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Farmland - the next hot commodity ?

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Not applicable
This could be good for SA and we got plenty of it also. I first heard the latest buzzword ( " next hot commodity - Farmland ) while watching Bloomburg TV. South African is a great farming country with the right weather. And with the ever increasing demand for food , bi-fuels this could be the way to go. Read here.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akXxnbd_OxWc // http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2007/06/20/farmland-sales.html?ref=rss // http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/070827b/
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10 REPLIES 10
duke_vest
Frequent Contributor
Fair enough, but who's gonna till the soil and make it work? the best farmers have already left the country. nobody will invest big in farms unless land claims have been resolved. also the political uncertainty of the future. this particular area is too volatile for my liking. but i do admit that we have the right environment for farming. if somebody up there would just take the first steps to start clearing uncertainty and create proper reform.
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Plonky
Super Contributor
Look under the farmland = COAL
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divz
Super Contributor
Hey duke not sure which "best" farmers have left - remember farmers are farmers they generally cannot/will not do anything but farm and you will find that in the northern cape, eastern cape and free state mostly all farms are still held by original owners or their sons, We have very good farmers in SA and over the last couple of years growth in value of land has been excellent.Most countries subsidies their farmers but not in this country i agree governement have to look after our farmers
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Not applicable
I agree,farmland could be the next hot commodity,and SA has all the potential it takes,However with the the landclaims, and communist principles the country is being ruled,count SA out on this one.
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Not applicable
So many of these emerging market countries that are prosperous today have long ago laid the foundations of good education. It is THE most important thing that this country needs to address. An also , I am sure that it bothers many of us that we cannot see a good leader that can take South Africa forward.
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Skyhawk
Contributor
I agree with all the formites. The farmers are still there but for how long, my father in law is a farmer and he makes his living of cattle and the reapair of tractors and implements for the emerging farmers. But that is where it ends, there need to be some form of training and education.We all have heard of farms being handed over to communities and with no training or leadership these farms fail and become commercialy inactive. Plonky you are right .....get the coal, do a JV with a company secure the prospecting licence.. retire early in life and go sip on alcoholic juices on a beach of your choice!
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striker
Super Contributor
Looming Land claims,farmland redistribution,lack of Govt. support&subsidies,murder/crime in farm areas,just for starters, makes it possibly the worst business sector to be in!
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Robbie
Regular Contributor
Just some comment about the "education": The most important thing in this country is to teach the majority how to work - not how to let fingers work on a keyboard, but how to work with a shovel and how to "drive" a wheelbarrow. Large parts of the agricultural sector already faces a shortage of labor. Grain farmers can overcome the problem with additional mechanising (and some change to white labor in the process) but sectors such as livestock and labor-intensive farming experience an increasing problem. Increasing cost of labor and shortage of productive labor also makes the farming business less and less profitable.
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topgun
Super Contributor
hence the food shortage that SA is certain to face in less than 10 years...in true African tradition.
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Preston
Super Contributor
Topgun, thanks for the reply to my question. Much appreciated
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