In an article which appeared in The Conversation last week, Mnqobu Ngubane looked at the obstacles facing a young black farmer. He interviewed aspiring farmer Lonwabo Jwili, who bought a piece of land near Johannesburg.
Jwili speaks of the three challenges for young farmers. These are access to information, finance and markets.
- Information: Jwili says that the our extension service programme needs to be more effective. This is the “worldwide practice of professional agents who help farmers improve productivity by providing advice, information and other critical support services”.
- Finance: Banks need to create products for emerging farmers. Jwili has needed to keep his main job to finance his farm. Help from the Land Bank and commercial banks was not forthcoming. He says he qualifies for normal credit; could access money to buy a Mercedes Benz if he wanted to, but not a tractor because “he had no farming experience”.
- Markets: By the time he found a market for his 17 000 cabbages it was too late as they had been in the ground for too long. Prices on the fresh produce markets had been too low and so he had looked elsewhere. Jwili has succeeded in finding a retailer to collect produce from his farm by tapping into the network of friends and family.
Jwili has stuck to his guns and is halfway to being an established farmer. “Right now I don’t necessarily need financial support from government. But it could help facilitate other types of support for farmers like me”. The writer of the article, Ngubane, warns that if support for small and emerging black farmers is not improved, any land acquisition process (yes, including expropriation without compensation) will be futile.
“Obstacles facing a young black farmer in South Africa: a personal story” and a second item, Dimakatso Sekhoto’s “5 tips for farming” (a BBC Africa YouTube clip), provide food for thought for those who acknowledge that the average farmer’s age is 62, wonder where the new farming blood will come from and how they will succeed.
Relevant chapters in the Agri Handbook include Emerging farmer support, Marketing and Finance for new farmers and SMMEs.
