Land reform and agrarian policy in South Africa: the NPC

1. Land reform and agrarian policy in South Africa: the NPC Nick Vink nv@sun.ac.za

2. National Development Plan • Rural development – about the space where we produce, consume, play and live • Employment creation – small farmer irrigation and winner industries • Land reform • Situated in historical context

3. History • For rural people in SA apartheid was about people and land • People: e.g. wine 1659; but slaves 1652 • Land: Land Acts (1913, 1936) as a foundation for Grand Apartheid (1948), Verwoerd 1960s and FSP to white farmers 1970s

4. History • Triptych: Segregation, suppression and support • Segregation: Land Acts • Suppression: ‘betterment’, sharecropping (Kas Maine) • Support – increased until circa 1983 • The result: parallel land markets and dualism

5. History • Consensus: aim of agricultural and land reform policy: address this dualism • Question: via the land market or FSP? • Answer: timing and sequencing

6. Dualism in practice • Agricultural policy is never neutral in its impact • The withdrawal of fs from white farmers and the failure to put in place fsfor new (black) farmers favours larger farmers: • Favours the largest commercial farmers over the smaller commercial farmers (black and white) • Favours all commercial farmers over small-scale farmers in the communal areas

7. Dualism in practice • In the absence of fs from the state, the bigger farmers are able to provide their own support services: • If the railways don’t function, they can better afford road transport • If the state does not regulate food standards the supermarkets will provide their own standards and larger farmers can better afford the investment • If the Land Bank won’t lend money to farmers, the larger farmers have better access to the commercial banks • Etc.

8. Dualism in practice • Lack of a farmer support has compounded the ill effects of South Africa’s distorted rural space • The little farmer support that exists is not aimed at addressing the legacy of ‘Betterment’ nor of the Marketing Act • Both also left the countryside bereft of food processing and trading enterprises • It is little wonder that the contribution of black farmers to agricultural output remains small • It is little wonder that within commercial farming the largest farmers produce an increasingly large proportion of total output

9. Key visions • So the key policy vision for agriculture has to be the provision of integrated farmer support services that favour smaller farmers • And the key policy vision for land reform is: • To ensure property rights that allow all farmers to mobilise capital (see later) • To ensure flexible land markets that also allow farmers to grow, shrink, stagnate and/or get out • To reflect diversity of natural resources and (historical) modes of production • To accommodate the high cost of entry

10. Integrated fsthat favours smaller farmers • Rights – includes but is not restricted to land rights • Land rights are more important for smaller farmers, especially for those in the communal areas and for land reform beneficiaries • Security of tenure or flexibility in land markets does not always take the form of private property rights, and innovative ways of securing the rights of farmers will be sought • Farm worker rights are also an important element, and a better balance will be found between their rights and requirements of small and large farmers who depend on hired workers • Also rights to markets (export licences, etc.)

11. Integrated fs that favours smaller farmers • Market access for all farmers, for all commodities and for all parts of the country: phasein as on-going process • Access to inputs through innovative programs that learn the lessons of success from such programs in Malawi, Zambia and elsewhere in Africa. • Programs to support human capital, including school, tertiary education institutions, learnerships, mentorships, etc.

12. Integrated fs that favours smaller farmers • Technology development and transfer systems that build on the historically strong ability of South African agriculture to adapt technologies to our circumstances. • A biosafety regulatory framework that works to the benefit of consumers and of smaller farmers as a first priority. • An institutional framework that supports access to inputs, market access, biosafety, research and development, social services for farm workers, etc.

13. Integrated fs that favours smaller farmers • Physical infrastructure to make these support systems possible. This includes the roads, the railways and the ports, water and electricity access for farm workers, and access to irrigation, etc. • Smart subsidies and smart support to key industries as part of the job creation strategy.

14. Land reform • Three part proposal: • District municipality land committees • Tender process and business plan • Funding mechanism for land access