Black economic empowerment in agriculture (AgriBEE) will also benefit white farmers and companies who become involved with it, the National African Farmers’ Union (Nafu) said on Tuesday.
”AgriBEE is voluntary and incentive-driven. This will benefit farmers and companies which choose to get involved by helping black farmers,” said BigMan Maloa, the Nafu representative on the AgriBEE steering committee.
He was speaking on the second day of Nafu’s ”agricultural summit” conference in Pretoria.
Maloa said, however, that black farmers need to develop their entrepreneurial skills and not have the attitude that the government or white farmers owes them something.
”If you have the attitude that you are owed something by whites, you will end up being very successfully controlled by them as you were during apartheid. You need to develop skills and be self-sufficient,” he said.
Maloa condemned tokenism and companies that benefit from empowerment deals by ”fronting, window-dressing and lend-a-darkie”.
”I’m not sure what the proper definition of fronting is but if I’m standing in front of [session chairperson] Dr Moraka Makhura as he’s whispering instructions in my ear, if that is fronting,” Maloa said.
He said the way forward for AgriBEE was to enforce partnerships that empowered entrepreneurs materially. — Sapa