March 06, 2008, 16:30
The doors of the African National Congress (ANC) are open to South African farmers, party president Jacob Zuma said today.
"No matter what kind of problem you have. I would like that relationship really to be strengthened." Zuma said if there was no interaction between parties matters could lead to tension that could "sit for a long time" and not be resolved.
The ANC president also told farmers that the most important message he had for them was that "South Africa needs you" which was greeted with a huge applause. Zuma said the ANC gave particular attention to agriculture because the sector was critical for the economic development of rural areas and the country as a whole.
Agriculture in South Africa was not just about food security for the poor. "It is central to the history of this land and its entire people. As a nation, agriculture is in our blood." Zuma said it was against this background that resolutions were recently taken at the party's conference in Polokwane to transform land and agriculture.
"It is a matter of concern that since 1994, commercial agriculture has continued to develop in a manner that is characterised by among others a growing monopoly ownership, capital intensity, job-shedding and the casualisation of labour."
Agricultural land
Zuma said it was in the interest of the farming communities, government and rural areas that all, including commercial farmers, work together to ensure a smooth redistribution of 30% of agricultural land before 2014. "Many farmers are willing to work with the ANC government to promote a human rights culture and to protect the rights of farm workers and farm dwellers," he said.
The country should not shy away from issues pertaining to the rights of farmers and their workers. Various farmers at the conference, speaking in Zuma's home language -isiZulu, urged Zuma to take the message to government that "farmers also had rights" in regards to their land and workers. - Sapa
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