A new life in the Congo for South African farmers?

Following a request by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for South African farmers to establish a commercial agricultural sector there, Agri SA delegates are soon to depart on a fact finding mission to the country.
The DRC government said the country mainly depends on expensive imported low-grade food products from Europe. Following talks with Chinese and Indian farmers, it has opted for South African farmers to establish its farming sector.
Dr Theo de Jager, deputy president of Agri SA, said that since the proposal from the Congo has been made public, Agri SA has been overwhelmed by interested farmers. “In the first day, we had 291 South African respondents interested in the proposal,” said Dr De Jager.
He added that the political uncertainty in South Africa has prompted the huge response. He said since the attempted introduction of the Expropriation Bill, farmers have been looking for options elsewhere.
Agri SA is looking into the matter carefully and hasn’t agreed on anything yet. “We aren’t encouraging farmers to just up and leave the country to start new lives in the DRC, where there are currently no guarantees on what they can expect,” said Dr De Jager.
He added that the fact-finding mission’s purpose will be to explore the viability of establishing a commercial farming sector. “There isn’t any type of infrastructure, so we’re going to have meetings with Joseph Kabila, the DRC president, to find out how the sector can be made viable,” he said. – Peter Mashala