Contributing to the national budget debate last week, Isaaks said the goal should be to have deliberate policies to support transition processes, graduating subsistence farmers into smallholder farmers and ultimately into commercial farmers.
To assist the smallholder farmers, there is a need to establish an Agricultural Investment Fund (AIF), modelled in a similar manner as the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF)," he said.
Isaaks says the report highlighted that the grape farming enterprises of Aussenkehr and Noordoewer make significant profits annually.
"As part of agricultural revolution in the context of rural economic industrialisation, if new entrants could be allowed into the grape farming industry with commensurate skills and knowledge transfer from existing role-players, it will add value to our domestic investments drive," he said.
He said while governor of the //Kharas region, LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi applied pressure on the government and grape companies to fast-track the process of building a new township at Aussenkehr and to have public-private sector housing development.
