Question NW2992 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
21 December 2020 - NW2992
Steyn, Ms A to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether, following her announcement (details furnished) on 1 October 2020 to release 700 000 hectares of underutilised and/or vacant state land for agricultural purposes and the resultant panic from emerging farmers after their farms were listed under the specified programme, she will provide (a) clarity on why productive farms were listed, (b) relevant details of whether existing farm occupants were consulted on the Government’s intention to place the property on the list, (c) reasons for listing a farm whose occupant already possesses a lease agreement and (d) documented evidence of the reasons that informed the inclusion of each of the 896 farms on the list; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
Reply:
a) Yes. The focus was on underutilized and vacant land; productivity of the land was not the determining factor for advertisement.
b) Yes. On 1 October, the Minister informed the public through a briefing that was streamed live on SA Government Facebook page, Twitter and You Tube channels about the whole process before any advertisement.
c) Yes. There was no intention from Government to advertise a farm with a current and legal lease agreement in place; if this was done, it can be regarded as an error. Details should be brought to the attention of my office to resolve the matter.
d) No. The farms that were listed for advertisement were those that were vacant or underutilised or were without any valid agreement with the state in place regarding their occupancy. A Land Rights Enquiry will determine each case and the rights of those that are on the farms will be protected through formalization and regulation of their occupation. Land that was abandoned or vacant will be allocated and land that is underutilised will be assessed and each case will be treated according to its own circumstances.