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April 2015
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The practical implementation
of land reform openly discussed
M
r Japie Grobler, chairperson: Agri-Sector Unity Forum
(ASUF) opened this discussion, but he first made a
heartfelt appeal to young farmers to get involved as
they are the ones who should care about the future.
Japie Grobler
Grobler presented the working document of ASUF, an organisation
founded in 2012. Membership is comprised of the African Farmers
Association, Transvaal Agricultural Union, Agri SA and National
African Farmers Union.
Their main goals are to contribute towards effective policymaking
that is in the best interest of all South Africans and advocate
consensus positions to stakeholders. Consensus positions have
been developed on land reform, rural safety, water, employment and
labour and infrastructure. He remarked that arriving at consensus
was no small achievement.
Grobler emphasised the need for government, organised agriculture
and the agri-value chain to work together to find common solutions
for the challenges facing land reform. Fundamental to this is the
acceptance that it is in the best interest of all South Africans that land
reform succeeds “within the context of maintaining the productive
capacity of the land”.
Basic principles of ASUF are:
The land reform process should be aligned with the National
Development Plan (NDP).
The value of land should be maintained.
ASUF favours freehold title as a form of land holding for
producers.
A broad community must benefit and contribute toward the
process.
Communal areas should be developed through commercial
agriculture.
South Africa needs a stable economic environment which
attracts investment.
Land reform should occur within the framework of the
Constitution.
Since land reform is a national policy, a broad community, which
includes government, organised agriculture, the agri-value chain,
role-players and the broader public, must all benefit and contribute
towards it.
The NDP should be the guideline for the process. It is believed it
will enable a rapid transfer of land to preciously disadvantaged
individuals without distorting land markets or business confidence.
Some of ASUF’s suggestions are:
A land audit of private land is the point of departure.
The NDP’s District Land Committees (DLC’s) have balanced
representation.
A comprehensive, accessible database of land reform models.
An SPV be established to promote viable models and provide
financing.
DLC’s must be involved in the identification of both land and
beneficiaries.
Beneficiary selection must be broad-based and inclusive beyond
political connections.
They should have training, financial and technical support.
They should start with a five year lease agreement to prove
themselves competent and thereafter be given the option to
purchase the farm at its value when they first occupied it.
Communal areas should be developed commercially.
There must be a sunset clause so that a co-operating landowner
is exempted in the future from land reform processes.
ASUF considers the re-opening of the restitution process a risk
to sustainable production and it could slow land redistribution.
ASUF contends that land ceilings could be detrimental to food
security, but suggests solutions could be found in a monetary
approach, e.g. farms with a turnover of R50 million plus will
expand only in a BEE partnership. Grobler warned that thus far
the focus has been on issues where consensus was found, but
suspects more direct confrontations will occur going forward.
Schalk Pienaar
Mr Schalk Pienaar, chairperson of Agbiz, stated that land reform will
only be successful if the goal is viable, sustainable and promotes and
sustains economic food production.
Furthermore it will only succeed with the right jockeys/beneficiaries
and broad stakeholder and value-chain involvement. Beginner
farmers must be allocated commercially viable, sustainable units
and be given security of tenure from the start to stand a chance
of success. Meaningful contributions from financiers, extension
services and experts are essential. He added it is important to view
this as a long-term process which must operate on free market
principles. Pienaar also said that land reform can not only be current
landowners’ problem alone.
Ralph Swart
Mr Ralph Swart, a new era commercial farmer from Elim, high-
lighted the problems new era farmers face:
Landownership – land is expensive and the Land Bank does not
support emerging farmers as it should.
Rented lands – there is no security and no guarantee and that
creates problems in accessing financing. Demand is furthermore
high, which means there is no certainty that land will be available
again.
FEEDBACK
Congress
Special
JENNY MATHEWS,
SA Graan/Grain
contributor
“
We’re running a 2-tier system.
White producers will continue to
own your land; black producers,
government will own on your be-
half! How is that transformation?
– Andrew Makenete, director of
Manama Hole and Musa Capital
“