To promote growth in agri sector, govt's bias will be towards previously disadvantaged - Ramaphosa

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said that government would be unapologetic about a bias towards black, emerging and small-scale farmers as it looked to develop the agriculture sector.

But he said this would not be to the detriment of well-established farmers. 

Answering questions in Parliament on Thursday, Ramaphosa said that while disadvantaged farmers were slowly moving into livestock farming, they required substantial land parcels to be able to transition to grain farming too. 

He said it was only fair that government focused its attention on helping black farmers first. 

"The existence of the more established white farmers was done at the great assistance of the previous apartheid government. It was the apartheid government that propped them up, that put them where they are today." 

Ramaphosa said that the agriculture sector needed to be further developed to not only expand the economy but also to be a source of job creation.

"And it’s not a question of saying we want to suppress the one so that the other should grow. We say all should be able to rise together. That’s the approach of this government. But as we promote growth, the bias will always be towards those who were previously disadvantaged."