'Black farmers also bleed'
2004-09-03 07:44
Pretoria - Black farmers in South Africa are also murder victims and they don't even have access to citizen-band radio like their white counterparts.
Motsepe Matlala, president of the National African Farmers Union (Nafu), said this at an agricultural outlook conference (Agrocon) in Pretoria.
He said: "As long as the perception exists that farm murders are the result of racism and not crime, no solution for the problem will be found.
"South African business should become more involved in combating farm murders.
"The murder of the country's black and white farmers is totally unacceptable."
Matlala emphasised that crime was not on the decline in rural areas where farmers were involved in agriculture in the former homelands.
It was also important that business become involved in the farming sector to prevent agricultural decline as was the case in Zimbabwe.
'Black empowerment should be accelerated'
"What is happening to the north of us, could also happen here if we lack the leadership."
Matlala said black farmers were facing the same challenges in the agricultural sector as white ones.
"Furthermore, black farmers do not today receive the subsidies for their undertakings as was paid to white farmers - who are very successful now - by the apartheid regime in the past."
Matlala said black empowerment should be accelerated. If not, the results could be catastrophic.
Those who criticised the new black economic empowerment document (AgriBEE) should stop it because it was not contributing to the well-being of the agricultural sector.
Japie Grobler, president of AgriSA, said a "ministry of realism and sustainable planning" was absolutely essential in view of AgriBEE.
"All role players should agree on the AgriBEE document before it is finally approved. It should ensure success and sustainability in agriculture."