Farmers want fundamental change, not a sugar-coated version of ANC ideology

17 July 2024

Principles that were unacceptable under ANC management are not suddenly acceptable just because they are now under DA management. Farmers expect Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen to correct the course where the ANC's destructive ideological stance derailed agriculture.

"South African voters made it clear during the election that the ANC's direction is unacceptable. There is great concern if the Government of National Unity (GNU) continues on the destructive path of the ANC's policy direction," says Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TLU SA, after the new agriculture minister delivered his budget speech on Tuesday, 16 July. "Steenhuisen must revitalise the agricultural environment with fresh economic principles – that is what South Africa needs."

His perception that the Agriculture Master Plan enjoys wide buy-in from the sector is uninformed and false. There was nothing inclusive about the drafting of the plan. Apart from those like family farmers, game farmers, agricultural employers, and consumers who were deliberately excluded, some participants like TLU SA were excluded at a late stage because the organisation questioned the implementation of transformation as cadre deployment.

None of these interest groups or organisations serve on any of Steenhuisen's Value Chain Round Tables, and even less on the AAMP Oversight Executive Committee. There is also no willingness to implement a plan where transformation is more important than profitability, sustainability, or efficiency.

We wanted fundamental change, not just a sugar-coated version of ANC ideology.

Farmers in South Africa have had to learn to survive the ANC over the past 30 years and get by without a functional department. The bloc of organisations excluded by the ANC, and which thus began writing an alternative, more market-friendly master plan, will continue to create resilient structures and opportunities. They will also pressure the department to develop a policy environment where small and medium farmers can farm profitably.

Issued by Bennie van Zyl, TLU SA General Manager, 17 July 2024