3 / 53
ႅ
CHAPTER 4
ment of the farmers’ associations was elected at grassroots level by their affiliated
members. Members of district agricultural unions were elected from the farmers’
associations, while the district agricultural unions nominated representatives for
the provincial agricultural unions. Ultimately the representatives on the SAAU
were then drawn from the provincial agricultural unions. Producers therefore did
not have direct membership of the SAAU, as the respective provincial agricultural
unions were affiliated with the SAAU. .
The SAAU’s structures were funded by membership fees of affiliated members
until statutory levies were introduced for that purpose from the late 1970s.
Within the SAAU’s structures industry committees existed to represent the different
agricultural industries, including the grain industries. Until 1983 the grain industries
were handled under one banner, namely the agronomy industry committee. It was
then subdivided into separate industry committees for each of the grain crops.
Initially the interests of the different types of grain were handled by SAAU com-
mittees. Later producer organisations took over this role. The first of these was
the National Maize Producers’ Organisation (NAMPO), the producer organisation
of the maize industry. This was later followed by the Winter Cereals Producers’
Organisation (WPO) for the winter grain industry, the National Oilseeds Producers’
Organisation (NOPO) for oilseeds, the Sorghum Producers’ Organisation (SPO)
for sorghum producers and the Dry Bean Producers’ Organisation (DPO), which
looked after the interests of dry-bean producers.
NATIONAL MAIZE PRODUCERS’ ORGANISATION (NAMPO)
The establishment of NAMPO on 3 October 1980 was preceded by a long and
fierce battle between two groups of maize producers in South Africa – a battle that
started in the 1960s and that caused division at virtually every level of society in
the maize-producing areas of South Africa.
Dissatisfaction among maize producers
This battle, which was at its fiercest around the time SAMSO was established, was
born from a growing dissatisfaction among maize producers with the way in which
their interests were handled over a long period.
Although the maize producers agreed with the control function exercised by the
government via the Maize Board and felt that the single-channel marketing scheme
was the most beneficial system for marketing maize, they were dissatisfied with
the way in which the control was exercised. They were also not satisfied with the
economic policy that was followed to determine the producer price of maize.
The producer price was set on the basis of production costs plus a vendor fee.
The method of calculation included a large number of variables, which meant that
it was not possible to use a fixed formula to set prices. This left a gap for the price
and therefore also production to be manipulated.
In the 1953/1954 season a large surplus of maize was produced in South Africa.
This led to the government applying a new pricing policy that was not based purely
on a cost-plus basis in order to discourage surplus production. In addition, the cost
calculation method was adjusted from 1953 to use a five-year moving average. In
addition to the government’s changed price policy, the Maize Board formulated a
marketing policy that, right from the start, negatively affected the maize producers’
income position to the benefit of consumers.
’A further source of dissatisfaction was the tender system that was used for exporting
maize, as it prevented the development of a permanent market for maize and resulted
in unsatisfactory producer prices. Criticism was that it benefited the wholesalers and
tenderers at the expense of the producers, and that the producers had to bear the
export losses.
In addition to these factors, maize producers’ dissatisfaction with the Maize Board
and the Maize Committee of the SAAU gradually escalated because the producers
believed that these bodies did not look after their interests properly. The fact was
that all the members of the two organisations were not bona fide maize producers,