On 27 August, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a media statement commending Agbiz and Agri SA for our support in fixing rural roads. Recognition is always appreciated, and the renewed political will to address this long-standing issue is encouraging. That said, rural roads are a complex challenge, and a measure of realism is required to manage expectations.
Road conditions have been a recurring concern for the agricultural sector for decades. Roads are built, maintenance falls short, and over time they deteriorate, becoming a serious impediment to agricultural operations. The current initiative is not intended to criticise government, but to support it through evidence-based engagement. Our goal is to build a robust, data-driven business case for investment in South Africa’s rural logistics network.
In 2020, the Department of Public Works listed SIP 26 (the Rural Roads Upgrade Programme) in the Government Gazette, but it has largely remained dormant. National government’s attention has primarily been on major freight corridors, while rural roads have received less focus. Following engagement at political level, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) has now been tasked to address this gap.
The role of ISA, Agbiz, and Agri SA is to develop the economic case for each road, but road maintenance responsibilities are fragmented across SANRAL, provincial departments, municipalities, and un-proclaimed routes. The first step is to identify who is responsible for each road. The next is to quantify the economic value of goods transported along these roads, which is where your input is essential.
Given the scale of the task, the Free State has been identified as a pilot province. To support this, we have developed a questionnaire to collect data that will feed into the development of a freight demand model for rural roads. This model will be used to strengthen the case for prioritising strategic agricultural routes in government’s resource allocation.
A Memorandum of Collaboration will be signed between Agbiz, Agri SA, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to SA, which amongst other things provide for the protection of confidential information provided by members for the purpose of building the database and prioritsing corridors and routes for maintenance.
The questionnaire has been designed for use by both primary agriculture and agribusinesses. However, because it refers to ‘place of origin’ and ‘destination’, some respondents may find it limiting - particularly agribusinesses with multiple operations in different areas. In such cases, it may be best to complete multiple forms.
While this is not ideal, it will assist ISA in constructing freight flow diagrams and motivating for the prioritisation of key corridors and routes for maintenance and upgrades.
The length of the questionnaire reflects the level of detail needed to ensure that the information collected is comprehensive and that future decisions are based on sound evidence. If there is any information that cannot be adequately captured in the template, please feel free to send it to us separately and we will ensure that it is included.
Questionnaire Link - https://roads.agrisa.io/
We kindly ask that you:
- Complete the questionnaire for routes relevant to your operations.
- Forward this questionnaire to other role-players in the Free State whose operations may also be affected.
- Submit your response no later than 16 October 2025.
Your contribution is critical to ensuring that the agricultural sector’s voice is clearly represented in national infrastructure planning. The information gathered will directly inform ISA’s economic assessments and future investment prioritisation.
