Driving through North West recently, I kept thinking that their predictions appear to be coming true. Most farmers in my hometown, Hartbeesfontein, won’t even bother to harvest the latest crop. But at least these farmers can send in their cattle to browse on the dead plants. Diversification is one of the ways that farmers can manage climate change.
Climate change aside, diversification and expansion have become crucial in helping farmers cope with rising input costs and the problems of growing crops in marginal climatic conditions. If one part of the business makes a loss, another part can still bring in revenue. Land ceilings will put an end to this. Risk can no longer be spread, which will result in higher rates from credit suppliers and lower profits.
There will most likely be ways to get around the limit on land ownership but the real question is: will a land ceiling be of any real benefit to those it’s intended to help? Access to land without title deeds or access to capital and training is of no use to beneficiaries. Moreover, where will the state find the money to pay for the disposed land, and how will it find the capacity to implement the process? Paying below market value for land is not an option, as banks will have to forfeit on outstanding loans, which could cripple our financial sector.
So, government wants farmers to make a living on less land. The precarious situation of North West farmers is proof that, at least for dryland cropping, this is impossible and climatologists say conditions will worsen. Irrigation, better adapted cultivars, better management and precision farming are needed. Ironically, these are the very things that land reform beneficiaries – emerging farmers – cannot afford.
Let’s take irrigation as a means to farm profitably on limited land. Electricity is getting more expensive in real terms, and the supply is unreliable. South Africa is a water-scarce country with a growing urban population putting pressure on water resources. We don’t even have the capacity to maintain our existing supply, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation. Water engineers are being imported from Cuba to fill vacancies, because apparently no South Africans applied for advertised positions. Well, they should consider paying their engineers more, then.
Land ceilings are a bad idea and with luck will never pass Constitutional muster. Let’s hope President Zuma’s announcement is simply politicking aimed at diverting the focus from his government’s inability to implement current land reform initiatives.
