Cape Town - The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) believes that young black farmers like Ricardo du Preez, a lessee at one of its farmers acquired for over R18 million, are proof of the impact their land initiatives have on transforming the agriculture sector.
During a tour organised by the department, Du Preez showcased his produce exported internationally and also enjoyed locally.
DALRRD together with the provincial Shared Service Centre visited the land reform Langfontein Fruit Farm in Haarlem, George where Du Preez farms with his wife and son for their business, Ricas Fruits.
The farm has created a number of job opportunities for the locals –employing 29 permanent workers and 70 seasonal workers for harvesting, pruning, thinning, planting and installation of irrigation - and produces different types of apples, pears, and nectarines.
The produce is exported internationally to the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.
Du Preez has been farming at the Langfontein Farm since June 2016 holding a 30-year lease with an opportunity to become the farm owner through title deed.
The farm measures 403.7156 hectares and was acquired by the department in 2015 and is one of the farms being used by the department to provide black farmers access to productive land to contribute to poverty eradication and food security in South Africa.
Du Preez said the orchards were really old when he took over the farm in 2016. They had to evaluate the orchards and the implementation plan was done in conjunction with horticultural organisation, Hortgro.
Since 2018, he has planted 20 ha of new varieties on the farm and removed 15 ha of the old orchards.
However, devastation struck local farmers in 2020 when hailstorms destroyed farming lands.
Du Preez suffered 100% damage, the evidence of such damage still visible on orchards and the effects of damaged fruit - which will inevitably have to be dumped if it finds no place in the local markets.
Du Preez made an impassioned plea to the department for hail nets which will protect the farm from such damage in future. The cost for such netting is estimated to be R400 000 per ha.
“If you ask me if the programme with DALRRD is working, I would say yes but would also have my reservations. When you are farming deciduous fruit, timing is very critical. And when you are a receiver of grant funding, the timing is of utmost importance.
“I see myself as a successful farmer having farmed at a neighbouring farm for 20 years. I have done it for them, I can do it for myself … I want to be a farm owner. It is my livelihood and I don’t want to be a lessee all my life.
Maybe the programme will change and will include title deeds,” said Du Preez.
DALRRD district director, Lourette Brown, said the property was acquired through the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy in 2015, costing R18.5m.
Brown confirmed that provision had been made in the new financial year to supply the Langkloof Farm with hail nets to protect the high varieties of apples produced by Ricas Fruits.
Department spokesperson, Vuyani Nkasayi, said: “We are here because of land reform and to showcase what the beneficiaries of our land reform programme are doing on land we acquired.
“We are here to brag about the farmers that are farming and producing produce that is being exported internationally. This area in Haarlem is rich in farming. As you drive in you will see we have many farms which the department is also leasing to other farmers. In Haarlem alone, we have about five productive farms.”
Acting chief director at DALRRD, Lubabalo Mbekeni, said Langkloof Farm was an exhibit of the fruits of land reform in the province.
“There are a number of farms that are supported through Land reform and the efforts of the department.
These communities suffered a lot through the dark days of apartheid and land dispossession but we are here to say that land reform works,” said Mbekeni.
Cape Times