The Times
*Black farmers' bleak future*** *Nashira Davids, The Times, Johannesburg, 15 January, 2013*If the violent farmworkers' strike continues, nearly all the black farmers cultivating deciduous fruit in Western Cape might have to close up shop.
Yesterday the strike for higher wages intensified with 40 people arrested for public violence, and two for house-breaking and theft.
Ismail Motala, spokesman for the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber, said there were too few black farmers - many of whom are "cash-strapped".
"Within the next few months, if we in the industry don't see eye to eye, at least 95% of our farmers will have to close their doors," said Motala.
"We cannot risk this in our country. We cannot lose any more farms. We cannot go back to where we were before 1994."
There are about 200 black farmers specialising in deciduous fruit in South Africa - about 80% of them in Western Cape.
Motala said black farmers have a limited market and only a brief period in which to bring in the harvest.
"If we do not harvest and become productive our markets are going to go to South America - our competitor," said Motala, who farms in Wolseley.
The chamber acknowledged that working conditions on many farms were "unacceptable" and that workers were underpaid.
"We need to stop the violence, intimidation and lawlessness . all of us, including the government, need to get back to the [negotiation] table. But we need to discuss this in an atmosphere everyone is comfortable in."
On Sunday union federation Cosatu's provincial secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, called for the "economic boycott of bad farmers" who "want to continue paying a wage of R69 [a day]".
Anton Rabe, chairman of Agri SA's labour and social policy committee, said his organisation did not represent "bad farmers".
"We don't see any prosecutions by the department of labour; we see high levels of compliance with labour inspections by the department.
''We've got third-party ethical audits we have to comply with to be able to export."
He conceded that there are farmers who are "not playing ball" but he said it is disingenuous to say that most farmers are "bad".
Rabe said that, though work on some farms had been disrupted about 90% of farms were "operating fairly normally".
Police spokesman Warrant Officer November Filander said 16 men had been arrested for throwing stones and petrol bombs at the police, and for stoning cars.
Yesterday Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi tweeted: "We call on every South African to show support by boycotting all products produced by workers on strike. Please don't drink SA wines."
*From: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/01/15/black-farmers-bleak-future*
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