The Green Paper on Land Reform challenge market economy principles

"Agri SA will fully participate in the working groups of the national reference group on land reform, appointed by Minister Nkwinti to prepare commentary on the Green Paper on Land Reform, but is concerned that the minister already at this stage deemed it necessary to caution that the ruling party is willing to amend the Constitution if it proves to be a hindrance to land reform," says Johannes Möller, president of Agri SA.

The transformation policy committee of Agri SA this week met in Pretoria to discuss the recently released Green Paper on Land Reform and to do preparations for this organisation's input during the consultation process. It was the view of this committee that the Green Paper erred with its contextualisation of the land reform challenges as well as with the correct identification of reasons hampering acceptable progress with land reform.

Möller said that although "a sustained production discipline for food security" is mentioned in the Green Paper as one of the principles underlying government's land reform proposals, there is reason to believe that government leans largely on socialistic principles in their endeavours to "deracialise the rural economy" within the framework of "ubuntu" values, to achieve a "democratic and equitable land allocation and use across race, gender and class".

The Green Paper gives scant recognition to the need for upholding market principles or to promote private sector participation for achieving land reform objectives, whilst many of the proposals, if implemented, will require increased government involvement in the land market as well as with service delivery.

"If this philosophy and approach serve as point of departure for policy development and implementation, it is highly likely that the outcome of this process will be detrimental to commercial agriculture. The contextual framework should be amended to identify the correct reasons for failure with land reform and should also serve to foster the confidence of commercial farmers to continue investing in the productive capacities of their farms.

If these realities were acknowledged by the Green Paper, different solutions than those which are proposed, would have been presented for consideration. We therefore, at this stage, deem it totally inappropriate that constitutional amendments should be contemplated to expedite land reform whilst delivery failures are at the heart of the problem," says Möller.

Agri SA's further involvement with the Green Paper will be guided by the following principles endorsed by Agri SA's 2010 Congress:

• Agri SA is committed to orderly, well planned and economically sustainable land and agrarian reform;
• Agri SA has taken part and will continue to participate in all national forums and platforms created to enhance co-operation and co-ordination between stakeholders;
• Market related compensation in relation to land reform is not negotiable as individual landowners cannot be expected to make sacrifices for the purposes of realising a national imperative;
• Agri SA is convinced that the current impasse and related consequences cannot be blamed on the failure of the "willing buyer, willing seller" approach, or on a lack of co-operation and support from stakeholders, or on greed of landowners, or on political spitefulness, but is rather a consequence of poor implementation of programmes and legislation;
• Land ceilings, a right of first refusal in favour of the state and similar interventions encompassing private land ownership are not the solution to expedite land reform and will hamper production, financing and growth in the agricultural sector;
• Agri SA is committed to rooting out corruption of any form and calls on all participants to act accordingly and co-operatively; and
• Agri SA will adopt a positive, solution oriented approach seeking solutions within the confines of the rule of law and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

Agri SA appointed representatives in the six working groups of the national reference group on land reform national reference group and will prepare and submit a comprehensive response on the Green Paper.

Statement issued by Mr Johannes Möller, President Agri SA, September 22 2011

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter