South African industry group Agri SA has found land reform beneficiaries need greater state support, with many claiming they are doomed to fail without financing and expert assistance.

Agri SA recently met with beginner farmers of its provincial unions and commodity organisations, where representatives expressed general dissatisfaction with the quality of and access to agricultural advisory services in South Africa.

The meeting also found many black farmers were burdened by the pressure that farm squatters put on their resources and production, calling on Agri SA to speak with the government about the negative impacts of tenure legislation.

"Agri SA’s involvement is needed because black farmers have difficulty in accessing finance to kick-start their farming operations. Those who are beneficiaries of land reform experience problems, especially relating to access to funding, state-aid packages and agro-technical advisory services," said Agri SA deputy president Dr Theo de Jager.

"They complain that the current three-year limit on leases for redistributed land which is transferred to the state makes it difficult to farm effectively."

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