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Agri SA, swart sakelui vat hande oor boere Landbou.com - Deur Nico van Burick

Agri SA, swart sakelui vat hande oor boere Landbou.com - Deur Nico van Burick

Agri Noord Kaap - Agri SA, swart sakelui vat hande oor boere

Mnr Christo van Rheede.
Foto: www.montagu.org.za

“Ons moet vir die Regering sê hoe ons sake wil doen, en nie andersom nie,” het mnr. Motsepe Matlala van Nafu op ‘n geskiedkundige byeenkoms met Agri SA en swart sakelui gesê.

In wat beskryf word as ’n “geskiedkundige ontmoeting tussen twee groot rolspelers in die ekonomie” het Agri SA en die Black Business Council (BBC) onderneem om saam sakegeleenthede vir die land se boere te help skep.

Dié eerste ontmoeting in Johannesburg het ook akademici, boere, bankiers en ander belanghebbendes ingesluit en was gemik op markgeleenthede wat kan voortspruit uit die hersiene wet op groei en geleenthede in Afrika (Agoa) – veral vir die ontwikkelende sektor.

“ ’n Nasie wat nie homself kan voed nie, is op ’n pad van selfvernietiging,” het mnr. Mohale Ralebitso, uitvoerende hoof van die BBC gesê. Hy reken Agri SA en sý organisasie se doelwitte stem baie ooreen. “Ons wil ook die Regering oortuig om die regte beleid in plek te kry sodat die meerderheid mense suksesvol in die hoofstroom-ekonomie opgeneem kan word.”

‘Fokus te lank op kleinskaalse boere’
Mnr. Christo van der Rheede, adjunk-uitvoerende direkteur van Agri SA, het gesê die fokus was te lank op kleinskaalse boere. “Ons moet groot begin dink en die hele wêreld as die speelveld vir ál ons boere sien. Swart boere moet ook tot die hoogste vlak van mededingendheid geneem word en swart sakelui moet help.”

Op sy beurt het mnr. Motsepe Matlala, voorsitter van die National African Farmers’ Union (Nafu), gesê meer sulke ontmoetings met sakelui is nodig. “Ons moet vir die Regering sê hoe ons sake wil doen en nie andersom nie. Ons moet ons ondernemings beskerm en vergeet van ras, want daar is ontwikkelende swart én wit boere.”

In ’n voorlegging oor Agoa het mnr. Livhuwani Ngwekhulu, Agri SA se transformasiebestuurder, daarop gewys dat daar meer as 7 000 uitvoerprodukte, waarvan sowat 800 landbouprodukte, deur die ooreenkoms geraak word. Hy sê die pluimveebedryf moes die prys betaal om Agoa te laat werk maar daar is ander baie groter voordele vir die land.  “Dit is geteken, dit is nou daar vir 10 jaar en dit lê in ons hande wat ons daarvan maak.”

Ook banke en landboubesighede wil graag betrokke raak, was mnr. Kallie Roets, landbou-hoof van Wesbank se versekering. “Landbou is ’n groei-sektor en in geen ander bedryf kan meer werk geskep word nie.”

Agri Noord Kaap

Agri SA: ‘Land ceilings would be gambling with food security’ Times Live

Agri SA: ‘Land ceilings would be gambling with food security’ Times Live

Agri Noord Kaap - Agri SA: ‘Land ceilings would be gambling with food security’

Moller noted that Nkwinti‚ in his recent budget vote‚ “proposed that the size of land that any individual or entity may own should be limited”. File photo
Image by: Robert Tshabalala

Agri SA on Tuesday appeared to be preparing a legal challenge to the “introduction of land ceilings” provided for in the Regulation of Land Holdings Bill.

Its president‚ Johannes Moller‚ said the federation of agricultural organisations “is waiting for the publication of the bill and will immediately have it scrutinised by senior counsel”.

Minister of Rural Developemnt and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti last month said it would tabled in Parliament in June.

Moller noted that Nkwinti‚ in his recent budget vote‚ “proposed that the size of land that any individual or entity may own should be limited”.

The Agri SA leader said Nkwinti expanded on this at the weekend‚ saying “during a land handover ceremony in the Kruger National Park that a limit of between 1 000 and 12 000 hectares would be applicable and that government would purchase any land in excess of the set ceiling for redistribution”.

“There has been talk of so-called land ceilings since the release of the Green Paper on Land Reform in 2011‚” said Moller.

“Agri SA had from the outset firmly opposed such land ceilings and has repeatedly tabled well-motivated‚ economic‚ food security and constitutional arguments against the proposed legislation.

“A working group was established by the minister in which Agri SA also participated‚ with independent experts being tasked to advise the working group. Most of these experts also warned against the introduction of land ceilings‚” added Moller.

Among the adverse consequences were the “fragmentation of agricultural land‚ a negative impact on productivity‚ a reduction in the profitability of agribusinesses‚ very little positive effect – or none at all – on poverty relief‚ high administration costs and a negative impact on investment in the sector”.

“We would be gambling with food security‚” said Moller. – TMG Digital

Agri Noord Kaap

‘Agriculture can and wants to make a bigger contribution’ Fin 24 - Jacques Claassen

‘Agriculture can and wants to make a bigger contribution’ Fin 24 - Jacques Claassen

Agri Noord Kaap

Omri van Zyl, CEO of Agri SA. (Picture supplied)

Since Omri van Zyl took over the reins at Agri SA in December last year, the organisation’s communications strategy is virtually on steroids.

In addition to a new website and the use of social media across the whole available spectrum, a branding and value-proposition strategy has been developed to redefine the agricultural sector locally and internationally.

According to Van Zyl, a legal eagle who worked at Deloitte for 15 years, a South African farmer is far more than a guy on a tractor; South Africa’s approximately 35 000 commercial farmers, 250 000 small-scale farmers and 2.5m subsistence farmers make an extremely important contribution to the wealth of the country.

In fact, the sector’s contribution to the GDP is approximately 20% if agriculture’s total value chain is taken into account.

lees verder

 

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