Agri EC gets behind land transformation

HEEDING the call from the government that all farmers embrace land transformation, Agriculture Eastern Cape has vowed not only to support reform, but it also wants to lead the process.

In a move aimed at showing that farmers did not oppose the government's roadmap for the country to 2030 – the National Development Plan – Agri EC president Ernest Pringle said yesterday its management committee took a decision earlier this month to support land transformation.

Pringle, who also heads Agri EC's transformation committee, said the organisation was committed to the effective, healthy and monitored transformation of land ownership in South Africa.

"We are not only ready to implement land transformation but need to lead the process.

"The district land committees, as visualised in the NDP, can be used to identify, mentor and produce successful emerging farmers.

"It must be stressed, however, that the reformation of the land issue is not just the responsibility of commercial farmers," he said.

"If this revolutionary turnaround is to be achieved, it must be adopted by all stakeholders."

Pringle said Agri EC had already plotted a way forward for implementing sustainable transformation.

The plan was developed in consultation with various stakeholders and was based on the NDP.

The government and commercial and land banks would play a crucial role in the process. - Herald Reporter