Price pressures and red tape: the plight of a local vegetable farmer

FOR Pravin Hiblal, 59, a fourth-generation vegetable farmer in KwaZulu-Natal, farming is a century-old family legacy now threatened by plummeting produce prices, rising costs and corporate pressures.

- MONISHKA GOVENDER

He now struggles to sustain the 17-hectare Shakaskraal farm that has been his family's livelihood for generations.

He said the farm traced back to his great-grandfather — more than 120 years ago.

“My father was born and brought up here, and so was I. I started farming in 1987, but the property was only transferred to me when my dad passed away. Today, the farm is our only source of income, and sadly we are just not making ends meet,” he said.

“Back in the day, we got decent prices for our produce. Now we are being dictated to by corporations, retailers and the system.”

Hiblal grows green chillies, beans and spinach, adjusting crops seasonally.

Yet even when harvests were good, the market returns are unpredictable, he said.

“Last year, green chillies sold for R20 to R25 a kilogram. This year we are getting R5 a kilogram. Can you take such a pay cut? Fertiliser, labour and fuel costs are climbing, but we are getting paid less each year.”

He said price collapse had forced him to make difficult decisions.

“At the moment I have stopped irrigating. I just stopped everything to try and make ends meet.”