Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Thanks, but no thanks
The yearning for praise and recognition is buried deep in the human psyche. But why should farmers feel they deserve it more than others?
During the lockdown, after seeing images of people clapping en masse to express their gratitude to health workers, I scoured the Internet and social media for similar public acknowledgement of the role of farmers. I found almost nothing.
The few expressions of appreciation I came across were from farmers’ associations, market agents, agricultural magazines and fresh produce retailers. But all of these depend on farmers for business! Not one word of gratitude could I find from the public at large or from government.
ARE FARMERS REALLY SO SPECIAL?
We all want praise and recognition. When given, it’s a great morale booster and motivator, and people who have gone the extra mile particularly appreciate it. But why should farmers, myself included, feel they deserve it more than others? After all, being a farmer is just another job.
Why should we be singled out for special thanks and praise? Has any of us gone public during the lockdown to express thanks to the suppliers of fuel and fertiliser that keep us operating our businesses? And how many of us or our representatives have openly thanked our employees?
No one forces us to be farmers. We farm because that’s what we want to do. It’s the lifestyle we want, and it makes no sense to feel that, somehow, we are more deserving of gratitude than other businesses and people in other jobs.
There is another downside to the expectation that we should receive special thanks: we open the door to judgement. We are signalling to people and government that we work for them, and implying that they have the right to tell us what to farm and how to do it. And that’s the last thing we need. What we really need is not thanks, but policies that support farming, enabling it to thrive and grow.
NO ONE FORCES US TO BECOME FARMERS; WE FARM BECAUSE WE ENJOY THE JOB AND THE LIFESTYLE IT OFFERS!
Apart from anything else, it’s demeaning for farmers to be vocal, especially in the public domain, about the lack of thanks that comes our way, as if we have some special monopoly on these sentiments in our society.
Calling for appreciation is a distraction from our real tasks. We need to focus on producing nutritious, highquality food at low cost; treating the environment with respect and farming in harmony with nature; paying a fair wage to all employees, and treating them with sensitivity, care and dignity; and making a good profit, enabling the business to survive, grow and provide a fair return to its investors.