Plans are under way to link the poverty stricken Eastern Cape's agricultural industry to the export-orientated industrial development zones (IDZs) as the government attempts to trigger a minor economic miracle in the province.

At the centre of the programme is a bold strategy to increase the scale of production of timber, wheat, maize, sugar, cotton and tea in the former homelands of Transkei and Ciskei.

A portion of what is produced will be processed in various centres around the Eastern Cape and the province's two IDZs, Coega and East London, with a view to supplying beneficiated agricultural products to the domestic and global markets.

The East London IDZ aims to position itself as a hub for vehicle and agro-processing manufacturing.

Kevin Wakeford, the chief executive of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, said the aim of the project was to turn the province into a bulk producer of agricultural goods, while integrating small scale farmers into commercial farming and the IDZ programme.

"There is a systematic plan to link timber milling into the agro-processing cluster of the East London IDZ," said Wakeford.

"We are also conducting a feasibility study in Transkei to see whether the soil and climatic conditions are suitable for cultivating biodiesel plants in the area.

"If the project is successful, we want to build two refineries, one at Coega and another in East London." Beef and dairy farming would be boosted, along with value-added meat and dairy products.

He added that some of these projects were already off the ground, but more work was needed in areas such as wheat, maize, sugar and tea production.

Tea production at the Magwa Tea Estate in Transkei will be cranked up to 2.5 million tons next season from 1.5 million tons produced last season, while 6 000ha of land will be dedicated to cotton farming, up from the 500ha that is currently being used.

About 100 000ha of land will be set aside for the biodiesel pilot project. The government will spend about R542.2 million this year to assist farmers in the province.

As part of the strategy to revitalise agriculture in the Eastern Cape, the provincial government is spending R40 million to upgrade the rail and road infrastructure in the Transkei and Ciskei areas.

A new rail link, known as the Kei-Rail Corridor, is being constructed between Mthatha and the East London harbour to allow for the shipping of bulk timber and other products for export.

The country's largest furniture producer, Steinhoff, is planning to invest R1 billion in a timber project in the Ugie-Maclear area. This area houses Eastern Cape's largest timber assets, and Steinhoff's investment is accompanied by plans to link it to the East London IDZ.

About 3 000 permanent jobs will be created from the project, which will convert timber into chipboard.

Almost two weeks ago the East London IDZ announced that it had attracted three investors with a total investment of R188 million. One of the firms is abalone and citrus fruit farmer Sea-tek.

Wakeford said that if the R1 billion investment by Steinhoff was excluded, the other agricultural initiatives would create close to 2 000 jobs.