‘Missed opportunity’ — state has 2.5 million underused hectares that could ease hunger, say experts

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said the government has 2.5 million hectares of underused land that could be brought into full production. This could be supported by blended finance from the Land Bank, along with training and infrastructure support from commercial farmers and commodity associations. Developing and using the land appropriately will employ thousands and feed millions, all while transforming the sector,” he said. 

While the recent passing of the Expropriation Bill put the land question top of mind for South Africans, experts are disappointed that the President didn’t dwell on the issue in his State of the Nation Address.

“We think the one fundamental area that the President should have highlighted is the urgent release of the 2.5 million hectares of state land for agriculture to appropriately selected beneficiaries with title deeds. Combined with the reforms outlined in the Sona and the opening of the export markets, the release of this land would help us grow the sector and close the dualism that has made South Africa a Country of Two Agricultures,” Sihlobo said.

Daniel Moody, an agricultural expert and environmentalist, said there was a missed opportunity by the President to address agriculture, food security and land. 

“Perhaps the President missed an opportunity to focus on the land question, especially the two million-plus hectares owned by the government that could be given to emerging farmers… 

“By supporting our farmers, improving our logistics network and rural supply chains, and opening new export markets for products, we can significantly expand our agricultural sector. So I would say another missed opportunity in terms of [addressing] land reform and agriculture in the country,” Moody said.

Land is a longstanding issue in South Africa: In 2022 going into 2023, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga had the most outstanding claims. KZN has the largest number (2,095), followed by Mpumalanga (1,565) and Limpopo (1,335). These claims are mostly rural and large, comprising many property parcels and a large number of claimants.

This was revealed in a meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in May 2023, which dealt with what hinders land distribution and/or compensation: 

“Western Cape has several outstanding registered rights and Urban Tenancy Claims, mostly located in the City of Cape Town. The Free State has five outstanding claims. Of those, three are in the Land Claims Court. Gauteng has outstanding rural Labour Tenancy Claims and large Urban Claims that were partially settled, eg Alexandra.” 

These are some of the outstanding claims, not particularly a programme aimed at smallholder farmers or previously disadvantaged farmers who would need access to bigger land. 

When asked if the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development had any new plans to ramp up access to land for smallholder farmers, its deputy director-general on land redistribution and tenure reform, Terries Ndove, said he was unclear on the 2.5 million hectares and would like more information before he responded. 

He added: “The programmes referred to have not been specified and hence it will be difficult to respond without details of the programmes.”

Ndove was also asked: Small scale farmers often struggle to access bigger plots of land and sometimes struggle to grow when they do. Are there any plans to help develop capacity and access to land?

He replied: “The department, through its land redistribution programme, acquires or allocates land to address various needs, and small-scale farmers are targeted for allocation of land.”

Asked whether there were any important points he thought were important to highlight about this land and the government’s plans for it, Ndove said: “It will be critical to get details of the land referred [to] before the department can respond appropriately.” 

A Daily Maverick investigation found that failed land projects were credited to the tenancy system which does not allow farmers, families or co-ops to have title deeds, which resulted in them not having leverage to secure necessary funds for inputs and growing the farmland.

Sifiso Mbhele, is a director of a cooperative with unused farmland in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, said the land was handed over for use 11 years ago but due to no seed funding either from the government or being able to access funds from financial institutions, the farmland is not being used. Only a small garden has been created by a member of the co-op. Mbhele states this has raised security concerns as the land is getting invaded and becoming a crime hotspot. DM