Land reform set to reach 30% black-owned target, study shows
More than 18-million hectares have been transferred or financially compensated for, says nonprofit research body
SA is much closer to its target of transferring at least 30% of agricultural land from white to black ownership, albeit three years after the initial deadline. A report by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy released at the weekend says more than 20% (18-million hectares out of 82-million hectares) of the farmland has been transferred or financially compensated for. In 1994, the government set a target of handing 30% of agricultural land to black recipients by 2014. However, the land reform programme has generally been tardy, which has created uncertainty in the agricultural sector, with some land owners holding back on investing in their properties. The successful completion of SA’s land reform programme is necessary to ensure a stable and growing agricultural and rural economy, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy says. The National Development Plan, the government’s blueprint for eliminating poverty and reducing inequality, identifies agriculture as one of the crit...
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