"Agri SA's decision to further ‘join hands with the government’ is extremely shocking and has now finally sold the commercial agricultural industry out to the ANC government with its destructive socialist ideology," says Fanie Brink, an independent agricultural economist.
He referred to the article “Tyd is reg vir landbou, regering om hande te vat” ("Time is right for agriculture, government to join hands") which appeared on the website of Netwerk24 after Agri SA's annual congress which was held online last week.
"Agri SA clearly has as little as the government an idea of what the primary agricultural economic goals of the agricultural industry are and how they can be achieved."
The objectives are (a) promoting the profitability and sustainability of commercial agricultural production based on acceptable, scientific and economic principles to ensure the financial survival of producers; (b) supporting and promoting the agricultural industry through the application of: the latest technological development to ensure food security for the country that can only be sustainable if the production of food is profitable, and (c) the establishment of a political and economic policy environment within which the agriculture industry must be enabled to improve its profitability and sustainability to make a greater contribution to economic growth.
Organised agriculture as a social partner of the government has now finally signed off on these goals that will finally destroy the agricultural industry along with all the other industries in the economy within the next 3 to 4 years.
"The co-operation and understanding of the government's fiscal and social challenges resulting from its destructive socialist economic policies can in no way be an objective of organised agriculture."
The co-operation in a partnership with the government has absolutely not had any benefits for the commercial agricultural industry, while the government's interference in the industry threatens the very existence of the industry by, among other things, land expropriation without compensation, minimum wages, the absence of any drought relief, higher taxes, and the destruction of the economy in general.
The very serious fiscal problems of the country such as larger budget deficits and government debt, as well as the bigger social problems such as poverty, famine, unemployment and inequality are purely the results of government policy which has in fact dramatically exacerbated it in recent years with the further of result of serious riots and looting of the economy.
The political and economic transformation of the agricultural industry will not succeed but will destroy food security and result in an exodus of thousands of farm workers and their families.
The industry is also not the "cornerstone of the government's economic recovery plans" which are purely based on its destructive socialism that is fully supported by organised agriculture, but which has already irreversibly destroyed the economy and the country.
"Organised agriculture is not supposed to support and propagate the government's failed policies, but to take the industry's goals that are very seriously threatened up with the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to find solutions to them instead of seeking to help implement the destructive policies of the government!" says Brink.
"Tyd is reg vir landbou, regering om hande te vat"
https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/sake/landbou/tyd-is-reg-vir-landbou-regering-om-hande-te-vat-20211014
