Land reform in South Africa is a mess, AgriSA said.
"Results are quite a mess. There is little post-settlement support for the beneficiaries of land reform, especially in restitution provision," AgriSA’s deputy president Theo De Jager told a press briefing in Pretoria.
"The restitution committee has missed its fourth extended date for the finalisation of land claims."
After a decade of land claims, the list of claims had still not been finalised.
"Farmers are living in this uncertainty not knowing where they are going to go with their farms. This has been a major stumbling block for investment, especially in the northern provinces.
"Farmers don’t know if they’re going to keep their farms or not [and] are simply not investing on those farms," he said.
He could not think of one restitution farm — among thousands that had been transferred — that had been successful. This was due to "poor planning" and the delay in the payment of settlement grants.
"Government itself acknowledges that 566 of those farms have collapsed."
The industries that were hardest hit included citrus farming and forestry.
AgriSA said ineffectiveness and administrative irregularities in state structures hampered progress with land procurement and transfer.
Following a meeting with the ANC last year, AgriSA said it noticed major differences between how the two organisations viewed land reform.
"One of the big differences in our view is that the core function of agriculture is to produce food and fibre for the nation, while if you are looking at the political agenda of the ruling party it places almost overwhelming emphasis on the social and transformation challenges of the industry," said its executive director Hans van der Merwe.
Following the recent cholera outbreak, he added that water safety needed to be paid attention to.
"The water quality status is a national challenge to address in a comprehensive way. At local authority level... the whole way in which sanitation has been dealt with leaves much to be desired.
"It could have huge impact not only on food safety in South Africa but food export status of South Africa," said van der Merwe.
The organisation was also concerned about crime.
The body’s Andre Botha said: "Farmers do not receive assistance from government. The biggest problem we have is morality and discipline. We will keep on encountering effects of crime. We see this as economic sabotage."
The productivity of the industry was not receiving adequate attention as the country was importing 1.5 million tonnes of wheat a year, which affected the profitability of local markets.
- The Times
"Results are quite a mess. There is little post-settlement support for the beneficiaries of land reform, especially in restitution provision," AgriSA’s deputy president Theo De Jager told a press briefing in Pretoria.
"The restitution committee has missed its fourth extended date for the finalisation of land claims."
After a decade of land claims, the list of claims had still not been finalised.
"Farmers are living in this uncertainty not knowing where they are going to go with their farms. This has been a major stumbling block for investment, especially in the northern provinces.
"Farmers don’t know if they’re going to keep their farms or not [and] are simply not investing on those farms," he said.
He could not think of one restitution farm — among thousands that had been transferred — that had been successful. This was due to "poor planning" and the delay in the payment of settlement grants.
"Government itself acknowledges that 566 of those farms have collapsed."
The industries that were hardest hit included citrus farming and forestry.
AgriSA said ineffectiveness and administrative irregularities in state structures hampered progress with land procurement and transfer.
Following a meeting with the ANC last year, AgriSA said it noticed major differences between how the two organisations viewed land reform.
"One of the big differences in our view is that the core function of agriculture is to produce food and fibre for the nation, while if you are looking at the political agenda of the ruling party it places almost overwhelming emphasis on the social and transformation challenges of the industry," said its executive director Hans van der Merwe.
Following the recent cholera outbreak, he added that water safety needed to be paid attention to.
"The water quality status is a national challenge to address in a comprehensive way. At local authority level... the whole way in which sanitation has been dealt with leaves much to be desired.
"It could have huge impact not only on food safety in South Africa but food export status of South Africa," said van der Merwe.
The organisation was also concerned about crime.
The body’s Andre Botha said: "Farmers do not receive assistance from government. The biggest problem we have is morality and discipline. We will keep on encountering effects of crime. We see this as economic sabotage."
The productivity of the industry was not receiving adequate attention as the country was importing 1.5 million tonnes of wheat a year, which affected the profitability of local markets.
- The Times
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