Food shortage on South Africa’s doorstep, says Ackerman

In the wake of the controversial new land reform plan which Pres. Jacob Zuma announced this week, farmers in the Waterberg area said the government should take heed of the warning earlier this month by Gareth Ackerman, chairman of Pick n Pay.

According to a media report in The Times Ackermann said the country was extremely vulnerable and all that was needed to shake its food security was one severe drought.

Food shortage is already on South Africa’s doorstep, warned Ackerman.

According to Ackerman a number of factors had, in recent years, put local food production under pressure:

?More than 15 million social grants had lifted many people out of subsistence farming and turned them into consumers;

?Land restitution had left some farms unproductive;

?Foreign investors had bought land only to use it to grow crops exclusively for export; and

?Population growth and urbanisation necessitated increased food production.

Ackerman also said he was concerned about the danger of political unrest if there was a sudden spike in food prices .

A large part of the population consumes maize as a staple and has been feeling the effects of price increases for months.

“Part of the maize problem is not only feeding people, but feeding the protein stock (animals) that feeds people,” Ackerman said.

Ackerman said higher maize prices made poultry expensive, putting extra pressure on consumers who are already paying more for electricity and petrol.

“Frozen chicken pieces are among the most popular sellers in Pick n Pay, especially among low-income customers,” he said.

The increase in the petrol price will have a double impact on consumers, said Ackerman. Shoppers would also feel the bite of the current labour unrest because the wage increases would fuel inflation. — LiN Nuus/Die Pos