Northern Cape Land Reform MEC Mase Manopole says the department will no longer be pumping millions of rands into failing farming projects that have not taken off despite assistance from government.

Manopole, who returns to the portfolio for a second term, says her office is inundated with calls for assistance from many under resourced farmers.

The MEC says they are now opening doors to newcomers in the sector.

“We cannot continue to fund one entity for about 10 to 15 years. I have just presented to you about 14 000, if I round it up, it about 15 000 farmers who have registered with the Department’s farmers’ register. So, if you fund one institution or one entity for about 10 to 15 years, it is unfair to other farmers and also, we won’t be able to transform the sector because we want them to move from being small-scale to commercial farmers.”