There’s a shortage of commercial farmers worldwide. They are as scarce as hen’s teeth. Why? The children of farmers are mostly becoming chartered accountants, engineers, lawyers or doctors. There’s no future in farming - and it's hard work - the working hours are from 4am to 6pm.
Go to Stellenbosch University and see for yourself which degrees farmer’s children are registered for. Added problems are global warming, increasing incidents of drought, rising wages, falling profitability, etc. Even if the government does not expropriate without compensation (steal) the farms of white farmers, we will still face a crisis in 20 years' time due to the murder of many white farmers, farmers emigrating due to the risk and uncertainty in our communist government and natural attrition due to death and few replacing them.
Very few farmers will be investing in new infrastructure. In fact, they will be running down their existing infrastructure so when expropriation does come, there will be little left, except the land. That’s what Julius Malema wants, the land - he can have it. What he will do with it beats me. There will be increasing attempts by foreign governments to steal our farmers.
While our government will be stealing the land, other governments will be stealing our farmers, how ironic. Banks will be loath to lend money to farmers, lest they are not compensated by the government - so long-term loans are out. The die is cast.
Expect a slide in our food production - the same way mining has gone. Expect a food crisis in a mere 10 to 20 years' time from now with the government forced to use valuable foreign exchange to import food.
Another irony is our government will then be importing food from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US, food grown by white farmers. Some would probably be the very same farmers chased from South Africa.
South Africa will go back to year 1652 - few farms will exist and people will be collecting roots, berries and herbs growing in the bushes and fields.
Go to Zimbabwe, that’s what's happening there. People are hunting pets in the urban areas and wild animals in the rural areas to fend off starvation. From a net exporter of food, that country has become a recipient of millions of dollars of UN World Food programme aid. From food basket to basket case.
Will President Cyril Ramaphosa become the first real Black Panther and South Africa become the first real Wakanda, I doubt?
Naushad Omar
Athlone
* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.