This was during the address by Agri SA’s agricultural development policy committee chairperson Ernest Pringle to Congress 2015 in Pretoria.

Pringle says proposals such as the 50/50 policy, in its original form, are impossible to accommodate:

“Obviously you can’t tolerate a Government which is even considering seizing 50% of my assets to hand over to my farm labourers without compensation; and the other one is of course the whole land ceiling debate, which we have never agreed with land ceilings, the whole concept is outrageous.

“However, they are the Government, so we have to be able to moot some sort of alternatives that perhaps both of us can somehow or other live with.”

*Ernest Pringle – outrageous

Pringle adds that it is in everybody’s interests for land reform to work:

“We need our security in our country. It’s not in our interests to have a dysfunctional country, so therefore we will do all we can to try and make it a functional country.” 

*Ernest Pringle – make it work

Deputy Land Reform Minister Mcebisi Skwatsha also addressed Congress. He told OFM News while he is hopeful of finding a middle ground, it is difficult to keep all the different constituencies happy:

“There are different constituencies. There’s this constituency that feels these must be protected, but there is an overwhelming majority.

“If you say you are opposed to land ceilings then you must tell us clinically, how do we redress? How do we bring equality? You know, when one person has 12 farms and other people don’t have anything.”

*Mcebisi Skwatsha

COOPERATION MOOTED

Meanwhile Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan also addressed congress and committed to engaging with organised agriculture over various issues. He has called for bi-lateral meetings on financing issues, implementation of municipal by-laws, disaster management and more.

Commenting on the drought and assistance to farmers, Gordhan admitted that the “youth” of municipalities in South Africa means they often don’t have the capacity to manage disasters:

“So not all of them have all the capacity to manage disasters or extend the kind of economic infrastructure that the agricultural sector might require. 

“The kind of season we might be getting into, it might be a drier season, it might have more fires in certain parts of the country - what we have done is arranged to meet Agri SA and other stakeholders and discuss how the National Disaster Risk Management Centre can understand their needs.”

*Pravin Gordhan

LEADERSHIP REAFFIRMED

Meanwhile Agri SA’s President Johannes Möller has been re-elected to the position for the year ahead. He says he is excited despite the challenges and hard work ahead, particularly around land reform:

“Up to two years ago, our contribution was mainly in terms of mentoring new farmers. Now we are   participating in transferring land through partnerships, so that new farmers can actually also own their land.”

*Johannes Möller

Dan Kriek was also re-elected as first deputy president, with Phineas Gumede re-elected as second deputy president.

Sabrina Dean/OFM News