The point is, hon Chair, there are very well-meaning commercial farmers. I've interacted with them in the Eastern Cape. I have interacted with commercial farmers at Matatiele and in Alexandria. Both of them told me one story, even if they are far from each other, that government shouldn't negotiate with individual farmers. They will exploit government, because government is the only buyer. They said that government should rather negotiate with them as a collective. We know how much land costs per hectare. That is what we are going to do. We are going to work with those farmers and then try to expedite this process.
Secondly, there are inefficiencies. It takes a long time. By the time you buy, the prices are up. We know this. We are going to work fast with the collectives of farmers to resolve the problem, including AgriSA. [Applause.] That's what we are going to do.
Hon members should really understand when we say, in our view, land access and ownership should be a question that is primarily for all South Africans. It shouldn't be a situation where we can't get land because it is too expensive, because it is owned by Americans, Germans, other Europeans and people from outside this country, not Africans, but people from elsewhere. That can't be. It must be prioritised for South Africans. We can't fight here because the majority of people who own land here are overseas. They buy land and game farms. We are saying that South Africa is importing food. The reason we import food is because we are skirting the issue. Land has been changed. It is no longer producing food; it is rearing animals. That is what is happening. Golf courses are owned by overseas people. They are not South Africans. We have to deal with that as South Africans. Thank you, hon Chair. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.