A call to vaccinate

November 2021

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY DALRRD, 20 AUGUST 2021

The minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza, calls upon the agricultural and agro-processing sectors to vaccinate. There is a promising improvement in the country’s vaccination programme.

‘I wish to call on all role-players in the agricultural and agro-possessing sectors to ensure that they are vaccinated because that will go a long way in making sure continued food production in the country,’ said Minister Didiza said in an official statement.

Fighting against COVID-19 forms core of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan of government as pronounced by president Cyril Ramaphosa. It is important to increase the number of people who vaccinate, because that will improve chances of ensuring that economic activity and livelihoods in the country continue with minimal interruption.

‘This sector is important in terms of jobs as the sector has consistently maintained more than 750 000 jobs over the medium term. Based on its potential on economic growth and job creation, it has been identified as one of the key economic sectors to drive the economic recovery in the country and that is why all of us in the sector need to be fully vaccinated, so that we continue to play our important role,’ said Minister Didiza.

Scientific evidence confirms that vaccinated people stand a better chance of surviving from COVID-19 than unvaccinated people. ‘I encourage all unvaccinated people especially in our sector to get vaccinated because vaccines protect us from getting seriously ill from COVID-19 and it saves lives.’

The minister concluded by thanking the citrus industry for leading the way in terms of sector vaccination initiative which has seen public and private health practitioners conducting on-site vaccination on-farm and in pack houses around the country.  

By the end of August more than nine million vaccines have been administered in South Africa, with over four million (more than 10% of the population) fully vaccinated.

Publication: November 2021

Section: Pula/Imvula