Allure of AGRICULTURE

Wildlife Ranching magazine’s Dr Fiona Zerbst chats to Dan Kriek, AgriSA’s president, about the land issue, assisting emerging farmers, and the need for unity in the sector.

Wg: Dan, could you give us a brief overview of what the agricultural sector looks like currently?

Dan: Farmers are the most uncertain they have ever been. There is a lot of populist rhetoric surrounding the resolution on expropriating land without compensation (EWC), which has come on the back of the most severe drought in a hundred years. It takes about three to five years to recover from drought and the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape are still struggling, although the rest of the country had a good rainy season to speed up recovery.

Added to this is the fact that cash flow is under pressure – maize farmers had great harvests after the drought, but prices were low and are yet to recover. Then there’s the fact that, for farmers, the lack of safety is a very real threat – the frequency and intensity with which this topic is tackled in the media has only amplified this in most people’s minds.

“The agricultural sector is very much committed