Rising production costs, livestock theft, poor infrastructure and limited access to markets were among the challenges farmers raised with Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp at a breakfast meeting last Friday.

Aucamp attended the meeting at Collisheen Estate as part of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) campaign ahead of the local government elections.

Macadamia farmer John Osborne highlighted delays at Durban harbour, saying these were affecting exports and farmers’ cash flow.

He said South Africa had become one of the world’s largest macadamia producers and exporters, but the industry needed government support to expand international markets and improve port efficiency.

“Every month the product waits at the port, another month the cash flow doesn’t take place,” said Osborne.

Livestock theft and rural crime were also major concerns, with farmers calling for stronger police intervention.

Aucamp acknowledged the seriousness of rural crime, calling for specialised police units, better information sharing and closer co-operation between farmers and police.

He said work was underway on a rural safety implementation plan.

Small-scale farmers raised concerns about access to finance, reliable markets and insufficient disaster relief.

One farmer described losing livestock and grazing land to devastating fires, saying the assistance received had been inadequate.

Aucamp acknowledged delays in disaster relief and said he had requested reports from provinces on their fire preparedness and response plans.

On access to finance, he said the department was working with the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa on a pilot project involving an initial 100 farmers per province who lease government land.

The initiative aims to help qualifying farmers gain ownership of their land, enabling them to use it as security for bank loans.

Sugarcane farmers highlighted rising fuel costs, harvesting challenges and the need for alternative markets.

One farmer questioned why more sugarcane could not be used for bioethanol production, creating an additional income stream for growers.

Aucamp agreed that biofuels presented opportunities for agriculture and said regulations needed to be reviewed to support the industry.

Farmers also raised concerns about supermarket rebate systems, saying these made it difficult for smaller producers to supply major retailers.

Aucamp said he would examine the concerns but cautioned against unnecessary government interference in the free market.

He stressed that government’s role should be to remove obstacles and work more closely with the private sector.

“The Department of Agriculture must become an enabler so that farmers can farm and do what they do best,” he said.