Mentorship alliance between South African established and developing farmers for sustainable agriculture sector reform

• Main Authors: OO Olubode-Awosola, HD Van Schalkwyk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AOSIS 2014-05-01
• Series: South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
• Online Access: https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/1053

The South African government provides access to agricultural land for people not adequately represented in the agricultural sector.  However, the government lacks sufficient funds and institutional infrastructure to provide post-settlement support to the settled developing farmers. A farmer-to-farmer mentorship programme between established and developing farm types has been identified as an institutional arrangement that could complement the government’s efforts. However, at this stage government and other role-players lack frameworks for this type of mentorship programme.This study conceptualises a complementary mentorship alliance that is loosely structured, without the complicated legal and contractual processes involved in corporate business alliances. This alliance will hopefully lead to highly committed joint ventures in the industry in the near future.  The study also provides frameworks within which the role-players could contribute to the success of mentorship programme.