NERPO CALLS FOR A SPEEDY REVIEW OF A LAND REFORM PROGRAMME
24 Jul 2009
The National Emergent Red Meat Producers Organisation (NERPO) has noted with great concern the failure rate of land reform projects. In its investigation it has learned with great dismay that agricultural land pricing and post-settlement support remain key factors that have stifled the land reform programme.
Mr Aggrey Mahanjana, the mouth piece of South Africa’s emerging livestock farmers, argues that over the past few years he has called for the regulation of agricultural land prices by the government and his call has fallen on deaf ears. “How do you justify a person who buys a farm in 2004 for R800.000.00 and sells it in 2009 for a ridiculous R9 million without any farm developments” asked Aggrey Mahanjana, NERPO Group Managing Director.
“This is mere land speculation, hence agricultural productivity is nearing a collapse. People are no longer buying land for production but for speculation. Unless government takes decisive and drastic steps on the regulation of agricultural land pricing, South Africa will continue to be a net importer of agricultural produce” he added.
NERPO’s call also comes a day after Mr. Blessing Mphela, Chief Land Claims Commissioner, publicly declared the bankruptcy of the Land Claims Commission for the current financial year owing mainly to exorbitant land prices for farms acquired by government for land restitution purposes.
In addition to exorbitant land prices, the government continues to struggle with providing adequate post-settlement support framework to beneficiaries of the land reform programme. This, according to Mahanjana, is setting up black emerging farmers for failure before they could even start farming on those pieces of land.
NERPO has for the past two months been trying to secure an appointment with the two relevant Ministers of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Rural Development and Land Affairs, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson and Mr. Gugile Nkwinti respectively, to discuss these concerns but has so far been unsuccessful.
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Further Enquiries:
Aggrey Mahanjana
Group Managing Director – NERPO Group
Cell : +27 (0) 82 556 7297
Tel : +27 (0) 12 348 8566
Email : finance@nerpo.org.za
Web : www.nerpo.org.za
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