Photo: Glenneis Kriel
At the congress, Villiers Loubser, president of Agri Western Cape, said that while Agri SA was sometimes criticised for taking too long to communicate new information, this was because the organisation and its provincial affiliates wanted to ensure the information they released was entirely accurate and based on facts.
“We do not want to spread falsehoods or create sensation, but rather focus on communicating information that is relevant to the agriculture sector,” he said.
He added that producers needed to be wary of false news, which had greatly increased with the use of social media.
“We see an increasing number of people posting misinformation and falsehoods for personal gain. These posts do more damage than good by causing uncertainty, negativity and disunity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Daneel Rossouw, head of sales for agriculture at Nedbank, said that the World Economic Forum had identified misinformation as the biggest global risk over the next two years, followed by extreme weather events.
“We need to focus on what we can do to prepare for these long-term risks. While it is easy to fall into a depression about the current situation, there are many things to be excited about in South African agriculture,” he said.
Expropriation
Louis Wessels, manager of legal services at Agri Western Cape, said that rumours had been spreading that Agri SA was open to the Expropriation Act. However, this was not true, he said.
“We see private property as the cornerstone of agricultural sustainability and food security, so we are committed to defending property values and rights, and using all necessary resources in consultation with legal experts to uphold these principles,” he said.
He added that the new Act had various checks and balances in place, which clarified under what conditions property could be expropriated. A valid reason also needed to be given by government as to why the expropriation of a particular property was necessary.
“Don’t be afraid of politicking and land grab incitements, because that is not allowed under the Expropriation Act. Expropriation [without compensation] is expected to only be allowed under rare cases and not become the norm,” he said.
