SA FARMERS HAVE TO BE PROTECTED AND NOT CHASED AWAY
"South African commercial farmers should be protected by the government and not be pressurised that they feel they are being chased away," Dr. Pieter Mulder, deputy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and leader of the Freedom Front Plus, said this weekend at the Outeniqua agricultural show.
Dr. Mulder specifically reacted to the Georgian government's offer to lure South African commercial farmers to that country. Georgia is the latest country which has appreciation for the South African commercial farmers' expertise and is trying to get them to go and farm there. At this time 22 African countries have already made similar offers to get South African farmers to go to their countries.
This is happening while the ANC is busy putting more pressure on South African commercial farmers with all kinds of new laws and regulations. Dr. Mulder specifically referred to the Green paper on land, the new labour legislation and the new bill on land tenure which will have far-reaching consequences for the agricultural sector.
Countries such as Kenya , Tanzania and Zimbabwe have as a result of short-sighted political decisions destroyed their commercial farming sector. Once a country looses that expertise it is very difficult to regain it.
Dr. Mulder views it as his task to act as interpreter between the commercial farmers and the government.
If these commercial farmers could be given certainty about their land and their future, the government will be surprised about the positive role that they could play to train emerging black farmers and guarantee food security for South Africa for the future.
The agricultural sector has the potential to create more job opportunities than the mining sector. If the current uncertainties in the agricultural sector are not resolved, there will be more job losses in the agricultural sector instead of new job opportunities being created.
Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, March 7 2011
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