EFF statement on the racial discrimination on African commercial farmers

1 October 2024

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) strongly condemn the continued and deliberate marginalisation of African commercial farmers in South Africa, particularly in the agricultural sector, which remains plagued by systemic racial discrimination.

Despite claims of transformation, African farmers are consistently excluded from key export markets and denied the economic opportunities necessary to grow and succeed.

Most recently, African farmers from Limpopo have raised serious concerns about being left out of export markets based on discriminatory practices. These farmers have rightfully pointed out that, despite producing high-quality crops and meeting all necessary market requirements, their produce is still not treated the same as that of their white counterparts. This exclusion is a direct result of a system designed to protect white farmers and keep black farmers economically suppressed.

In particular, citrus farmers in Limpopo, have exposed how African farmers are unable to access export markets unless they are members of exclusive farmers' associations.

These associations, largely controlled by white farmers, use excessive red tape to keep African farmers out, further marginalising them. Despite producing under the same conditions—using the same inputs, water, and fertilisers—African farmers are paid significantly lower prices for their produce. For example, African farmers report receiving R4,000 per ton, while white farmers are paid R6,OOO for the same quality and quantity of fruit.

The exclusion does not end with crop farming. African livestock farmers face similar discrimination. Despite raising high-quality cattle, they are either rejected or forced to sell their livestock at auctions for far lower prices than their white counterparts. These African farmers are expected to join exclusive societies to access markets, but the cost of maintaining membership is prohibitively high, locking them out of these profitable opportunities.

This economic exclusion is a direct continuation of the colonial and apartheid systems that sought to keep African people landless and impoverished. The agricultural sector in South Africa remains a fortress of white monopoly capital, with white farmers controlling the vast majority of commercial production. African farmers have only seen a minuscule 2% increase in commercial farming since 2019, and only 10.3% of agricultural production comes from African farmers, compared to the overwhelming dominance of white farmers.

The ANC government’s failure to address these issues has been disgraceful. Instead of empowering African farmers, they continue to allow the agricultural sector to be controlled by a racist system that only serves a few. The Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) and other white-dominated agricultural bodies perpetuate this discrimination, hiding behind "market forces" to justify the exclusion of African farmers. In reality, these so-called market forces are designed to benefit white farmers at the expense of African farmers, who are continuously left out of markets, underpaid, and denied opportunities.

The EFF has consistently stated that the marginalisation of African farmers must be addressed through bold and decisive interventions. Central to this is the expropriation of land without compensation, ensuring equitable access to agricultural land for African farmers who have been historically dispossessed. Alongside this, the state must provide extensive support to African farmers, including subsidies, finance, and necessary farming inputs like equipment and irrigation systems. Additionally, the EFF proposes state intervention in the regulation of agricultural pricing and auctions to prevent the discriminatory pricing that currently disadvantages black farmers.

The EFF highlights the immediate need to dismantle this racist agricultural system and open up the sector to African farmers, however, with a white supremacist Democratic Alliance Minister John Steenhuisen, we can only expect the situation to get worse as they maintain white interests.

African farmers, particularly those in Limpopo, deserve equal access to markets, fair pricing for their produce, and the opportunity to thrive in the agricultural sector. The EFF will therefore, work through the Portfolio Committee on agriculture until the chains of economic exclusion are broken.

Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 1 October 2024