State 'fails to lift a finger' as black farming ventures fold

01 April 2010, Business Report
URL: http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=5412312

Johannesburg: Unless significant and far reaching steps are taken to address the current state of agriculture in South Africa, the country will face a lack of food security. This is the warning of Stephen Mohale, the owner of Mohale Farming in Giyani, Limpopo.

Mohale said the government seemed to be preoccupied with tenderpreneurship while ignoring the plight of farmers.  "I only hear about tenders every day. They then keep on announcing in the media that they are helping us. What help? When? I would like to meet the government department or official that has helped me one day," Mohale said.

Mohale, a veteran farmer who started farming with three hectares of land in 1979, said he had never received any loan from any funding institutions.  "I had only R2 000 in my pocket. I have never worked for any big firm. All the ideas about this venture began while I was working in two neighbouring farms as a tractor driver and foreman. There is no rocket science about this business. It's about the passion and the desire to grow big," he said.

It was only now that he could approach his personal bank for an overdraft if he anticipated any funding shortfalls, Mohale said.

At the start, he also worked part time with his three sisters and his wife.  But in 1983 he quit his job to concentrate on his own project. Despite being a supplier to the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market and Tshwane Market, Mohale said being a farmer was getting more difficult every day. "Market prices are killing us. Access to water, labour, transport and input costs still remain every farmer's nightmare," Mohale said.

He said he had developed a strong relationship with a transport company that would always be available when he needed to send goods to the market at a steady price.

Recently, Mohale approached neighbouring farmers with the idea to buy fertiliser as a syndicate to keep costs down.  "This was after I had to buy 1 ton of fertiliser at a cost of R5 000. However, this couldn't happen, farmers are struggling out there," he said.

He said if conditions such as these persisted, he would throw in the towel.  "Maybe by the time you come to visit again, you will find the gates closed," he said.  "It won't be much of a problem for me. I have savings and investments and have cattle to look after. But what about the 125 people I employ?" Mohale asked.

He said he had little confidence in the government's land reform and redistribution programme.  "There are many farms that have been subjected to land claims only to find that nothing happens to them. Look around, how many (overgrown) lands do you see. These were all vibrant farmlands," he said.

He added: "'We black people like things. You would be surprised how many people are buying BMWs. Would you tell me that is a kind of car you need to run a farm?" Mohale, who drives a year 2000 model Toyota Land Cruiser, asked emphatically.

According to Mohale, what is needed is aftercare support for the people.  "We are not condemning the government to death. It is our government. If we are approached to help, we will," Mohale said.

Currently, he is farming tomatoes and peppers on 300 hectares of trust land that he applied for from the local chief. He faces competition from big companies such as tomato giant ZZ2.

Theo de Jager, the deputy president of AgriSA, of which Mohale is a member, said there were many black farmers like Mohale in the area and some of them were facing threats of land claims.

"There are many black commercial farmers like Stephen (Mohale). I have great respect for them and about 60 percent of them were pretty profitable," he said.

*  Published on the web by Business Report on March 30, 2010.