Greed, lack of interest, and fighting for positions have been cited as some of the challenges that make black organised agriculture weaker and, ultimately, not having the interests of farmers at heart.
Many breakaway formations have been established in the past because of infighting and differences in views pertaining to how farmers should be assisted.
With farming in South Africa becoming more and more difficult, especially for a small-scale farmer, the relevance and role of organised agriculture becomes a great focus on how best are farmers being assisted to navigate the tough economic climate.
Is there a need for organisations?
Black Agricultural Commodities Federation (BACF) deputy chairperson Mike Gcabo, said despite the many organised agriculture groups being formed, they remain relevant.
“There is a need to understand that for organised agriculture to work, it needs to speak to the needs of the farmers, that is why a commodity-based formation seems to be ideal and better for farmers’ needs,” he said.
BACF was formed almost a year ago following several commodity organisations walking away from the African Farmers Association of South African (Afasa) conference in KwaZulu-Natal. Gcabo said freedom of association should be allowed as not all black farmers have the same interests when it comes to agriculture.
“What worries me is that there is a perception that for black people to speak, they need to be grouped together; that I find problematic.
“It is a disservice to group people together, every voice must be heard and the loss of benefits for working together must not be seen as a bad thing,” he said.
Gcabo said independent agricultural formations must not be seen as only something that is being done by black farmers as it has been done across the globe and in South Africa.
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Farmers are confused
Meanwhile, South African Farmers Development Association (Safda) chief executive Dr Siyabonga Madlala said breakaway formations were weakening the voice of farmers.
“The breakaways impact farmers negatively but also create confusion among farmers, stakeholders like government, and funding institutions which leads to the creation of parallel processes of developing farmers.
“To add to that, farmers do not know which one to choose and which one is more correct than the other. Similarly, the farmers also do not know which one to choose and is more relevant,” he said.
Madlala said the formation of organised agriculture stifles the development of farmers who need help on many fronts.
“However, it is inevitable to avoid divisions because visions are not the same. Breaking away happens when one joins something without really understanding the deeper meaning leading to leaders not agreeing on many things.
“I must add that this creates a lot of tension and unnecessary competition, yet the backlog of development is so big. The cake is so big, everyone needs to play their part,” he said.
National African Farmers Union (Nafu) president Motsepe Matlala said corruption and not having the interest of farmers at heart are what leads to organised agriculture formations becoming weaker and ultimately split.
Leave politics out of it
“Some of the leaders in the agriculture formations are not farmers or technical experts, so they understand nothing about agriculture or farming. How are you expecting such people to lead an organisation that is aimed at equipping farmers with the tools of the trade?” he asked.
Matlala said politicising organised agriculture has been the biggest mistake that has been made because agriculture is a business.
“Farmers want to see changes in their operations and development. No farmer wants to be involved in politics but rather get opportunities in new markets. This is why no farmer will stay in an organisation that is politicised,” he said.
Saamtrek Saamwerk coordinator Sehularo Sehularo said the lack of farmer development is the reason why there are a lot of organisations being formed.
“Corruption and failure to hold government to account are some of the reasons why organised agriculture, not only black farmers, becomes weaker and ultimately people move on to the next one,” Sehularo said.
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