More black farmers needed in a sustainable and orderly way – AgriSA

JOHANNESBURG – Farm group Agri SA says the solution to the country’s heated land expropriation debate is to provide land for urban housing, industrialization and farming, while more black farmers should be introduced in a sustainable and orderly way.

Agri SA president Dan Kriek said the political solution was through friendly collaboration.

“South Africa is also facing an economic dilemma of slow growth and unemployment, and the solution is to devise a plan to provide land for housing in urban areas, land for industrialization and land for farming,” Kriek said.

“This will have to be aligned with the National Development Plan. We need more black farmers on more black farms in a sustainable and orderly way. We cannot expropriate ourselves out of trouble, we need to develop ourselves out of trouble.”

Agri SA stated its position at the ongoing land summit in Limpopo which aims to find solutions for agrarian transformation and forms part of Agri SA’s broader engagement with the government and other stakeholders as a representative of some 28,000 commercial farmers.

Kriek said Agri SA was encouraged by the commitment made by Deputy President David Mabuza that the government would oppose land grabs, and the invitation to participate on the inter-ministerial committee on land reform, a move he said would allow the farm group to have a say in the  deliberations.

– African News Agency (ANA)