Photo: Glenneis Kriel
In a discussion at the congress, which was held in Rawsonville in the Western Cape this week, panellists said the biggest threats to South African agriculture weren’t land expropriation or black economic empowerment (BEE) but crime and corruption, which were eroding economic growth, causing job losses, and driving skilled people away from the sector.
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Prof Piet Croucamp, political analyst and affiliate of North-West University Business School, said tackling these issues would have a far-reaching positive effect.
“If crime and corruption are solved, the economy will start growing again, resulting in fewer people leaving the country and many children returning to farming – helping to restore lost institutional knowledge and ease racial tension.”
He added that government should prioritise restoring basic services, such as education and healthcare, and stop distracting the sector with divisive rhetoric.
“Fixating on the idea that government wants to take your farm is not going to get you anywhere. The real problems lie somewhere else and need to be addressed.”
Croucamp stressed he was not against transformation but said the current BEE model was flawed.
“Black economic empowerment has resulted in a minority of people generating wealth at the same pace as organised crime. Most people question this – only the political elite thinks it is okay.”
Modernising agriculture to ease political pressure
Looking ahead, Croucamp said collaboration and broadening participation were vital to stability.
“If we want to alleviate political pressure, we need to commercialise another 60 000 to 70 000 small farmers. It is difficult, but possible.”
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Prof Johann Kirsten, director of the Bureau of Economic Research at Stellenbosch University, agreed that many urgent challenges could be addressed through practical steps, such as the fixing of the ports and logistics, reducing crime, and ensuring reliable water and energy supply.
However, he said this would require collaboration between stakeholders and a shift away from political agendas and ideologies.
Kirsten cautioned that the fragmentation of farmer organisations was weakening their influence.
“While most national bodies share the same broad objectives — inclusive growth, export expansion, and job creation — internal divisions and competition for relevance make it harder to present a united front.”
Speaking with one voice
Agri SA President Jaco Minnaar said South African farmers thrived not because of regulations and rules but through their ability to adapt and innovate. This, in turn, had resulted in the rich diversity of opinions and thinking that made it difficult to box everyone into one organisation.
Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of constructive debate without causing further splintering.
“We must be able to exchange information and opinions but at some point agree on our strategy and where we are heading. This has to be about agriculture; not politics or trivial matters,” he said.
Minnaar warned against getting suck on “small issues”, and said a lack of transparency from some organisations, combined with the unfiltered spread of opinion on social media, was undermining cohesion and creating uncertainty.
Adapting to change
Minnaar and Croucamp argued that challenges such as the new US tariffs should be seen as both threats and opportunities to grow and diversify markets. However, developing new markets would take time.
In the meantime, better governance, faster decision-making, smarter investment, and improved maintenance of infrastructure would help to limit losses, according to Croucamp.
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Minnaar added that ongoing issues, such as foot-and-mouth disease, and rapid technological change were opportunities for the industry to self-regulate and, in the process, generate valuable industry data and information, act faster when challenges occurred, and respond more quickly to crises.
He also cautioned that South Africa risked falling behind other countries because of underinvestment in research.
Transformation remains essential
The panel concluded that transformation was still necessary. Kirsten said the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan, while not perfect, did offer a framework to grow the economy and include more smallholders in formal markets.
Minnaar added that the industry should not become so entangled in challenges that it failed to move forward: “If we get the basics right now – fight corruption, invest wisely, maintain infrastructure, and work together – our children and their children will still be able to farm after us.”
