The economic development approach of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, termed SEEDS (Socio-Economic and Enterprise Development Strategy) is structured around seven core strategies based both on a review of international trends in rural regeneration strategies as well as a reflection on the experience of the District Municipality and other institutions in promoting development in the region.
These seven strategies are briefly outlined below:
a) Increasing agricultural income
Agriculture remains the single most important economic driver in the district. The starting point for rural development is to find ways of increasing agricultural income. This is of course firstly a product of the drive of farmers individually and collectively. However, there are a number of ways in which farmers can be supported to increase the value of agricultural output. These include:
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Growing national and international markets for agricultural output.
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Facilitating investments in local and regional agro-processing plant to increase product demand and improve prices.
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Investing in research and knowledge sharing to improve the quality and resilience of crops and livestock.
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Supporting local and regional food systems that keep wealth in rural communities.
b) Investing in natural capital
There is an increasing recognition internationally and within South Africa that it is important to invest in protecting and restoring natural resources and ecosystems such as catchments, wetlands, rivers, forests and other natural areas to preserve bio-diversity, to ensure sustainable water supplies as well as to exploit the economic potential of such areas. The growth of tourism in the region is strongly associated with the exceptional and diverse natural assets. Key approaches to this include:
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Promoting and incentivizing natural resource restoration and conservation including alien vegetation clearing, developing eco-systems markets that reward land restoration through carbon credit mechanism and so on.
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Creating new generation green jobs and local income streams rooted in renewable energy.
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Growing the rural tourism economy based on natural capital through agriculture-, adventure- and eco-tourism initiatives.
c) Broadening economic participation
Inequality and poverty are deeply entrenched with rural South Africa and represent a major constraint to development. However, the poor of the region also represent a major resource for economic progress. Broadening economic participation as part of a broader social development emphasis is thus a key pillar for rural regeneration. Key areas of action include:
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Promoting BBBEE, SMME and cooperative development.
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Maximising the opportunities for Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Community Work programme opportunities.
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Improving grant accessibility.
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Establishing community-based beneficiation projects.
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Facilitating community and worker participation in share ownership.
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Promoting social development investments.
d) Developing the skills base
The skills base of the region is a key driver of both economic progress and poverty reduction. The skills profile of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality is very skewed. It is a region with a significant pool of highly skilled people. However, most people have limited skills and limited educational attainment. This is both a major constraint to development but also represents a significant area of opportunity given the wide range of good educational institutions in the region. The Sarah Baartman District Municipality is committed to a concerted approach to improving the skills profile of the region. Key areas of action include:
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Improving the quality and quantity of school education and early childhood development (ECD) through partnerships.
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Creating further education opportunities linked to work opportunities in the region.
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Developing skills transfer partnerships between established and emerging farmers and between established and emerging businesses.
e) Improving connectivity and utility infrastructure
Transport, water and energy infrastructure are major challenges in an arid low-density rural area such as the Sarah Baartman District. The costs of such infrastructure are particularly high in such areas given distance and the area enjoys relatively low priority for infrastructure given its small population. It is therefore necessary to be innovative and focused in ensuring that sufficient infrastructure is in place to support development. Key areas here include:
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Developing rural broadband and mobile phone connectivity is a key rural development strategy globally.
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Improving rural transport infrastructure particularly roads.
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Identifying and delivering catalytic infrastructure that opens up new economic opportunities.
f) Regenarating core towns
The core towns within a rural region play a critical role in the economy of the region as a whole. They are the economic and services hub that enable the rural economy to function. When towns decline, the rural hinterland tends to decline given the symbiotic relationship between them. The regeneration of core towns is thus a critical driver of rural economic development. Key areas of action include:
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Urban regeneration projects focused on upgrading town CBDs and historic districts.
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Ensuring quality education and health services in core towns in order to retain talent and skills in the area.
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Promote tourism and niche services and manufacturing based on identifying competitive advantages and niche opportunities.
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Ensuring that municipal infrastructure is maintained and upgraded on a financially sustainable basis in order to support growth and development.
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Service delivery improvement partnerships to ensure that essential administrative and regulatory functions are undertaken by the Local Municipality.
g) Building local and regional networks
Research globally suggests that the quantity and quality of networks within a region and between the region and relevant role-players outside the region is a key factor influencing economic development. A key element of any strategy for rural regeneration is thus about finding ways to expand the networks and linkages between stakeholders in the region and connecting the region into relevant provincial, national and international processes. Areas of focus include:
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Strengthening government to government connections at a regional, provincial and national level.
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Building partnerships to improve economic competiveness and resilience.
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Creating a positive image of the region amongst public and private investors and building relationships with them.
