Taming the Land
Land alone is not enough for you to be a farmer
The history of Humanity indicates that we went on the process of agriculture by domesticating the animal and taming the land.
The reason for this can be surmised as being, the desire to get access to food that one does not have to struggle to locate or hunt for.
Taming the land has been successfully concluded, though with immense environmental damage, throughout the globe, from the highest plateau to the lowest lowlands. From arid regions to monsoon wetlands. This is an ability that has become part of the human journey on this planet.
Fast forward many millennia, to a small dusty area at the bottom of the great continent, called South Africa. Riddled with great strife and a history of one sided education and training, we sit at a nexus for great opportunity, one where we can ensure the inclusive growth of our republic through effective food supply and ensure security of food for our citizens.
Agriculture and/or Farming is NOT a race-based endeavor, it is a calling based on an individual’s traits. Like so many professions in the world, it requires a person with a special disposition and personality.
Not everyone can be a farmer, as much as not everyone can be an entrepreneur, an accountant or an actuary.
Like all self-driven pursuits, being a farmer also needs someone with a high adherence to systems, who constantly learns from experiences in order to improve those systems and increase yields.
Given adequate training, support and patience, emerging BLACK farmers could within 10 years produce equivalent yields as established white commercial farmers in South Africa. The key however is finding the right jockeys to run agricultural enterprises that will contribute to our common food security aspirations.
The talent is available, look at the vast numbers of graduates from agricultural colleges across South Africa. Most without opportunities to farm.
As a country we need to realistically look at the future of our agricultural sector, where we place greater emphasis on output than on rewarding stalwarts with land they will never get a chance to farm or not interested in farming.
An opportunity to ensure successful joint-venturing between exiting land owners and young graduates exists, an opportunity that has not been taken up by majority of land distribution beneficiaries siting with underutilized land.
It is high time we become real about our prospects as a country, as a people, letting go of all that divides us and focusing on making this country work.
Let us work the land — those who can.
Let us process the goods — those who are able.
Let us ensure food security — those who are capable.
