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setting a quota on milk production may have the effect of causing a shortage of butter or other dairy products . Nevertheless , there was ( and is ) sound reasoning behind why such measures were not all to the detriment of the country and her citizens at the time . And it ' s not as if South Africa was unique in applying control measures to its agricultural sector . Fact is , most countries do , to some extent or another . But the new government post-1994 took a dim view of agricultural controls , particularly as it was clear that the beneficiaries were , in the main , white ( Afrikaans ) farmers , and in probably the most decisive bit of legislative enactment in the history of the “ new ” South Africa , the control boards were disbanded , while some were reconstituted in different roles
With the closure of the Agricultural Control Boards , SA entered an era of free competition in agriculture , something almost unheard of in the western world , where subsidies and controls are the norm rather than the exception
and with different powers . And thus , from the late 1990s South Africa ' s agricultural sector entered a period of unbridled free-marketism , unfettered by controls , subsidies , quotas and the like . And this mightily pleased the ANC , which felt it had dealt a timeous hammer-blow to a constituency it didn ' t have much time for , namely white ( Afrikaans ) farmers . And it mightily pleased another sector , too , namely the food production sector : the processors , packers , distributors and retailers of food , who have gradually increased their control over the sector and , consequently , their profits . The result has been concerning , to say the least . At the production end , traditional commercial farmers have left the business in their thousands ( not only because the business is no longer profitable , it should be said , but also because of crime , uncertainly about the future ( land tenure ), and climate change ), while at the consumption end , the price one is required to pay for food in the supermarkets is plain for all to see . Shopbought food is not affordable for most South Africans . Let ' s look at some numbers : ❑ In 1997 there were some 50 000 dairy farmers in South Africa . Today there are 1 600 , with a herd of only 1,6 million animals . No wonder there is a butter shortage at
# SAFoodCrisis
the moment . ❑ In 1990 there were upwards of 66 000 commercial crop farmers . Today there are fewer than half that number . To some extent this picture is being changed by the thrust of the government to establish small “ previously disadvantaged ” farmers on the land . If this strategy works it could go a long way to ensuring the re-emergence of a vibrant farming sector , with the benefits of greater diversity of food varieties etc . But it will only work if farmers are able to sell their
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