President Ramaphosa, left, shown with President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, is expected to be more astute with reforms

White farmers in South Africa are planning to emigrate after the government announced plans to take their land without compensation.

This month, MPs from the ruling African National Congress backed a motion calling for white-owned land to be seized, prompting farming unions to warn of a repeat of the land grabs in Zimbabwe, after which agricultural production collapsed.

President Ramaphosa has insisted he will not make the same mistakes as Zimbabwe but farmers are deeply uncertain of their future, prompting the younger generation to either emigrate or leave family farms for jobs in cities.

One specialist at a Johannesburg company arranging emigration to Australia said there had been a surge in inquiries. “We’ve had a huge number of calls,” he said. “No one quite understands