Vuyo Mahlati from the Eastern Cape was announced as the new President of Afasa during a gala dinner at the close of the annual Afasa/Nerpo congress. She says she is humbled and overwhelmed.

“You know, I have had responsibilities before. But somehow this was kind of threatening in the sense that there is so much work to be done and so much work that has been done.

“So the critical thing at this point is to make sure that we build on the foundation and move forward.”

Meanwhile, Afasa members clad in the signature two-tone shirts of farmers descended on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday to hand over a petition to the Presidency. The peaceful protestors sang and danced on the lawns waving placards to highlight issues affecting them. Land prices must fall, support young farmers, title deed equals ownership and no farmer no food were some of the prominent slogans of the day.

Reading from the petition, Afasa Secretary General Aggrey Mahanjana said 22 years into a democratic South Africa, black farmers still operate at the peripherals of the mainstream agriculture sector.

“Farmers want to be able to pay themselves a decent wage, to pay their workers minimum wages that are consistent with the labour laws.

“They want to be self-sustaining beyond government grants.”

Grain SA CEO, Jannie de Villiers, was also present. He told OFM News the issue of title deed ownership is one that Grain SA feels very strongly about.

“Yes, there are some points where we don’t agree 100%. But I think on the whole, our black farmers need help from Government.

“There is a lot of pressure on Government at the moment to help a lot of different people, but I think the voice of the farmers must be heard.

 “We can see how our country is suffering because farmers can’t produce food because they don’t have title deeds. This is something that Grain SA feels very strongly about. We really support what they have brought to the fore today.”

OFM News