“We will not give up” – Free State Agriculture

“South Africa is not Zimbabwe and we believe in the future of agriculture,” said the president of Free State Agriculture (FSA) Louw Steytler, at the annual State Young Farmers Conference in Bloemfontein recently.
“We are protected by the South African constitution and we shall never give up on the letter and spirit of it,” said Steytler. “constitution will not be destroyed by anyone and will be kept in place by civil society – people like you and me. It’s sad that the constitution is not applied as it should be. If it was we would have heard much more criticism of Mugabe’s Zanu PF. [Government] would also have listened to the FSA’s pleas for farmers on the Lesotho border, who are being financially crippled by the destruction of security measures and the explosion of crime in the area.” “Food prices are going to increase because of high oil prices and the chain reaction thereof,” added Steytler. “The sharp increase in demand for food is also a major contributing factor. However, we face serious economic and financial problems should food prices be kept artificially low. The better alternative would be for government to support the poorest of the poor so they can obtain basic foodstuffs.” – Annelie Coleman