Rural safety will receive attention from government, Deputy President Paul Mashatile said on Friday at Nampo Cape after various voices from the agricultural sector explained their requests, challenges and suggestions to him.
By Liana Mocke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Mashatile visited Nampo Cape 2025 on Bredasdorp on Friday morning. He was welcomed by, among others, members of Grain SA and Ivan Meyer, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Absa.
He was accompanied by his wife, Humile Mashatile, and after the welcome, the couple took a short ride on a trailer with delegates to the hall where an interactive session was held with farmers, representatives of commodities and agricultural organisations.
Jaco Minnaar, president of Grain SA, Dewald Olivier, CEO of the RMIS, Wendy Petersen, CEO of the South African Olive Association, and Grant Naudé, president of Merino SA, were among the speakers who had the opportunity to raise their specific sectors’ needs, challenges and suggestions with the deputy president.
Minnaar spoke about rural security, among other things, and said farmers need to be able to spend their time better and more effectively to produce food.
Naudé said the agricultural sector need light at the end of the tunnel, no matter what type of farmer you are. He added that only government can turn on this light.
After the session, Mashatile said he was there to listen and made notes of the issues, including the Trump tariffs and rural security. Mashatile emphasised that partnerships and collaboration between established and emerging farmers are important and encouraged more of these partnerships.
He said the government would support the sector and farmers and specifically highlighted rural safety, which would receive attention so that farmers can farm safely. He also referred to the request by Themba Rikhotso, CEO of the Land Bank, that emerging farmers who can only borrow land from the government should receive title deeds, saying the government is paying attention to this.
