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President Cyril Ramaphosa
- President Cyril Ramaphosa says 700,000 hectares of state land will be used for agriculture.
- The goal is to empower black farmers and bring them into the mainstream of the economy.
- Ramaphosa says these farmers should dispel the stereotype that only white farmers are commercially successful.
President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged Monday to the government’s land reform process, saying it aims to strike a balance between social justice and redress, and improve agricultural production by bringing more black farmers into the mainstream of the economy.
Ramaphosa’s comments in his weekly newsletter followed last week’s announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and Rural Development that 896 farms, comprising 700,000 hectares of underutilized or unoccupied state land, would be released for agricultural purposes.
Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza made the announcement on Wednesday, outlining the process that the public must follow when requesting available state agricultural land as part of the government’s contribution to the agrarian reform program.
In his newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said that the availability and sustainable use of agricultural land for farming and animal husbandry was key to South Africa’s survival.
“South Africa has vast tracts of land suitable for agricultural production, and 37.9% of our total acreage is currently used for commercial agriculture. Like many other countries, our arable land is threatened by land degradation, scarcity of water and urban encroachment. We are also losing prime agricultural land due to changes in land use, “Ramaphosa said.
National priority
“Given our history, expanding access to agricultural land for commercial production and subsistence farming is a national priority.”
He said that although the post-1994 land reform process had resulted in the restoration of more land for black South Africans, the pernicious effects of the Native Lands Act of 1913 continued to be on farmland ownership patterns.
“By depriving our people of their right to own and work the land on which they depended for their livelihood and sustenance, this great injustice effectively ‘engineered the poverty of black South Africans.’
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“His goal was to destroy our people’s prospects for self-sufficiency, independence and economic prosperity. At the most fundamental level, it destroyed our ability to feed ourselves. With land ownership still concentrated in the hands of a few and agriculture, primary production and value chains owned primarily by white commercial farmers, the effects of our past remain with us today, “Ramaphosa said.
He added that the transformation of agricultural land ownership patterns was vital, not only to address the historical injustices of the past, but to safeguard the nation’s food security.
“Our redistributive vision aims to strike a balance between social justice and redress, and improve agricultural production by bringing more black farmers into the mainstream of the economy.
“We have to make sure that the land acquired for agricultural purposes is used productively. To safeguard state land allocated for agricultural purposes, the lease is not transferable. The beneficiaries will sign a lease with the state and pay a fee. rent commensurate with the value of the land, “Ramaphosa said.
Compulsory training
Last week, Didiza said that all beneficiaries who have been assigned state land and who have signed leases will be subject to a mandatory training program.
“The training program will include entry-level training on the product of your choice, basic record keeping and basic financial management, as well as business development. The lease will not be transferable under any circumstances,” he said.
Didiza also said that the beneficiaries would not be allowed to sublet or sublet a part of the land or the entire estate after signing a lease with the state.
“The beneficiary has the obligation to maintain all the infrastructure and the care of the lands assigned to him. The beneficiary will have to administer, maintain and keep the record of the assets received from the state,” Didiza said.
Ramaphosa added that, as part of this program, beneficiaries will be trained in financial management and business development.
“Experience has shown that emerging and small-scale farmers often lack the financial skills to take advantage of market opportunities and integrate into value chains.
“We are prioritizing women, youth and people with disabilities as beneficiaries.”
Dispel stereotype
He said expanding access to land and opportunities for agriculture will support job creation and business development, and improve the market for food, agricultural goods and services.
“The ultimate goal of releasing these parcels of land is to transform the agricultural landscape by growing up a new generation of farmers.
“They must dispel the stereotype that only white farmers are commercially successful in South Africa and that black farmers are perpetually ’emerging’.
“By working this land, by turning it to productive use, they will actually turn swords into plowshares. They will become the faces of national reconciliation,” Ramaphosa said.
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