PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT UNIT (PMU)
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR SMALLHOLDER PRODUCERS SUPPORT
AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Introduction
The Directorate Small Holder Development (DSHD) is one of the directorates that existed as a result of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries’
(DAFF) restructuring process. The directorate has been established to solely deal with the support and development of smallholder producers in South Africa.
The aim of the directorate is to create and reinforce working structures, policies and financial partnerships with different stakeholders in the sector.
The directorate further seeks to coordinate activities towards strengthening support of the 200 000 smallholder producers whilst overseeing the increase of smallholder producers by 50 000 as at 2014/15.
Towards fulfilling some of the smallholder support mandates the DSHD has drafted the Strategic Plan for Smallholder Support (SPSS) document which guides the identification, establishment and the support of smallholder producers.
The SPSS has been established to ensure a larger and more prosperous smallholder sector that contributes to economic empowerment, food security and rural development. The SPSS further puts forward the following specific objectives:

Align programmes to improve coordination between government departments and within DAFF.
 Promote and strengthen smallholder producer’s institutional capabilities for sustainable and inclusive growth.
1


Improve access for the 15 000 smallholder producers to finance, extension services, training, research and development information and markets.

Coordinate support activities to increase production of 15 000 producers, with clear plans for the 300 000 smallholder target by 2020.

Source enterprise specific support through partnerships.

Increase the number of Producers producing for sale from 4% to 10%.
The SPSS acknowledges the almost sufficient funding for producer support but takes cognizance of the fact that improved coordination will be more beneficial to all.
2. Rationale for smallholder support
In emerging markets, the reality is that three out of four low-income people depend directly / indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. The World Bank has endorsed the notion that supporting smallholder producers is the most effective way of stimulating economic development and contributing to the poverty eradication initiatives across the world.
Various consultative processes and lessons learned have highlighted the crucial role smallholder producer’s play in producing food in the developing and developed countries.
It is against this background that smallholder producers should be developed and supported to grow into viable and sustainable business enterprises to support their households’ needs and fully participate in the agricultural market (local, regional and globally). Crucial linkages are however needed to secure the consistent supply of raw materials for smallholder producers; this will tie in well with social and economic development in rural areas, providing better income to smallholder producers, their immediate families and workers (permanent
/seasonal).
2

Government Outcome 7 is attainable only through various collaborations, linkages with crucial stakeholders either private or government parastatals, institutions, provincial departments (implementers) as well as linking producers to the markets. By utilizing smallholder producers as an engine of growth commercial objectives such as growing markets for input providers, transport firms, or commodity traders are realised simultaneously alongside government and donors’ social objectives of greater food production, poverty-reduction, and increasing incomes. The joint programme planning and implementation is aimed at providing long-term benefits to smallholder producers, immediate families and workers. Through leveraging joint investments that scale up participation opportunities in local, regional and global markets increase in incomes, creation of jobs and reduction of poverty will be attained.
3. Purpose and objective
The Directorate: Small Holder Development as the champion for the support and development of smallholder producers initiated the establishment of the
Programme Management Unit (PMU).
(The directorate has a mandate to coordinate all smallholder development activities.)
The coordination would entail the alignment of all activities that seek to ensure the support and develop of smallholder producers. Therefore, the optimum utilisation of resources within the DAFF directorates which are members of the
PMU requires collaboration, reporting and consolidation of all smallholder producer support activities.
Such smallholder supports report are inclusive of activities that entail official’s dedication to projects in the form of time, personnel, financial resources, market access and others. Support to smallholder producers would seek to achieve the
3

targets set in Outcome 7 as well as the New Growth Path. Specifically the aims and objectives of the support are to encourage:

improved land and agrarian reform

food security

job creation

rural development and sustainable livelihoods.
The objective of the PMU is to advance support and development of smallholder producers through research, planning, funding, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
4. Composition of the PMU
The PMU for smallholder producer ’s support will be coordinated by the
Directorate: Small Holder Development and will therefore require the membership and participation of the following DAFF Directorates which besides providing support and information are requested to give specific directorate support:
(a) Information Support
 Directorate: Climate Change and Disaster Management -
 Directorate: Statistics Economic Analysis -
(b) Technical Management Support group
 Directorate: Agro-Processing Support –
 Directorate: Plant Production –
 Directorate: Plant Health –
 Directorate: Animal Production -
4

 Directorate: Animal Health -
 Directorate: Water Use and Irrigation Development
–
 Directorate: Infrastructure Support -
 Directorate: National Extension Support -
► Directorate: Small Scale Forestry –
► Directorate: Small Scale Fisheries -
 Directorate: LUSM –
(c) Socio-Economic Development and Support
 Directorate: Cooperatives and Enterprise Development -
 Directorate: Marketing -
 CASP office: -

MAFISA:
(d) International Donors
 Directorate: Intergovernmental and International Relations -
 Directorate: Americas, Australia, Europe and Middle East Relations -
5.
Roles and responsibilities of the PMU members.
5.1 Directorate Small Holder Development
● Provide the secretariat which includes arranging meetings, drafting of agendas, acceptance and recording of apologies, confirmation of
●
●
● attendees, taking and circulating minutes etc
Consolidate reports from other PMU members and circulate for comment
Incorporate the comments from the PMU members into the report
Present the report to the Outcome 7 Technical Implementation
5

●
●
Forum (this will be through the Organisational Development
Directorate/ ODD)
Present the report to the QRM for possible solutions to the challenges raised
Provide the PMU members with necessary feedback.
5.2.
Other members of the PMU
Over and above the specific directorate support functions provided above the directorates will provide the following information on smallholder producers:
●
●
The number of smallholders supported by their activities
Type of enterprise supported
●
Type/services of support offered to projects
●
Cost of the support/services offered
●
Indication of whether the project is new or existing as per the
● agreed criteria
Provide evidence of the support provided to projects per quarter (as provided/guided by the ODD)
● Provide financial and technical support to smallholder Producers
● Assist SHD in the identification of smallholder producers.
6. Recommended report submission procedure
6.1 Submitting to the DSHD

The various directorates will submit their smallholder support reports on the 3 rd of every month to DSHD.

The DSHD will take
± one week to check and verify the reports with the directorate’s contact person.
6


In certain cases the DSHD will have to verify the information at the provincial level in collaboration with the respective directorate and
PDOA.

The DSHD will communicate the consolidated results to the respective directorates.
6.2 Submitting to ODD

The DSHD will submit the report to the ODD on the 7 th or 8 th of each month after reporting by the directorates.

The ODD will provide feedback and where necessary the DSHD will call a PMU meeting.
6. Meeting Procedures
6.1 Representation
Each member directorate will nominate two senior officials i.e. Director and
Deputy Director to ensure continuity.
6.2 Frequency of meetings
PMU meetings will be held quarterly during the 2013/14 financial year and then biannually thereafter. Ad Hoc meetings can however be called if the need arises.
6.3 Layout of the meeting

The DDG: FS&AR or CD: FS or D: SHD will chair the meetings.

The Directorate SHD will perform secretariat duties as detailed in section
5.1 above.
7