MINISTER NKWINTI’s ANNOUNCEMENTS ASTOUNDING

“The land reform proposals announced by minister Nkwinti today in Parliament, and more specifically his categorisation of farms and limitations on farm sizes, are a step backwards towards an outdated socialistic and central planning approach which is unaffordable and will have catastrophic implications for sustaining a viable and competitive commercial agricultural sector. It is also disappointing that the minister again shifted targets in this regard, which were recently announced”, says Johannes Möller, president of Agri SA in his response to the minister’s speech. 

Möller also says that this announcement was made whilst a ministerial consultation process was under way on issues such as a limitation on land holdings and alternative models for empowerment. During the process of debating proposals in the Green Paper on Land Reform, research on international experience indicated that limitations on landholdings are unpractical. A number of reasons including that of agriculture economics, administrative application, corruption and legal uncertainty were cited as reasons why this approach towards land reform should rather be avoided.

Agri SA trusts that, with the further debating of these proposals, there will be a willingness to consider the concerns with the necessary objectivity and to rather consider alternative approaches from the sector which, with the necessary support by the state, will render much better results at a lower cost.

Statement issued by Mr Johannes Möller, President Agri SA, May 8 2015