Getting started

The project officially got underway this week with an inception meeting between members of the project team, representatives of CBPEP and the administrative agency responsible for project oversight and logistics appointed by the EU.

The key focus of the meeting was on how best to structure the institutional arrangements at national and local level. This presents a real challenge. South Africa is littered with initiatives which seek to involve multiple stakeholders but which often achieve very little. This has contributed to widespread participation and process fatigue which makes it difficult to sustain participatory processes. Trying to establish social platforms in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic with the ever present threat of a third wave of infections also presents additional challenges.

While it is important to remain lean and agile it is also essential to bring the right people together:

• key government departments at national and provincial level
  
• representatives of the local and district municipality,
  
• representatives of civil society organisations, agricultural unions, smallholder producers and commodity organisations. 
  

While inclusivity is important, experience suggests that the bigger and more complex the structures established, the greater the risk of political contestation or the emergence of bureaucratic constraints which can quickly undermine levels of participation. Finding and fine-tuning the actor balance, while ensuring effective and targeted two-way communication will be a critical if we are to consolidate meaningful levels of engagement. This will be also essential to secure the follow through required by different actors to ensure implementation of the plan and provision of adequate support.