Agri SA is trying to put out fires because unfortunate members accused the organization of working with the government to implement land reform, to the detriment of agriculture and at the expense of farmers.
In Natal, some prominent farmers went so far as to claim that there is no way the government negotiations should be about how much of their land should be handed over.
Farmers at a meeting on Winterton said Agri SA must wake up.
Dr. Frans Cronje, chief executive of the Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), was the main speaker at the Winterton meeting. He said that agricultural organizations should be more aggressive and proactive about the government’s efforts to keep them in line. He is also concerned that agricultural organizations rejected the institute’s analysis. The reports show that the government proposes to use land reform for black empowerment, but in fact tries to get state-owned agricultural land. In the end, they may lose, and farmers will be forced to work for the government.
The deputy chief executive of Agri SA, Christo van der Rheede, blames Dr. Cronjé for his comments, saying all Cronje does is to make Agri SA look suspicious.
Even Agri SA members say the organization should only blame him for the suspicion because of his negotiations with the government.
TAU SA’s regional chairman of Natal, Herman de Wet, pointed out that his organization has always refused to negotiate with the government about land. TAU SA is on record and denies that any farmer has ever stolen land and therefore must relinquish it.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
