Farm limits to be 'negotiated'

A proposal by the government to limit farms to 12000ha is a "negotiating tactic" as it tries to press ahead with the redistribution of land to black farmers, Minister of Agriculture Senzeni Zokwana said yesterday.

"Whenever you are negotiating, you always put forward a figure. What informs the end of that figure is the process of negotiation," Zokwana said when asked about the rationale of the proposed size limit.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by industry group Grain SA, in Bothaville, in the Free State, Zokwana said that, whatever figure was eventually arrived at, farmers would be able to lease more land if they needed to for commercial reasons.

"This way the farmer will not end up struggling to get funding from the bank," he said.

"We must find a balance between the need to transform the industry and ensuring that food security is sustained. It would also be good for farmers to come up with ideas that would not put food security at risk."

South Africa is expected to harvest its smallest maize crop since 2007 because of widespread drought. Zokwana said the Department of Agriculture might have to get funding for imports.

"Maize is one of our staple foods, which our people depend on, so our department would approach other funding agencies," he said.

Zokwana did not specify which agencies might be involved.

He said he was putting pressure on the affected provinces - the Free State and North West - to assess the extent of the drought and, depending on the results of the assessment, declare some areas as disaster areas, making them eligible for emergency aid.

The ANC said earlier this year that it aimed "to accelerate the pace of land redistribution" by capping ownership at 12000ha, or two farms, and barring foreigners from owning agricultural land.

President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation speech last month that the proposal would be implemented.

The ANC has floated the vaguely defined idea of forcing farmers to sell half their land to their workers because "the land must be shared amongst those who work it".

About 8.2million hectares have been transferred to black owners since the end of apartheid, which equates to 8% to 10% of the land in white hands in 1994.