Govt implementing land reform to boost agricultural growth and job creation

The President told Members of Parliament that land reform is vital to the transformation of our society and to correct historical injustices.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised that government is actively implementing various programs and initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of land reform aimed at bolstering agricultural growth and to foster increased employment within the industry.

President Ramaphosa was responding to questions for oral reply in the National Assembly on Tuesday. A Member of Parliament asked the President to elaborate on the integrated plan that government has in place to maintain growth and job creation in the agricultural sector through land reform. 

“Government’s land reform programme is supported by several complementary programmes and initiatives to enable growth and job creation.   

“Through these complementary programmes and initiatives, we are working to ensure that land reform is harnessed more effectively to support the growth of agriculture and agro-processing and to expand employment and livelihoods in this vital industry,” the President said. 

The President told Members of Parliament that land reform is vital to the transformation of our society and to correct historical injustices.   

He noted that redistribution, restitution and the provision of secure tenure also contribute to greater agricultural activity and enable more people to earn a living off farming.   

President Ramaphosa highlighted that in May 2022, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development signed the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan with partners in business and labour.   

Among many other things, the plan supports the acceleration of land reform and outlines actions that the private sector can take to support optimal use of land available to black farmers as a result of land reform projects.

These actions include support to black farmers and SMMEs at the processing level to have better access to domestic and export markets.   

The plan also encourages large commercial farmers to participate voluntarily in the land reform programme by donating land to historically disadvantaged farmers or participating in joint ventures to facilitate linkages between small- and medium-scale farmers operating on a commercial basis.   

“If the proposed interventions are implemented effectively, the social partners believe that by 2030, the agricultural sector can grow by an additional R32 billion above the ‘business-as-usual’ baseline.   

“Through this plan, they intend to maintain the existing jobs in the sector and create 75,000 new jobs by 2030.   For the economic potential of our land reform programme to be fully realised, we are prioritising broader rural development,” the President said. 

The Integrated Rural Development Sector Strategy of 2023 aims, among other things, to revitalise the rural economy through investment in, and development of rural infrastructure.   

This includes investment in roads, bridges and other transport infrastructure, water and irrigation schemes, public health and education.   

The strategy also provides for support to industries that support rural development, including agriculture and agro-processing, mining, the digital economy, the ocean economy, tourism, arts and culture.   

“Improvements in rural infrastructure are necessary if we are to reap the economic potential of land reform. Beneficiaries of the various land reform projects need to be able to access water resources, get their produce to market, participate in local economic activity and have ready access to funding and other support,” he said. 

The President highlighted that the land reform programme is also supported by initiatives that support skills development and employment, particularly for the youth.   

Through the National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) government provides young people with the skills and capabilities to participate in the economy. 

He explained that through such rural development initiatives, more than 1 100 jobs have been facilitated in the current financial year.

He further stated that through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, more than 180 000 agricultural production input vouchers have been issued to subsistence producers.   

The Presidential Employment Stimulus has also worked with the provincial departments of agriculture and social partners to provide support to more than 62 000 subsistence and smallholder producers to strengthen self-employment and food security. 

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)