Agricultural organisation AgriSA says it is heartened by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing, on January 27, of the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Act, which aims to conserve and manage agricultural ecosystems and viable agricultural land units through regulations and the development of norms and standards.

Work in this regard now needed to begin in earnest, the organisation said during the Investing in African Mining Indaba that is under way in Cape Town this week.

Farmers are extremely concerned about the effects of proliferation of unwanted mining and gas exploration on or in the vicinity of productive farming land, particularly with respect to the natural resources the sector is reliant on, AgriSA said.

While the importance of mining to the South African economy was acknowledged, the competition for natural resources between agriculture and mining was self-evident, it added.

AgriSA emphasised that food security and the preservation of agricultural land, particularly high-value agricultural land, needed to be prioritised.