The season is just kicking off in the warmer areas of Limpopo Province like Mooketsi and Levubu with Fuerte and Maluma, and the very first export consignments have left to reach the market in week 12. Early South African exports are primarily Fuerte. The South African harvest will get underway in all earnest by the beginning of March.

Source: Fresh Plaza

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A well-known farmer, benefactor and community leader, Dirk Steenkamp, was murdered early Sunday morning on his farm in the Vredefort district. “Murders and other violent crime afflicting the farming community bear testimony to the serious shortcomings in people’s values and lack of respect for life,” said Agri SA president Dan Kriek.

Steenkamp was known in the community as a benefactor who never hesitated to help people in need. The murder once again highlighted the senselessness and cowardliness of such deeds, as well as the vulnerability of farmers and farm workers who perform their work outdoors in the interest of the country. The murder has enraged and caused immeasurable heartache to his family, farm workers and the community. Kriek, on behalf of Agri SA, expressed his condolences to the Steenkamp family and called on the police to arrest the attackers as soon as possible.

“The irresponsible and reckless utterances around the land issue that are regularly reported in the media lead to the polarisation of people and communities, and incite violence aimed at a certain group of society. These types of statements do not belong in a society where mutual respect and tolerance are essential for nation-building and stability,” said Kriek.

Kriek added that “unqualified statements on land are catastrophic for agricultural development and further investment in agriculture, especially since they are based on unfounded and incorrect assumptions. Such utterances could be interpreted by certain individuals as justification for attacking and murdering members of the farming community.”

“We believe there is still sufficient commitment within government to the principles of the Constitution to make sure that agriculture maintains its rightful place in the economy, to create jobs and to ensure that the sector can adhere to the principle of food security,” said Kriek.

Kriek called on agricultural communities to support their local security structures and to work with the police within community context to improve their own safety. However, no protection measure serves as a guarantee that a farm attack will not take place, but it could delay an attack and give residents a chance to take emergency measures.

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Having reflected on the possible unintended consequences of expropriation without compensation, it is worth re-looking at some of the existing proposals that were never fully tested, as a means to facilitate land redistribution.

These include the resolutions from the NAREG process, the High-Level panel report, Operation Phakisa, as well a variety of private sector and academic proposals, among others.

The current land policy proposal ascended from the frustration of perceived slow progress, albeit having shown in this piece that there has been progress if one views this process in terms of hectares moved from white farmers to black farmers (not the productivity of the land).

With that said, the ongoing land reform discussions provide a window of opportunity to share ideas on how we imagine the land reform process going forward. In other words, after having highlighted the unintended consequences of expropriation, one can also use this opportunity to share views on the best practice to acquire agricultural land for redistribution.

In June 2017, we argued that land reform processes should be more aligned with the ideas raised in chapter six of the National Development Plan as we believe it has more practical steps of effective land reform productively.

The National Development Plan suggested that the identification of transferable farms and beneficiaries should take place at a district level, facilitated by district land-reform committees that were established in 2015. Under the auspices of district committees, a tripartite joint venture approach on land reform will be established.

Farms for sale could be identified by the committee and a leading successful farmer can be appointed as mentor or co-investor to acquire new land with a qualified beneficiary. The beneficiary should be selected only by the land-reform committee to ensure a good working relationship.

In acquiring the farm, the state can contribute 30% of land value in grant money to the beneficiary. Another 30% can be a loan from the state-owned agricultural bank in the name of the beneficiary and farmer and the remaining 40% would be a cash contribution by other farmers in that particular district.

The contributing farmers would then be exempted from future land-reform claims and the farm could be operated via the farmers’ existing operation to ensure success.

A subsidised interest rate would need to be provided by the state-owned agricultural bank for the loan and backed by a state guarantee in the spirit of risk sharing.

If farmers in districts work together and get at least 30% of land in each district transferred to black farmers and thereafter utilised productively, then land expropriation without compensation would not be needed. Agribusinesses and commodity organisations would also have to provide post-transfer support and mentorship to new beneficiaries.

This can be done only if there is a fair and transparent beneficiary selection; grants and loans are disbursed fast; title deeds are transferred and registered speedily; the government shares in the risk of redistributing land and developing new farming operations, and there is policy stability.

One of the most enduring and fundamental factors in the land-reform debate is the trust deficit between the government and private sector. Trust needs to be built in order to ensure the success and sustainability of the land programme and the agricultural sector. DM

Wandile Sihlobo (@WandileSihlobo) and Tinashe Kapuya (@TinasheKapuya) are agricultural economists. Theo Boshoff is a land policy analyst.

Source: Daily Maverick

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Encouraging as many young farmers from KZN to enter, CEO Sandy La Marque said: “This competition highlights the great skills and entrepreneurial spirit required to be a successful farmer. We know we are blessed with a very high calibre of farmer in our province, but this competition is more than just how much a farmer is able to produce or how pretty their farm looks. It’s about sound business acumen and strong agricultural practices among a whole range of other criteria.”

The annual contest will see the most promising young farmers from all nine provinces compete for the coveted title, currently held by Northern Cape farmer Jaco Strauss, and drive away in a brand new Toyota Hilux Single Cab vehicle.

Young farmers, under the age of 40, whether they are owners or partners in a farm, male or female and full members of their provinces’ agricultural unions are eligible for entry.

The judging and evaluation of the farmers and their agricultural practices, takes place at provincial level with the applicants being evaluated on all aspects of their business, including their overall vision for the future of their farm/business.

The main feature on which the entrants are judged is their management/business philosophy as well as the technical competence with which this philosophy is applied. Judges, who visit the farmers on their farms during the selection process, consider all facets of the farmers’ business from financing, budgets, investment policy, to the technical aspects of livestock breeding systems, disease control, pasture systems and plans, to the fertilization, weed control and cultivation practices of crops and orchards. Labour philosophy and housing, attitude, and reaction towards land reform and black economic empowerment, as well as personnel practices, involvement in organized agriculture and the community, and even layout and appearance of the farm and farmyard are all areas in which the potential future Young Farmer of the Year is judged.

“We encourage all of our young farmers to enter this year; they are the future of this country’s food security and should be honoured. This competition highlights the great skill and entrepreneurial spirit required to be a successful farmer and we have no doubt that in KZN, we have hundreds of potential candidates,” said La Marque.

Entries for the KZN Young Farmer of the Year competition close on 31 July 2018. For more information and to enter now, visit www.kwanalu.co.za or call 033 342 9393. –Press release

Source: AgriOrbit

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On 3 May 2018 Agri SA announced that that it had formally launched a dedicated Water Desk that will focus on the need to ensure equitable access to water for farmers across South Africa. This initiative is in response to a host of external challenges facing agricultural water users, including severe drought, climate change and under-maintained infrastructure. The situation is all the more urgent given several policy proposals that may simultaneously increase the cost of water while reducing the availability to agricultural users.

The Agri SA Water Desk will, amongst other things, focus on water policy and legislative proposals such as the draft National Water and Sanitation Master Plan and the National Water Resource Strategy. The current amendments to the National Water Act, for example, will determine the cost of water for agricultural users, which is why it is necessary to engage with government and other key stakeholders from the start to work towards a fair outcome. The Agri SA Water Desk will also give inputs to the Water Research Commission (WRC) on research priorities and will act as a forum for top water experts to share their insights in a meaningful way.

The Agri SA Water Desk will be led by Janse Rabie, an environmental lawyer and Head of Agri SA’s Natural Resources Centre of Excellence and Gregory Smith, a water scientist. “The Agri SA Water Desk will be a one-stop-shop for Agri SA members, where they can get up to date information and advice on all things water-related,” said Janse Rabie. “Given the complexity of water rights and the fast-changing policy environment, we believe that a dedicated Water Desk is the best way to enable agricultural water users to stay abreast of all legal developments which will have an impact on the way they farm and do business.”

“Agri SA is at the forefront of legislative and policy development regarding the water sector in South Africa. Agri SA strives to support government in this fundamental area through collaboration with key stakeholders and timely and well-researched inputs to policy development,” said Dan Kriek, President of Agri SA.

Agri SA invites its members, and interested parties, to contact the Agri SA Water Desk to find out how they can get involved.

Queries

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“I got to know Schalk with Free State Agriculture. He was active for four years at the Free State Agriculture executive committee in spite of various other responsibilities. I also co-opted Schalk to the day-management of Free State Agriculture and his contribution was priceless throughout. I will remember him as a true gentleman and also an impressive orator. He had exceptional finesse and could handle any matter calmly and so doing find consensus,” said Dan Kriek, President of Agri SA. “He was a man of true integrity and I will truly miss him. South Africa’s agricultural producers owes a debt of gratitude to Schalk.”

The Agri SA management and personnel extends their best wishes to Schalk’s family in these difficult times.

Queries

Thea Liebenberg (Media Liaison Officer)

082 388 0008

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Read full report by Wandile Sihlobo below:

Agbiz Morning Market Viewpoint on Agri-Commodities 09 May 2018

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Click HERE for the full report. 

Sourced: Agbiz, Agribusiness Research

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