Draft Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Framework Bill and Policy

Call for comments opened 13 March 2015 Share this page:

Submissions are now closed (since 30 May 2015)

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has published a notice in the Government Gazette (Notice No. 210 of 2015, Gazette No. 38545) requesting comments on the draft Policy and Bill on Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Framework. The draft Policy and Bill seek to demarcate, protect and develop agricultural land for food security purposes

Bill seeks to provide for definitions of terms used in the Act;
▪ provide for the objects of the Act; to provide for the custodianship of agricultural land;
▪ provide for the application of the Act and the guiding principles of interpretation and implementation of the Act;
▪ provide for agricultural regulation pertaining to subdivision and rezoning applications on high potential cropping land and on medium potential agricultural land, respectively;
▪ provide for Protected Agricultural Areas; to provide for the use of agricultural land; to provide for other applications on agricultural land;
▪ provide for the duties of the Surveyor-General and the Registrar of Deeds in the application of the Act; to provide for the registration of servitudes on agricultural land;
▪ provide for the National Agricultural Land Register and other systems;
▪ provide for Agro-ecosystem Reports; to provide for the institutional framework, and, more specifically, the Intergovernmental Committee on the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land, the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Framework Act National, Provincial and Municipal Internal Technical Committees and the Agricultural Land National Advisory Commission, as well as the Agricultural Land Review Board;
▪ provide for the settlement of disputes regarding agricultural land; to provide for provincial and municipal responsibilities, guiding principles, minimum provincial norms and standards, and coordinated planning and development;
▪ provide for general and miscellaneous matters.

Find here: Template for comment 

Comments can be emailed to Hettie Buys at [email protected] by no later than Saturday, 30 May 2015.