Despite concerns about the recent controversial calls for land expropriation without compensation and the possible effect this could have on South Africa’s economy and food security, JSE-listed food and beverage group Clover believes it is not all doom and gloom.
Speaking to Engineering News following the release of its financial results this month, Clover CEO Johann Vorster said he was not as sceptical about these proposals as the general market was.
“With all changes, there are opportunities. Many farmers will buy more farms at reasonable prices. There are good things that can come from it, if it is done orderly and responsibly.
“There is still a lot of water that needs to [flow] under the bridge,” he added.
Further, Vorster pointed out that Clover farmers in the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape areas were running programmes to assist local farmers in improving their dairy farming skills.
However, he pointed out that the general consensus was that not everybody who received farmland wanted to be farmers. “They’re [city folk] and don’t understand farms. It’s like asking me to farm – I won’t know where to start,” he quipped.
This, Vorster said, also highlighted a need for skills transfer, particularly through tertiary colleges, “where people can . . . school themselves” in agriculture.