Dit stond afgelopen dinsdag in het plaatselijke suffertje:
Larry Bentley
THE very fabric of many of Zululand’s towns face collapse due to inefficiencies and corruption in the land restitution and distribution process.
According to 2007 statistics, agriculture annually generates business worth R190-million and R180-million respectively in eShowe and Empangeni.
Yet, if the current trend of poor production by the farms continues, a significant portion of this revenue will be lost
Sugar mills are already in dire straits and they expect to only open in April or May due to the lack of available cane to crush.
Reliable sources confirm that the problem stems mainly from the allocation of agricultural land to people who have no interest in farming and, in some cases, to ‘political friends in high places’.
Misuse of resources and failure to apply tried and tested agricultural practices by farm recipients have also led to a sharp decline in production.
Other agricultural sectors such as the lucrative citrus export market is also at risk of collapsing.
Mill dilemmas
Riverview and Gledhow Sugar Mills owner, Zululander businessman Patrick Sokhela, has actively been recruiting farmers in the Gledhow area as shareholders in his Gledhow Mill, thus securing their crop.
This even though many farmers have delivery contracts with other mills.
These developments are obviously affecting delivery to the Darnall Mill.
The Riverview Mill has been bought by a consortium, including an Empangeni-based partner.
The partner is planning to transport cane from Empangeni to Mtubatuba, leading to a shortage at Felixton Mill.
This has had a knock-on affect on Amatikulu Mill.
The poor performance of cane on the old Natal Trust Farms, where production has dropped from over 90 000 tons to less than 30 000 tons over the last five years, is also impacting negatively on the Amatikulu Mill.
Delivery levels
This is also true for the eNtumeni farms, where previously productive farms are way below their delivery levels.
A 66% drop in production is directly affecting the surrounding towns.
Large amounts of money are being pumped into these farms, with little or no return on the investment.
It is estimated that an injection of at least two to three million rands will be required to bring a single farm back into production.
With at least 50 farms requiring this kind of recovery support, it equates to an injection of at least R1-billion to get production to previous levels.
Towns hardest hit by these developments are Empangeni, eShowe and KwaGingindlovu.
Melmoth farmers have been waiting for the settlement of their claims for over four years.
These claims affect 88% of the agricultural lands in the Mthonjaneni area.
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