Farmers warn Land Expropriation Bill will lead to agricultural crisis

The Land Expropriation Bill, which awaits the president’s signature to become law, is a threat to food security, farmers say.

They said yesterday that many farmers have already halted long term investment farming as they are unsure about the future.

TLU SA general manager Bennie van Zyl said after trying in vain to have the Bill reviewed, the association recently launched a campaign called Project 10 000 aimed at mobilising South Africans “to stand with us in defending our property rights”.

Project 10 000

“The courts will soon be the front line of this battle and your support is crucial,” he said.

“If we do not act now our ability to defend our rights will be drastically reduced.”

The Bill stipulates how expropriation of the land for public purposes or in the public interest will unfold.

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It was passed by the National Council of Provinces on 19 March, this year. “The reason we launched the campaign is because we did not receive any response to the input we made through the portfolio committee.”

“Every individual who joins us strengthens our collective ability to withstand this unprecedented threat. We cannot wait. The time to act is now. The floodgates could open at any moment and we must be ready to fight back.

“Once the president signs the Bill into law, people will lose their properties and food security will be at stake,” Van Zyl added.

‘People will lose their properties’

Last week, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma outlined his ambitions to politically “unite black people”, while EFF leader Julius Malema has come out strongly against it.

Van Zyl said: “Our fear is that the expropriation part of the Act will put the country in crisis.

“What will happen if in the next elections the EFF and MK party are in a coalition. While we have that law, they will use it to nationalise the privately owned farms.

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“It will cause serious poverty and unemployment because we have seen the government failing to manage the land taken during the land claims process. Our problem is that expropriation is within the Act.”

A farmer, who asked not to be named, said expropriation of land was common in most countries but the problem was when it occurred without compensation.

“You cannot have a constitution that guarantees private property rights and then the state has the right to take it away at will. There is no logic to it. The effect on farming and food security will be very bad.

Farmers problem with expropriation of land without compensation

“Farmers will not be able to invest in the land to keep it at optimal production and that will lead to food insecurities,” she said.

Dr Theo de Jager, chair of the Southern African Agri Initiative and former president of the World Farmers Organisation, said expropriation without compensation was a threat to the agricultural sector, making farmers uncertain about long-term farming.

“Agriculture is a business and businesses need to make profit and for that to happen, they need investment. The farmers who are supposed to plant the products to be harvested after five years are unable to do so because they don’t know what will happen when the expropriation of land without compensation law comes into effect.”

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“The Bill is the most devastating factor in agricultural investment and we must get it to end as soon as we can. What is happening in Zimbabwe came as a result of laws like the one we are talking about,” said De Jager.

Christo van der Rheede, former CEO of AgriSA, said the economic risks associated with expropriation without compensation included risks to the economy in terms of wealth creation and the agricultural sector in terms of food security.

“Too little money is made available for development agriculture. Many land reform projects have become poverty traps and very little, if any, agricultural output is delivered.

‘Poverty traps’

“Expropriation of land without compensation will leave many beneficiaries in dire need of startup capital and ongoing financing.

“Lack of funding and knowledge of how best to use the funding they receive has been the biggest contributor to failed land reform projects.”