LARGE tracts of land redistributed to emerging farmers since 1994 have been laying fallow, negatively affecting food production.
There is also a tendency among people to want farmland with the aim of acquiring vast wealth, but for various reasons, such as a lack of skills and inadequate support, the land is left in a far worse condition than when it was acquired.
Nationalisation goes to the heart of human existence. Without attachment to land, civilization would be doomed.
The uprooting of our people during apartheid meant a spiritual loss since they were driven away from their homes into a false existence.
So it is of great importance that we not only ask ourselves who owns the land but what impact its misuse has on us.
Surely any concerned citizen would agree that South Africa, a country with very limited arable land and a low rainfall, cannot afford to lose even a small piece of fertile land.
I don't think farmers using their land productively should fear the phantom of "nationalisation".
Land is as vital as any other national asset in the world, such as water and minerals, and should be treated as such.
Is it fair to have a situation, for example, in which I own 100000ha of land, yet do nothing with it, whereas there are people who could be producing food on it?
Morally that cannot be right. Land is a scarce commodity and we must make sure we put it to maximum use.
Tshepo Diale, Ga-Rankuwa
Distribution of land is flawed
LARGE tracts of land redistributed to emerging farmers since 1994 have been laying fallow, negatively affecting food production.
There is also a tendency among people to want farmland with the aim of acquiring vast wealth, but for various reasons, such as a lack of skills and inadequate support, the land is left in a far worse condition than when it was acquired.
Nationalisation goes to the heart of human existence. Without attachment to land, civilization would be doomed.
The uprooting of our people during apartheid meant a spiritual loss since they were driven away from their homes into a false existence.
So it is of great importance that we not only ask ourselves who owns the land but what impact its misuse has on us.
Surely any concerned citizen would agree that South Africa, a country with very limited arable land and a low rainfall, cannot afford to lose even a small piece of fertile land.
I don't think farmers using their land productively should fear the phantom of "nationalisation".
Land is as vital as any other national asset in the world, such as water and minerals, and should be treated as such.
Is it fair to have a situation, for example, in which I own 100000ha of land, yet do nothing with it, whereas there are people who could be producing food on it?
Morally that cannot be right. Land is a scarce commodity and we must make sure we put it to maximum use.
Tshepo Diale, Ga-Rankuwa