By Invitation

Local soil scientists are refuting the relevance of this 70-year-old system when advances in soil science point to its lack of scientific value and many shortcomings in field conditions.

In this brief summary of an innovative model for land reform in South Africa, farmer and former DA MP Errol Moorcroft demonstrates that, despite the inherent difficulties, the redistribution of land can be a win/win undertaking for all concerned.

Germany has much to offer South Africa in sharing knowledge gained during its post-reunification period. Ilse Aigner, federal minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, explains.

“The country will not be a good place for any of us, unless it’s a good place for all of us,” argues business consultant André Diederichs. He believes that considerable wage increases and other short-term solutions are ultimately unfair to all role players in the agricultural sector, and will cause harm.

The single-minded focus on increasing yield needs to make way for a multi-disciplinary approach which makes healthy food available to all, says Dr Stephanie Midgley, OneWorld Sustainable Investments lead researcher, and Prof Martin de Wit, De Wit Sustainable Options director.

The ANC’s policy decision to do away with the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle has caused dismay in the agricultural sector. But Dr Theo de Jager, deputy president of Agri SA, argues that this attempt by the government to save the faltering land reform process is doomed to fail.

Don’t cut the economic cake into smaller slices. Make it bigger, says Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Struggling consumers and high costs are threatening the milling industry, says NCM chairperson Billy Oosthuizen. Speaking at the chamber’s 77th AGM in mid-March, he called on members to act as an assertive, credible voice for the industry.

Rural development and land reform are firmly on the government’s agenda, according to Mduduzi Shabane, director-general of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR). Speaking at the 2013 Grain SA congress, he said this presented opportunities for the government and private sector to work together to address poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Speaking in parliament during the debate on the State of the Nation address, minister of Rural Development and Land Refom, Gugile Nkwinti, rejected claims that land reform had failed.

Most farmers want to avoid having to retrench workers as a result of dramatically increased labour wages and costs associated with conditions of employment. Attorney Rob McCarthy, a specialist in labour and land law, gives some cost-saving options and advice.

Gareth Lloyd-Jones, MD of Ecowize, a health and sanitation company that services the food and beverage sector, believes South Africa needs a dedicated food control agency to ensure that regulations for imported food are adequately monitored.