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The government has made 700,000ha of vacant state land available to emerging farmers. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The South African government has made nearly 900 farms available for rental by emerging farmers on underused or vacant state lands. The government is offering 30-year leases, with a purchase option, which raises the age-old question of how these farmers can obtain financing without collateral.
Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza announced on Thursday October 1 that over the next two weeks the government will issue advertisements for 896 farms on 700,000ha of underused or vacant state land. The parcels in question are found in all provinces with the exception of Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Unsurprisingly, the process involves loads of red tape.
The District Beneficiary Selection Committee will review the applications, which, in turn, will make recommendations to the Provincial Technical Committees (PTC). The PTCs will review them and then send them to the National Selection and Approval Committee for approval. Applications that do not pass the grade can be directed to the Land Allocation Appeals Committee.
South Africa’s efforts at land reform, which aim to rectify persistent racial disparities in property, have generally been considered a failure. This is due, in part, to the bureaucracy involved, which is overseen by a state that clearly lacks capacity.
This is one of the points that Wandile Sihlobo recalls in his insightful book on land reform: Find common ground, where it details cases of potential emerging farmers who gave up after waiting years only to find that their applications had not been processed.
Book Review: Finding Common Grounds About Land Reform After Covid-19
The complicated process for the nearly 900 farms available this time has relatively short time frames. In total, it should take about eight weeks to process and approve applications. A cynic might suggest that you don’t hold your breath, but let’s see eight weeks after the applications close date if this is really the case.
Possible corruption in this process is another concern, but Didiza, in response to media inquiries on the matter, made the ANC’s usual commitments to eradicate it.
Lack of training and experience has also been widely cited as one of the reasons behind the failure of many emerging farmers to do what is a very difficult and demanding business.
“All beneficiaries who have been assigned state land and have signed leases will be subject to a mandatory training program. The training program will include entry-level training on the commodities of your choice, basic record keeping and basic financial management, as well as business development, ”the Department of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and Rural Development said in a statement. This move is clearly welcome, but delivery remains to be seen.
The government will carry out quarterly inspections by the Land Administration Unit and annual reports will be drawn up for the minister. In the past, there has also often been a lack of oversight, raising questions about the department’s ability to do so now.
Then there is the matter of the 30-year lease with an option to buy. This is a great red flag on an issue that has affected the agrarian reform process from the beginning. How can farmers obtain financing without a property title that allows them to use their land and infrastructure as collateral? The Agriculture Department said in its statement that “a credit management system will be put in place to manage debt recovery and management. But everything is still pretty vague at the moment. And given the setback in government finances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic collapse, the state certainly doesn’t have many resources to support emerging farmers.
It will be interesting to see a year from now how much of this land is on its way to becoming productive and commercially viable, and how much will remain underutilized. BM / DM
