Leaders of civil organisations have called for an urgent end to what they believe is an "orchestrated campaign" to denigrate and vilify farmers with a view to driving them off their land.
Agricultural leaders, opposition politicians and the FW de Klerk Foundation have called for the demonisation of farmers to stop, after a Rawsonville woman this week admitted she had made up claims that she had been raped and beaten by four Rawsonville farmers.
The 22-year-old Anneline Davids told a local Cape Town newspaper this week that she had originally made up the rape claims after pressure from local shebeen owners. She admitted the lies after two independent investigations - by the Independent Complaints Directorate and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions - could find no proof of the alleged incidents.
The Human Rights Commission will now meet farmers and workers in the Rawsonville area to try to defuse a volatile situation.
The Commission is also investigating a charge of hate speech laid against Cosatu and the Women on Farms organisation over "crude and racist comments" made at a meeting held in the area last year. Women on Farms has in turn laid a complaint of "general" human rights infringements in the area.
Dave Steward, executive director of the FW de Klerk Foundation, said Davids's retraction of the charge that she was raped by four Rawsonville farmers could not be seen in isolation, nor could it be dismissed lightly.
"The charges, which were vociferously supported by Women on Farms and Cosatu, have now been shown by subsequent investigation and Ms Davids's own retraction to have been perjurious and without foundation.
"MEC Cobus Dowry's subsequent calls on the community to desist with such allegations have nevertheless been met with calls by activist organisations for his resignation.
"These and other developments would suggest that there is an orchestrated campaign to denigrate and vilify farmers with a view to driving them off their land. This situation has been aggravated by (Cosatu's) Tony Ehrenreich's recent call for farm invasion in Hout Bay and by radio advertisements by the minister of agriculture appealing to farmers not to evict farm workers over the festive season. AgriSA has denied that there is any such tendency.
"These developments have inevitably contributed to a general climate of hostility against farmers. The recent brutal murder of a farm manager in KwaZulu-Natal tragically illustrates the importance of not contributing to this inflammatory climate."
Steward said land reform was one of the critical issues facing South Africa. "It must be dealt with expeditiously within the framework of the law and the constitution. AgriSA has repeatedly offered to assist the government with an orderly process but has consistently been frustrated by the incapacity of the relevant authorities. The government could contribute to this situation by devoting more resources and greater efficiency to the land reform process."
But despite the retraction of the rape claims this week by Davids, Ehrenreich was adamant that he would only apologise if he was proved wrong and if he had done a "disservice" to the farmers.
"I stand by what I said. There is huge abuse in that area. A boy was badly assaulted and all kinds of allegations were made about rape. Now, a few months later there appears to be a change too many things are at play, there is something sinister here.
"Knowing power and wealth and how farmers (in the past) bought themselves out of trouble, I am concerned the same thing happened here.
"I hope there is a detailed investigation, into whether she (Davids) was truthful or not , whether there was an assault and whether anyone was paid to change their story."
Robin Carlisle, DA spokesperson on corruption, said the manner the Rawsonville rape claims had been dealt with smacked of "moral corruption".
He criticised Ehrenreich's refusal to back down in the light of Davids's retraction.
"Any South African who under-estimates the serious consequences of the racist and irrational statement made by Tony Ehrenreich and others, is living in a fool's paradise.
"That a tale of rape and torture is deliberately concocted and promoted by certain organisations and individuals and then supported in the face of all evidence to the contrary, is an indication of the lengths that some will go to drive up racial hatred particularly against white farmers."
Christof Cloete, chairperson of Agri Western Cape, said the unfounded allegations were tearing the Rawsonville community apart."
"We have laid a charge of hate speech against Ehrenreich and Women on Farms after a call for all-out war to be declared against farmers during a meeting held at Rawsonville last year. Several other crude and vicious allegations were levelled at farmers.
"This is a very unhappy situation. We cannot allow our members to be humiliated and denigrated.
"In our small communities the producers (farmers) and workers work closely together. Then people from elsewhere come here and make all sorts of claims, causing major friction in our communities.
"Agri Western Cape has got a special code of conduct that is in book form and has been circulated to all our farmers over the past five years. This code of conduct goes much further than the labour laws.
"Unfounded, humiliating and hurtful allegations against our members have simply got to stop. The tension is tearing apart our communities."
Gerhard van Rensburg, DA spokesperson on agriculture, said it was time that the people who had made "these racist, inflammatory and irresponsible statements" that foment racial hatred, be brought to book.
"We have a situation here where two independent investigations... could find no evidence that supported these claims. Now the rape accuser has also admitted that she lied. Yet the people making these allegations persist in doing so.
"It is time we find out what the agenda is behind these allegations that promote racial hatred and tension. These unfounded allegations lead to farm attacks.
"There have also been recent statements by leaders in our government that have referred to farmers as rapists, leaders have called on farmers not to evict workers from their farms over Christmas as if this is what generally happens.
"These statements promote racial hatred and lead to farm attacks. It has got to stop."
Allie van Jaarsveld, spokesperson for Dowry, said the minister was going to Rawsonville on Wednesday to try to find a solution.
"In the Western Cape we believe in resolving problems by sitting around a table and defusing the situation by addressing problems. This is the democratic way of doing it. If there are instances where people deliberately promoted or instigated racial hatred, we believe the law should take its course."