Amid the uproar following Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder's remarks on land redistribution, one observation by President Jacob Zuma should be of paramount concern.

Zuma said: "To the majority of people in this country, it is a matter of life and death."

Precisely. Vast amounts of low-cost food need to be produced for the poverty-stricken masses.

Therefore, when there are debates - and decisions are taken on land ownership - the simple questions must be asked: "How productive is that land now and how productive will it be under new [black] owners?"

In all the episodes of the reality TV show The Apprentice, the criterion for winning is: "What can you achieve with what you have been given?"

What has happened to the majority of flourishing white-owned farms that have been given to black people or bought for them at a high price?

One disaster after another.

Will anything different happen if the land is simply seized without compensation?