A fundamental rethink of the farming sector is required if the impasse between farmers and striking workers is to be resolved. This is according to Professor Ben Cousins, National Research Foundation chair at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies.Striking farm workers in the De Doorns and surrounding areas are demanding a wage increase from R69 a day to R150 a day, which farmers claim is unattainable. A recent report by the University of Pretoria's Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy has found that the farming industry would not be able to pay more than R104 a day without turning to mechanisation to improve worker productivity.
"I don't think agriculture can pay very high wages or create lots of jobs. We need to work within the room we have to manoeuvre. Farmers and workers need to come together and say 'These wages are unacceptable. What can we do?'," he said. This would mean working with the tradeoffs that would be required and accepting that some jobs may be lost, he said. Cousins pointed out that recent research has shown that farmers capture only 18c on the Rand value of table grapes. Levels of profit in the value chain are very low, he said but at the same time, farmers and workers might be able to capture more of that value through collaborative projects.
