The DA leader and Minister of Agriculture, Mr John Steenhuisen, lashed out at Sakeliga during a media conference earlier today in response to the organisation’s stance on the Department of Agriculture’s so-called “transformation funds”.
According to Steenhuisen, the funds to which Sakeliga referred are voluntary charges managed by the respective industries themselves.
He also emphasised the enormous inequality in South Africa and the constitutional duty to redress the injustices of the past.
He concluded by saying he is proud of the effective “bottom-to-top” manner in which his Department is uplifting emerging farmers.
In the FF Plus’s view, concentration is a significant characteristic of South African agriculture. The transition from informal, small-scale agricultural enterprises to more formal and much larger scale ones is very expensive and technically demanding.
The market and production values of agricultural land differ. This means that land is too expensive to service loans for procuring land from agricultural production.
For new entrants that have no other means of making money it is very difficult to establish themselves in the industry.
So, the FF Plus believes it is good that operating charges facilitate access to commercial agriculture. The truth of the matter is that a young white entrant to the industry faces the same obstacles as a black entrant.
What is needed is a means test so that prospective entrants to agriculture, who lack the necessary means, can be identified and assisted. As it stands, young white farmers, in particular, get the short end of the stick.
