Johann Kirsten

The progress with South Africa’s land reform programme has not been properly monitored. This has resulted in an incorrect understanding of the real progress made to correct the racial distribution of farm land ownership in South Africa.

In 2012 the National Development Plan set a target to redistribute (or restore) 30% (or 23.7 million hectares) of all freehold agricultural land to black South Africans by 2030.

The general perception is that the land reform programme has failed to deliver a recognisable shift in ownership patterns. But the real situation is more nuanced. This is because land reform is made up of a number of initiatives. These include redistribution, restitution, financial compensation, private acquisition and state acquisition.

Some have progressed more than others. In this article I look at what’s happened to the state acquisition of farm land which is then, for the most part, leased to entrepreneurs wanting