sectoral Perspective

• Agricultural public expenditure, including agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, increased threefold in nominal terms from 2003/4 to 2013/14, growing from R5.77 billion to R16.97 billion.
• In real terms, the annual growth rate of agricultural public expenditure was 4.2 percent over the same period.
• The share of agriculture in GDP has declined from 2.65 percent to 2.18 percent, while the share of government spending on agriculture relative to total government expenditure has fluctuated, increasing from 1.75 percent to 1.92 percent before decreasing to an average of 1.67 percent in recent years.

Institutional Perspective

• Provincial departments have taken on an increasing role in agricultural expenditure, with conditional grants from DAFF contributing significantly.
• The share of conditional grants in provincial expenditure increased from less than 10 percent a decade ago to over 22 percent in recent years.
• National departments showed a strong growth rate of 18.0 percent from 2003/4 to 2008/9, but this slowed after austerity measures. Provincial departments had a growth rate of 11.3 percent over the 11-year period, with a peak of 13.9 percent before 2008/9.

Programmatic Perspective

• The two largest programs were Financing and Farmer Support and Development (FSD).
• FSD showed the strongest growth among all programs, while the Administration program remained significant, especially at the national level.

Functional Perspective

• Expenditure classified under COFOG accounted for 75 to 86 percent of total agricultural spending.
• R&D expenditure decreased from 16 percent to 11 percent of total agricultural spending, while expenditure on forestry and fisheries showed a marginal decline.
• Research spending increased from 2009/10 onwards, growing by 6.6 percent annually to reach R1.8 billion in 2013/14.

Challenges and Observations

• Budget tracking is complicated by the change in location of budget units.
• The COFOG system is not easily linked with the national budgetary nomenclature.
• The budget execution process often results in underspending, attributed to poor planning and last-minute allocations.
• The flow of funds to allocated areas is inefficient, with a significant portion of the budget not reaching farmers directly.
• The private sector plays a major role in agricultural investment, complementing public spending.

Recommendations

1. Increase public expenditure on agriculture to align with the norms of similar economies.
2. Re-evaluate the 10 percent target for agricultural spending, as it is not appropriate for South Africa due to its developed economy status.
3. Maintain the open economy policy and food self-reliance, while enhancing non-market-distorting indirect support.
4. Balance budget spending across institutions, economic classifications, programs, and functions, with a focus on service delivery to farmers.
5. Improve return on expenditure and establish clearer delivery indicators to ensure value for money.
6. Implement a harmonised national agricultural program structure to enhance expenditure tracking and alignment with national priorities.

Intended Audience

• Primary audience: Government officials responsible for agricultural policy and budgeting
• Additional audience: Development partners, researchers, and stakeholders in the agricultural sector

Methodology and Collaboration

• The study was conducted by a team led by Dr. Frikkie Liebenberg (University of Pretoria), with contributions from Dr. Moraka Nakedi Makhura (Land Bank) and Kate Moloto (Moloto Solutions).
• It was supported by the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Provincial CFOs and DAFF officials provided data and coordination support.

Further Work

• The report will be finalized and made available in print and electronic formats.
• It may be updated regularly based on feedback from readers and stakeholders.

Conclusion

The review highlights the need for improved budget tracking, more effective resource allocation, and a better alignment of public expenditure with national and provincial priorities in the agricultural sector. It also stresses the importance of enhancing the quality and efficiency of spending to ensure that agricultural development is sustainable and inclusive.