SA’s black farmers in need of financial aid from the state
Organised agriculture bodies have called for urgent financial mechanisms to be put in place to support black farmers.
“Farmers do not get enough support. To be a new farmer in this country, whether black or white, is almost impossible,” Japie Grobler, chair of the Agri Sector Unity Forum (Asuf ), said.
The Asuf is an umbrella body representing the interests of a diverse range of agricultural groups, namely the African Farmers Association of SA‚ the Transvaal Agricultural Union of SA‚ the National African Farmers Union of SA and Agri SA.
With the land reform issue, particularly expropriation without compensation, being debated intensely, the organisations said land reform will fail without post-settlement support for new farmers.
Failure to support farmers “should not happen … we need new farmers to be able to access markets and finance, and create employment. We need to make sure we have a bank to help farmers with low interest rates,” Grobler said.
Asuf members said the Land Bank is “not functioning as a development finance institution and is subsequently not supporting black farmers adequately”.
Members agreed to work together to develop a national development strategy to boost the agricultural industry and offer “implementable solutions”.
The parties agreed “the value of ownership and assets are acknowledged as a crucial means to secure collateral at finance institutions … and private ownership and the free market principle are accepted as the basis for economic growth”.
Asuf will hold an indaba in November to put together the comprehensive plan to grow the agriculture sector and to adopt an official position on the expropriation of land without compensation issues, said Grobler.
He said the organisations are not opposed to land reform. However, the key debate is how land reform should take place.