While answering the questions we put to him, De Jager was mindful of the organisation’s best interests but admitted that not everyone in the organisation agreed on everything – land reform and transformation being the two most noteworthy. Yet De Jager’s ideas on land reform and transformation are reflected in AgriSA’s recent policy proposals. If these were the reasons for his falling out of favour, why were these proposals accepted by the same members who voted him out of power?
In an organisation as large as AgriSA, there is bound to be differences of opinion, if not on basic policy issues, then on who should represent the organisation at government level. Many officials were used to speaking to De Jager. By all accounts, Dan Kriek has been doing good work in the Free State but he will have his work cut out to build relationships within government departments and internationally.
The important thing is for AgriSA to keep looking forward. The moment AgriSA stagnates, it becomes irrelevant. Another leader in transformation we interviewed this week was Jeff Every. He believes in pushing people out of their comfort zone to improve performance and has been highly successful in helping Eastern Cape and KZN dairy farmers do this. Moreover, he has used his experience to drive transformation and has several projects under his Amadlelo initiative. Like De Jager, he believes that empowerment is not the sole responsibility of government.
By now everyone, including government, knows that without the buy-in of commercial agriculture, land reform will fail. Sadly, there are some farmers who revel at government’s inability to successfully implement its plans. This attitude will come back to haunt them should the country not have resolved the issue 10 years hence.
With every passing year, the urgency to obtain results increases. Organisations involved in transferring skills to help farmers run commercially viable farming operations tell you that it takes at least five years for a new farming venture to become sustainable. A huge amount of capital is needed. If grants are not available, obtaining a loan is the only other option. But without collateral, this is impossible to obtain, as the DAFF ARC emerging beef farmer of the year reminded us.
The challenges of land reform are legion. But they are not insurmountable if the entire sector, from banks to government works together, each to its strength. But this will depend on how motivated, or desperate, they are to do so.
