Page 28 - MiNDSPACE Issue 2 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate
P. 28
food security changeSPACE
The changing face of SA’s farmers
There is an exciting new group of farmers in South Africa – they are young and they want to be professional farmers.
By Christo van der Rheede
ou'd be forgiven for thinking that South Africa’s agricultural industry and food security are in trouble. After all, new research shows that one in five established farmers wants to leave farming in the next decade – and the ever-increasing cost
of inputs like fertiliser, herbicide, seed, labour, diesel and electricity is just one reason.
In the largest study yet into the topic, Kandas Cloete's PhD research looked at farmers’ reasons for wanting to leave or stay in the industry. She describes those who
are likely to leave farming in the next decade as 54-year- old third-generation farmers with a degree and 26 years’ experience. Some of the reasons they give relate to age, not having a successor, lack of reliable labour, uncertainty about land reform policy and rural safety concerns.
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