In order for commercialising black farmers to become sustainable at a higher level, they need to keep the end goal in mind at all times while government should streamline its support to them.
This was the message shared by farmers and agricultural role players during a recent Gather To Grow session hosted by Food For Mzansi. The session looked at why fostering Mzansi’s agricultural heritage is key for growth in this farming subsector.
According to Dr Lerato Matsaunyane, a plant breeding scientist at the Agricultural Research Council in Pretoria, government should move away from overburdening farmers with inputs and mechanisation they do not need.
She was answering a question on how the Mzansi agri sector can go about narrowing the divide between white and black farmers in terms of access to finance.
“In our history, commercial farmers were supported for a number of years … to a point where they were sustainable.
“What our current government is doing, is they are throwing a tractor, seeds, and other inputs at farmers. Then they come back, two or three years later and say farmer [A, B and C] is not productive and we’ve given them a tractor.”
Matsaunyane says this is problematic because tractors are often given to farmers who can’t afford to buy diesel. She adds that, often, these farmers end up selling these government-granted tractors.
“Then government comes back and says we gave the farmer a tractor and discovered that the tractor has been sold. When they ask the farmer, why did they sell the tractor, they will say [it is because] they had workers’ salaries to pay.”
Matsaunyane explains that, in order to bridge the divide, government support to farmers must be holistic. “Government needs to move away from this notion of throwing a lot of things and money at farmers.”
Economics of mechanisation
Farmers should also have their end goal in mind to become commercially sustainable, says Zabion de Wee, farmer and business development manager at John Deere.
“In the olden days – before 1996 – there used to be maize boards, vegetable and wool boards, even a meat board.”
He explains that this system enabled farmers to know what prices they would get for their products before planting. When these boards were banned and South Africa adopted a free-market system, farmers were partially left to their own devices, De Wee says.
“To become commercially sustainable, you need to have the end in mind first. Commercial or aspiring commercial black farmers need to get to a point where the end is more important than starting.”
De Wee also had a word on mechanisation. While it’s nice to have the latest tractor, farmers should take into consideration how much it will cost them and the steep maintenance costs down the line.
“We don’t understand the economics behind having the right equipment and the right size tractor for the farm,” he says and adds that farmers need to work on understanding the economics of mechanisation.
The twitter session was recorded and the full conversation will soon be available on Food For Mzansi.
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