Commercial farmers should expedite land reform - ANC

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In a debate in Johannesburg attended by farmers from as far as Western Cape and Limpopo, Mr Mantashe told delegates during a dialogue on land reform and food production that land reform in SA was about dealing with the ugly past of racial land dispossession of black people and seeking to build a future for all. Farmers must never allow themselves "to be victims of change", he said.

The slow pace of land reform is regarded as among the ANC's major failures since 1994. As a result, a raft of new laws have sought to speed up the process - The Expropriation Bill, Restitution Amendment Bill and Valuation Bill - as well as controversial policy proposals such as the 50% sharing of farm businesses between owners and workers.

However, critics of the government's land reform approach have cautioned that it should not come at the cost of food security.

Mr Mantashe said: "Emerging black farmers who want to access land also want to be productive."

Government proposals could not be easily dismissed without alternative policies being put on the table.

"We could agree that the 50% sharing of land between farmers and workers is not a good idea. But, then we need to hear what is the good idea," said Mr Mantashe. The situation must not be allowed to become "desperate", he said.

Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana said: "Change might not be so painful if it is done willingly." He warned that lack of change could lead to chaos, citing the disruptive land reform regime in Zimbabwe as an example.

He said farmers should not listen to scaremongers but contribute to debate. "We would not take your farm and we would not kill your animals. We want to work with you," said Mr Zokwana.

Commissioner at the National Planning Commission Mohammed Karaan said SA had to fix the injustices of the past in both land and agriculture to enable the sector to reach its potential of contributing up to 12% to the gross domestic product. It is presently contributing 2.7%.

AgriSA president Theo de Jager said he had "never met a farmer who is against land reform". But the government's approach to the issue seemed more like trial and error, marked by flip-flopping in policy and if the policy environment was healthy then farmers would be able to create jobs.

In a joint statement, distributed at the debate, farmers sought a commitment from the government in bringing policy synergy, coherence and certainty in the sector.

The farmers also requested the government to introduce a wage subsidy and assist in the provision of workers' housing and the establishment of agri-villages.

Source: Business Day