Minister Thoko Didiza has said her department would allocate R1 billion to support 75-thousand small-scale farmers around the country. Subsistence producers will be supported with farming input vouchers, to retain self-employment and support food value chains. The department will also employ unemployed youth and agriculture graduates to work as verification officers. This announcement is in line with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s employment stimulus plan to create jobs and support livelihoods as the pandemic continues to rage on into 2021.