How new farmers can get the funds they need

Stellenbosch University academics Nick Vink and Johann Kirsten emphasise the importance of subsidies for developing farmers, and suggest a workable subsidy programme to allow for this.

- Nick Vink and Johann Kirsten

"Most countries in both the developed and the developing world have some sort of programme to help early-career farmers (mostly, but not exclusively young people) to get established in a farming or agribusiness enterprise. South Africa sticks out like a sore thumb, even against many African countries, in not having such a programme.

Based on our collective five decades of researching the agriculture sector in South Africa, we are of the view that the country needs to introduce an agricultural support framework that is more comprehensive, broad-based and flexible to [new] black farmers to join the ranks of commercial agriculture.

We take a leaf from the experience of the earlier support programmes and the farmer support programmes for black farmers implemented by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in the 1980s and propose a support programme that we believe would have a rapid and sector-wide impact.

These lessons provide the principles for a new, agile, broad-based programme of support that should enable the establishment of farming enterprises that were previously excluded from commercial agriculture. We specifically deal with direct financial support to farmers.

But there are two provisos to our proposals: it isn't possible, or desirable, to simply re-implement what was there before. And [moreover], any new support programme must be tailored to the specific circumstances of today. This includes taking into account the country's current fiscal constraints.

THE HISTORY OF SUBSIDIES