At the South African Cultivar and Technology Agency's Annual Stakeholder Engagement Meeting in Pretoria, concerns were raised over the effectiveness of farmer development programs.
One issue highlighted was "double dipping," where the same group of farmers repeatedly benefited from grants and programs without transitioning toward independence. This limited opportunities for new entrants and risked creating dependency.
Jane McPherson, advisor at the farmer development programme Phahama Grain Phakama, said the lack of support after farmers graduated from development initiatives was a challenge. "Smallholders get a lot of freebies, but as soon as they graduate, the help and mentorship stop. So, they recycle themselves through all the programs," she said.
Gerhard Keun, CEO of the Oil and Protein Seeds Development Trust, noted that funding and assistance for smallholder farmers would be more effective if programs were better managed and tracked to prevent duplication. He added that this should extend to equipment provision.
Henry Davies, founder of the Eden Social Development Foundation, said equipment provided by the government was often poorly managed, underutilised, or broken. He explained that the foundation had more success by refurbishing idle machinery. "Before we consider buying new equipment, we look at what is available in the area. Often, there are fleets of new equipment that are not being used or that are broken. Once we have them fixed, we hold farmers accountable by recording the state of the equipment before they receive it. If it's returned broken due to negligence, the farmer pays for repairs. This ensures equipment is cared for," he said.
Davies also pointed to a disconnect between the Department of Agriculture's head office in Pretoria and implementation on farms. "The service providers the government appoints to deliver inputs are a mess. Many are not familiar with agriculture, so jobs like liming are not done properly, or they are outsourced to a farmer, who prioritises his own land over the others he is meant to service. The money the government spends on smallholder support, therefore, often doesn't reach them."
McPherson suggested the government shift its focus from time-sensitive inputs such as seed, which often arrived too late, to soil improvements, including lime and phosphate, which could be applied throughout the year. She added that these were inputs land-renting farmers often neglected due to insecure tenure.
Source: Farmer's Weekly
