The Eastern Cape is preparing an agricultural investment plan for submission to the National Treasury’s Budget Facility for Infrastructure in October. The current process is focused on livestock, dairy and mohair value chains, irrigation and private-sector partnerships — but the plan is still being developed and no final total investment value has yet been publicly disclosed.
The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture, the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency and the World Bank have held an investment-planning workshop in East London as the province works towards an October submission of its Agriculture Investment Plan to the National Treasury’s Budget Facility for Infrastructure.
The provincial department says the process is intended to produce practical, implementable proposals that can strengthen agricultural enterprises and value chains across the province. Officials and participating institutions have been reviewing priority sectors, progress in livestock, dairy and mohair, and options for mobilising additional investment through private-sector partnerships.
A key distinction is that this is still a planning and project-packaging process, not an announcement of a fully funded investment programme. The department says the plan is scheduled for submission in October, while Eastern Cape Provincial Treasury has separately stated that the agriculture department and ECRDA must prepare credible business cases aligned with the province’s agricultural commercialisation strategy. Treasury says World Bank technical assistance is being used to strengthen project preparation and investment packaging, including for irrigation initiatives.
Infrastructure remains central
The investment-planning work comes against a broader provincial effort to improve irrigation and agricultural infrastructure.
In 2024, the provincial government said it was working with Infrastructure South Africa, National and Provincial Treasury and the World Bank on an infrastructure business plan for 10 irrigation schemes, with the potential investment requirement at that stage estimated at about R3 billion. Those schemes were being considered for packaging and possible funding through the BFI process.
More recently, the 2026 State of the Province Address said work was expected to proceed on bulk irrigation infrastructure at Ncora, Qamata, Shiloh and Keiskammahoek, supported by an R871 million investment by the national water department.
The significance for farmers is practical: irrigation, fencing, roads, handling facilities, storage and market infrastructure can determine whether production can expand beyond small-scale or subsistence activity. National agricultural policy also places strong emphasis on infrastructure that improves production, market access and agro-processing capacity.
Commercialisation already has parallel funding streams
The new investment plan does not stand alone.
The province says it is also working with the Land Bank on the commercialisation of 100 farms. According to the 2026 State of the Province Address, R212 million was invested in 2025, benefiting 18 grain farms across Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Joe Gqabi and Chris Hani, as well as 11 livestock farmers in Chris Hani and Sarah Baartman.
The Eastern Cape is also due to receive about R1 billion over three years through the national Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme. The provincial government says that funding will support items such as tractors, seed, fencing and farmer training.
In addition, the province has approved a procurement model intended to localise part of its public food purchasing and create more predictable demand for local producers and processors. The Premier’s 2026 address placed the relevant government food-procurement spend at R2.6 billion.
These programmes are separate from the investment plan now being prepared, but together they show the scale of the province’s attempt to move more farmers into commercial value chains.
Livestock, dairy and mohair in focus
The latest workshop specifically reviewed opportunities in livestock, dairy and mohair. Those sectors are important to the Eastern Cape’s agricultural economy and have already attracted targeted public and private investment.
The provincial government has, for example, highlighted a R30 million mohair expansion in Ntabozuko and a R400 million private-sector feed factory and feedlot investment in Nxuba Yethemba Local Municipality. These are separate projects, but they illustrate the kind of value-chain development the new plan is intended to support.
What is still unknown
The most important unanswered question is the final size and composition of the investment plan.
The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture has not yet published a final project list, total capital requirement, confirmed BFI allocation or implementation timetable. The current public material confirms that the plan is being reviewed for October submission and that livestock, dairy, mohair, irrigation and private investment are part of the process.
That means farmers should treat the current process as an investment pipeline under development, rather than as guaranteed funding.
If the October submission produces viable, funded projects, the potential impact could be significant in a province where water infrastructure, market access, commercialisation and value-chain integration remain central constraints on agricultural expansion. The next meaningful milestone will therefore be the final plan submitted to the BFI and the projects, budgets and funding commitments that emerge from it.