Question NW15 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
04 May 2023 - NW15
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether she will provide the full details per annum with regard to (a) the progress made since October 2020 with regard to 700 000 ha of vacant State land that were released for leasing and (b)(i) farms that were successfully leased and (ii) settlement support provided; whether production is taking place on the farms; if not, what are the detailed reasons for the lack of production; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(1) (a) Yes. Since October 2020, the released state land was assessed to determine the status of each farm. Start-up packages were developed according to the categories/sizes of the farming operations, commodities and required activities to ensure optimum functionality of such farms. The activities on these farms ranged from infrastructure, production inputs and capacity development in respect of both livestock farming and crop farming. The 700 000 hectares of state land identified for redistribution was advertised in October 2020. The process of considering submissions for allocations was completed during 2021.
(b) (i) A total of 895 farms were identified for lease agreements. To date 213 farms have been issued with full leases; seventy-two (72) farms are partially leased; seventeen (17) farms in process; and five hundred and ninety three (593) farms have not been leased but were allocated in terms of the Land Reform: Provision of Land and Assistance Act 126 of 1993 as follows: -
- Communities: 210 farms;
- Donations: 277 farms;
- Land claims: 68 farms (Since these farms are under claim, they will be allocated to claimants in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994);
- Withdrawn:19 farms because of the legal challenge by the communities residing on those farms; and
- Long-term occupiers:19 farms found to have lawful occupiers in terms of Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is currently working on legislation to enable government to transfer communal land to communities.
(b)(ii) Infrastructure development was identified as a key requirement to enable farmers to improve their production. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed with the Development Bank of Southern Africa for 5 years to assist with the infrastructure development on these farms. The infrastructure development will include fencing, water reticulation, irrigation systems, storage sheds, etc. The Department will be handing over the list of projects for infrastructure development to DBSA to commence with the implementation processes.
2. Yes. The Department conducted farm assessment to determine the status of the farms and the level of support required. It has been identified that most of these are under production at various levels. Given that the production levels at these farms is still not at optimum level, it is envisaged that production inputs, in addition to the envisaged infrastructure will be provided to kickstart agri-business unit(s) on various commodities.