Land reform programme not hitting exports – yet

Concerns over the impact of the land reform programme on agricultural exports have been allayed – for now. Johan Pienaar, deputy executive director of economics and trade at the farmers’ central body, AgriSA, says the programme is not having a noticeable impact on SA agriexports, as yet. This follows marketplace talk about farmers whose land was due to be redistributed, not intensively farming it land prior to the hand-over. This, said certain commentators, could lead to export-oriented farmland being allowed to literally go fallow – and hit SA’s export potential of that specific crop. Part of the discussion related to certain citrus farms which were involved in the land claims process. But Pienaar refused to confirm this theory. He had no knowledge of commercial farmers cutting back on crop output, he told FTW. But, he added: “There have been cases where the new owners didn’t live up to expectation. “It is disappointing that redistribution has led to less than optimum usage. “But there is no impact on exports as yet.” The discussion was also accelerated after certain Independent Group newspapers, including the Sunday Independent, carried a story about the hand-over of 150 000-hectares of land in Magoebaskloof in Limpopo to the Makgoba-tribe, and the farmland no longer being commercially productive. According to the Regional Land Claims Commission, 119 Magoebaskloof farms were under claim and were subsequently gazetted. At the time, an executive member of Agri- Letaba indicated that the Magoebaskloof area annually generated an estimated R550-million; and in another valuation, the plantations and tea and fruit farms in the Magoebaskloof that formed part of the landclaim of the Makgoba tribe, were valued at R3.5-billion. Such a handover is contrary to a statement ascribed to the department of agriculture, which was reported to have said that it had no intention of disposing of productive farmland. But such a situation is certainly of concern to AgriSA. In just part of its policy statement on land claims, the body said: “For the sake of greater certainty and trust, there should be clarity and transparency regarding transformation targets and the future thereof. “The land redistribution process and broadening of access to other natural resources must be implemented with transparency within the context of recognising property rights, fair compensation and the retention of production potential. There are concerns in certain areas regarding concealed expropriation without compensation, with resultant loss of property rights.” “The state should use market value as a norm when acquiring land for land redistribution purposes. This also applies to expropriation....” But these factors have had no significant impact on SA’s agri-export market up to now, according to Mike Froy, MD of perishable air export specialists, Grindrod PCA. “None of the products which we handle have been noticeably reduced (this season),” he told FTW. “But, of course, if less land was being used to produce export quality crops, that would certainly have an effect. “However, up to our time of talking, that negative effect has not been evident.”