Communities in the Hex River Valley and Worcester have united in a way never seen before to save their livelihoods Barry Streek United protests against a proposed toll road between Worcester and the Hex River Valley, European concerns about ethical trading and a major crisis in South Africa’s table grape export industry could bring the 30E000-strong community in one of South Africa’s richest farming areas together for the first time. The financial problems on the grape farms are serious. A number of farms have been liquidated this year and, according to local labour consultant Ian Sutherland, four more farm owners are just waiting for the banks to close their books. Sixteen farm managers, all white men, have been retrenched this year. The workers on the 160 grape farms in the valley are not well paid. A recent study found that 57% of the farm workers earned between R18 and R30 a day, 41% between R30 and R40 a day and only 2% more than R50 a day.
But with a local unemployment rate of between 20% and 25%, exacerbated by retrenchments on the liquidated farms and an influx of people from poorer rural areas who are prepared to work for even lower wages, the people don’t want to lose their only source of income. A meeting in the town of De Doorns to protest against a proposed toll road between the valley and Worcester recently united the community in a way that has never been seen before, and there is cautious optimism that this will pave the way for greater cooperation in the area. Says Jacob Saunders, coordinator of the Hexvalley Advice Office: “Suddenly, the community united – black, white and coloured. We told the developers: ‘You can build a toll road at Touws River [the next town on the national road between Cape Town and Johannesburg] but never in our area. Blacks, coloureds and whites will walk together on this.’ “This is the first time we have been together. De Doorns and Worcester are going to be in the same municipality in November and they want to build a toll road between us,” he says. With the crisis facing the entire valley, he is hopeful that the cooperation in fighting the proposed toll road will lead to the community working together to solve the problems on the farms and to improve working and living conditions. A number of factors have contributed to the financial woes of the farm owners, who are not being paid enough for their export grapes to cover running costs, let alone bank loans. One of the farmers, De Villiers Graaff, told the Mail & Guardian that he received R19 a carton this year, but his running costs were R22 a carton. “Next year, if I don’t get R22 a carton, I will have to retrench 20% to 30% of my staff.”
One grape variety, the Dauphine, which used to be known as the gold of the Hex River Valley, was sold at between R28 and R34 a carton three years ago. This year they received R16. Part of the problem is a world over- production of table grapes. Huge government subsidies for agriculture in Europe and North America also retard competition. Another factor is deregulation in South Africa. There used to be just two companies responsible for the export of table grapes. This year about 130 export agents were involved. Graaff says that with over- production buyers were sitting pretty this year and could knock down prices. The advice office and the union both say the liquidation of any more farms will damage the valley and its community even further. The long-term solution lies, rather, in encouraging farmers, workers and the whole community to work together by sitting down to talk about their problems. “We want formal discussions around the table to do something about the situation; otherwise we will all be worse off,” says Saunders. A seasonal worker, Jane Dimisa, who is paid R30 a day for five to six months of the year, adds: “That is how the people feel. We must go and talk to the producers.”
Dimisa, who has worked on the farms since she left school after only five years of education, is also the vice-chair of the advice office. She says although some farm owners have introduced changes since 1994, most have not, but she is convinced the only way to find a solution is for the people of the valley to work together.
They both say that the farm owners did little, if anything, to change when the going was good and profits high over the past 10 to 15 years. However, Saunders says, the closing of farms because they can no longer survive economically is not the answer.
Their views are endorsed in conclusions to a case study conducted recently by the advice office with the support of the Social Change Assistance Trust. The study was requested by Norwegian Church Aid, which is involved in discussions about “ethical trading”, raising questions about whether Norway should import goods that are produced under exploitative conditions in other countries. The case study says farming practices in the valley are “poor” and need to be addressed, but before there is any direct intervention by the groups involved in the ethical trading campaign, discussions should be held with human rights organisations, unions and representatives of the producers. “Intervention from the international community should not lead to further impoverishment of people in the valley. The current level of unemployment has led to the further impoverishment and degradation of people of colour,” the report states. “All the people interviewed felt that working for a bad farm was better than to have no job.” Sutherland says the labour-intensive grape export business is tough at the best of times but it has never been tougher than it is today. However, the current crisis, prodded by ethical trading concerns by the people who buy their grapes, could well be for the long-term good. It could indeed push the lush Hex River Valley beyond apartheid, where the people of the valley start working together across racial lines – for their own benefit.