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Policy poisons farming

23 Jul 2015

The government's failure to assist farmers by not providing competitive subsidies is forcing workers off the land and is putting increased pressure on the infrastructure of rural municipalities.

SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons

This is according to a report by the International Labour Organisation on a study that was compiled by four South African universities. It said that the government had failed to recognise that the fates of farmers and those they employ were linked.

"State intervention aimed to improve the livelihoods of farm workers since 1994 has failed to achieve its objectives" the report read. It stated that because farmers had lost subsidies, it made it harder for them to compete with countries that had protectionist policies. Added to this, the report said, was that farmers had to comply with laws such as land tenure for workers.

The result was that farmers were now hiring on a casual basis, forcing labourers to find accommodation in informal settlements. This was placing pressure on service delivery in these already cash-strapped municipalities.

The report found that raw sewage from these informal settlements was at times polluting the water supply. This affected farming as the untreated water could not be used to irrigate crops. Mike Mlengana of the African Farmers Association of SA said that the lack of government support would hurt the consumer.

"The more you squeeze the less productive, the more prices will rise," he said.

Ernst Janovsky, head of agribusiness at Absa, said this "sharpened" farmers' competitive edge and this kept prices down. But he added that poor policy had forced labour off farmland. "How can you keep labour on your land if you can't fire them?"

AgriSA, the country's federation of agricultural organisations, met yesterday to discuss the report. They welcomed its release. "The need for such a study, presenting policymakers with credible information, is a long-felt need," the organisation said in a statement.

The report suggested that the government could assist the agricultural industry by negotiating better trade agreements and eliminating non-tariff trade barriers imposed on South Africa

The report also suggested establishing more processing facilities to provide more employment in South Africa.

Source: The Times

Source: I-Net Bridge

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