Eddie Prinsloo sold his land to the Government on the condition that his farm workers were given the land, he has since inspired other farmers to take the same approach to land redistribution.
Two years ago, Eddie Prinsloo approached the Government to buy his farm. His motives were not selfish either, he sold the land so it could easily be redistributed to his farm workers. That was one of the conditions of the sale.
Eddie requested that his seven farm workers each got a piece of land that they could farm. The men are on the verge of receiving their title deeds which will mean they each own 1,500 hectares of land.
Eddie had tried to redistribute the land himself but it didn’t work out as the men were not able to reap the benefits of it, which is why he decided to sell it in the end.
In an interview with Huffington Post South Africa, he confirmed that his dream of passing the land back started in 1994 but proved complicated.
“In 1994, I wanted to give them [farmworkers] one of my farms, but it didn’t work. They do all the work but they do not benefit. I wanted them to benefit from the profits,”
“I offered my farm to the government and they bought it from me, but there were two conditions. I wanted to do it for my workers, my people, not strangers,”
The story doesn’t end there, not only is he helping them gain the land, he is offering his skills to teach the men how to effeciently manage the farm as well as letting them use his tools and machinary.
“At this stage they can use my implements, mowers, tractors, bakkies, over the first five years. There are sheep that we already have on the farm,”
Other farmers have been inspired to do the same as Eddie.
“We had a farmers’ day here, all the farmers are willing to do that but they do not want to wait for two years. Mine took too long … Every day farmers call me about my project,”
He is hoping the government will team up with farmers to create land banks and opportunities to share skills and educate black farmers to be more successful. Eddie has seen great success with his own farm workers. Eddie employed Tshidiso Sphaphathe in 1988 and has seen him flourish.
“I feel so happy. A lot of people will not do what Eddie is doing for us. Many white people won’t help with anything. My family is very happy, they really did not expect Eddie to help me like this,” – Tshidiso Sphaphathe
“I will work with cows, I think that it is my talent and Eddie has taught me all about it.”
With examples like Eddie, South Africa has a very bright future indeed.
by 