Programme Director;

MEC for Agriculture, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi;

Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Limpopo, Prof. Mahlo Mokgalong;

The CEO of Tshumisano, Dr. David Phaho;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen

The official launch of the Limpopo Agri-food Technology Station marks a new development in the Tshumisano Technology Station Programme. Since 2001, when the Programme began, Tshumisano has been establishing technology stations at the technikons, now known as universities of technology.

This station, however, is the first to be established at a traditional university, and I commend the University of Limpopo for taking this bold step in the right direction. Being at the forefront of knowledge creation and management, a university is the central platform for a country and its people’s development.

The failure to achieve higher levels of industrial development in most African countries, despite the adoption of various industrial development strategies, is mainly due to a lack of appreciation of the role technology plays in economic and industrial development.

This is primarily due to the way that mainstream economics, which has had a major influence on development theories and models, treats technical and institutional change as largely exogenous to industrial and economic development.

Before the demise of colonialism, most African economies were seen as mere extensions of the colonial powers' economies, and little was done in the way of planning economic development specifically for the colonies. It was only after they gained independence that African countries began to deal with the important matter of technology development as part of their plans for national economic development.

In South Africa, during the apartheid era, progress with technological innovation was driven by the need to survive international economic sanctions, but most of the derived benefits only accrued to the white minority of the South African population.

After 1994, the new government started formulating a series of policies to enhance economic growth to reduce poverty and improve our people's quality of life. One of these was the White Paper on the National Strategy for the Development and Promotion of Small Business in South Africa.

The contribution of small businesses towards job creation, poverty reduction and economic growth is recognised worldwide, and government is working to create an environment that will be conducive to the development of small enterprises.

The White Paper I have just referred to identified access to appropriate technology as one of the major constraints facing small businesses in South Africa, which makes it hard for them to be competitive, and thus to contribute significantly to economic growth.

And so, the White Paper on Science and Technology was developed with a focus on maintaining cutting-edge global competitiveness, and to address the urgent needs of our citizens who are less able to assert themselves in the market. It recognises that business is the driving force behind the economy.

Government must provide leadership, incentives and the required support so that the business sector can meet the challenges posed by highly competitive markets.

Since the end of the Cold War, governments and universities have become more concerned with creating better diffusion of research outputs in order to achieve economic growth. Thus, innovation has become the buzz word of the day.

Our National System of Innovation needs to enhance the rate and quality of technology transfer and diffusion from the science, engineering and technology sector by ensuring the provision of skilled human resources, effective hard technology transfer mechanisms, and the creation of more effective and efficient users of technology in the business sector.

With technological progress generally accepted as the primary source of economic growth, government policies have to recognise as central concerns the two processes that drive this progress, which are innovation and technology diffusion.

My Department realises that effective technology diffusion and solutions can best be achieved in partnership with higher education institutions which, through research and development, generate knowledge and a wide variety of technologies.

We have developed programmes that support technology transfer and diffusion to small businesses, and one of these is the Tshumisano Technology Station Programme. Tshumisano is a partnership programme involving the DST, Higher Education South Africa (HESA) and the Germany Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ).

To facilitate economic and industrial development, technology policy must take into account three critical areas, human capital development, science and technology infrastructure, and industrial infrastructure.

While access to technologies is a problem in developing countries, other major impediments to technological progress are the lack of domestic skills and competencies that enable these countries to exploit the technologies they have, and the rigidity of the regulatory environment, which hampers the creation and expansion of firms.

Tshumisano Trust focuses on two main objectives – technology transfer provided through strong science and technology platforms at higher education institutions, and training to facilitate the development of human capital with the relevant science and technology skills for the economy.

As the implementation agency of the Technology Stations Programme, Tshumisano provides technical and financial support to the technology stations, and ensures that they, in turn, offer technology solutions, services and training to existing small businesses.

When my Department started the Programme with three technology stations in 2001, its main goal was to improve the competitiveness and innovation capacity of small businesses in specific sectors.

Today we have 12 fully operational stations spread through seven provinces, and we are currently working on establishing technology stations in the remaining provinces, which are Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.

Entrepreneurship and innovation need to be fostered throughout South Africa, but particularly among those who were historically excluded from the formal economic sector.

The Limpopo Provincial Growth and Development Strategy identifies agriculture as one of the priority sectors in the province, and one of the major local economic drivers contributing R1,8 billion to the province's gross geographic product. 88,2% of Limpopo's almost 12 million hectare total land area is farmland.

While Limpopo produces 75% of South Africa’s subtropical and tropical fruit, 90% of this harvest is transported to other provinces for processing, and the products are then returned to Limpopo to be sold at an exorbitant cost.

The province needs to exploit its agro-processing, packaging and exporting opportunities, and this is the rationale behind our support for the establishment of this Agri-food Technology Station.

The diffusion of post-harvest technologies, including indigenous technologies, will add value to Limpopo's agricultural produce, thereby increasing the productivity, quality and competitiveness of its agricultural sector.

This will in turn enhance entrepreneurship, creation of jobs, reduction of poverty, decrease in income disparity and the economic growth of the province and the country.

My Department's vision is to create an environment in which technology-based small businesses improve their operations and quality of their products through technology assimilation, and build their innovation capabilities.

Through this collaboration, the University of Limpopo will enhance its research, development and teaching activities through the S&T infrastructure provided, and through the commercialisation of the technologies generated by the Limpopo Agri-food Technology Station.

My Department has invested more than R5,8 million to assist with the start up and operational costs of this Technology Station in the last financial year through Tshumisano.

Another R2,5 million has been committed for the Station’s activities and infrastructure for 2008/09. Two other role players have shown their commitment to providing the science and technology infrastructure needed to support the small businesses in the province.

The Limpopo Provincial Department of Agriculture is making a financial contribution, and the University of Limpopo is hosting and providing management support to the Station.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no doubt that South Africa, like any developing country, needs to deepen its technological revolution to bring about rapid structural shifts, and build up endogenous technological capability in industry.

This Station is established at a time when South Africa is faced by, amongst others, rising food prices which are exacerbating hunger and poverty. We believe this station will play a greater role in the national efforts to curb this scourge.

Alvin Toffler asserts that “All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth”.

By investing in this technology station, government is also committing to the enhancement of our children’s education, and thereby in the future prosperity of our country.

Finally, it is now my singular pleasure and privilege to declare the Limpopo Agri-Food Technology Station officially open. I have no doubt that in the capable hands of the Provincial Government, the University and the community of Limpopo, the station will prosper.

I thank you.