Re-think rural development policies

Bill Rawson pleads for "selected" residential development in agricultural areas, which he believes could contribute greatly to the survival of intensive agriculture in the Western Cape.

Bill Rawson, Chairman of Rawson Properties, has drawn attention to what he regards as "statements of fundamental importance" made by Jan Hofmeyr, the Manager of Rawson Properties Cape Agricultural Division - and Rawson has said that it would be in the interests of every rural municipality to assimilate and act on these statements.

In a report quoted by several leading Cape property journalists, online services and in subsequent comments, Hofmeyr has highlighted the following points:

- It is now almost impossible to purchase a farm within 250km of Cape Town and make a profit if the intention is to farm such traditional crops as grapes or fruit. New products like olives, certain specialist fruits and Macadamia nuts can, Hofmeyr believes, be profitable, but the market for these is limited and establishment costs are high;

- Would-be farm buyers are still thick on the ground, but they are usually looking for a lifestyle investment and are not too concerned if their farm is unprofitable;

- This is resulting in a demand for the subdivision of farms which the Department of Agriculture and local municipalities are resisting as they believe - rightly in Rawson's view - that this will make farming less profitable and less able to give employment. The authorities are also concerned that on-going subdivision will lead to a deterioration in the visual appeal of Cape rural landscapes.

"Taking into account all the above factors," said Rawson, "I and others believe that it is time that the legislators rethought their rural area residential development policies."

Many people, said Rawson, now believe that the solution to the lack of profitability in Cape farming is to allow residential development in selected pockets, provided it conforms to agreed architectural guidelines.

"As I see it, farmers could earn valuable extra income if they were allowed, on their own or in partnership with developers, to erect weekend homes for city people, holidaymakers, overseas visitors, retirees and those prepared to commute the 50+ km to the city.

"The trick would be to build largely on low value, unproductive land, especially those close to dams or rivers, or on the sites of the many now derelict cottages, sheds and barns no longer in use throughout the Boland area. It would be essential that the new houses retain a Cape vernacular look of the kind that certain Boland architects have made so popular in the last decade."

These new homes, said Rawson, have often had "instant appeal" both with local and overseas buyers - and the architects involved, he said, deserve congratulation.

Rawson stressed that, as he sees it, the newcomers to the rural residential scene should not be allowed to farm except in very limited areas such as vegetable and flower gardens. The land should continue to be farmed by the original owners - to whom all the profits should still accrue.

"Clive Venning of Boschendal was absolutely right when he said that we have to have large farming operations, capable of benefiting from economies of scale. However, as he pointed out, this does not mean that attractive housing has to be kept out of the rural areas.

"The authorities," added Rawson, "seem to think that the advent of prosperous residential communities in farming areas would reduce employment on farms. It would, in fact, increase it, because the newcomers would need domestic and other help as well as labourers and artisans for the building work."

Rawson said that when he was last in the UK he noticed that "literally hundreds" of old farm homes and barns were being refurbished as offices or houses - and were commanding high prices.

"Nobody talked, as here, about this ruining a traditional way of life or ousting the farmers - it was, instead, recognised that it was an essential move to keep British agriculture viable despite massive EU subsidies to certain countries and despite, too, cutthroat prices from less developed areas like Chile where good climates, large land areas and low wages make farming a far easier proposition."

For more information on agricultural property matters, visit www.agritv.co.za.