Land Redistributed between 1994 and 2017, the Production Function and the Evolution of Area Planted in Various Agricultural Sector Commodities

Abstract

Land plays a central role in the production function and economic development. Land enters the production function as a primary input into the production process together with labour, capital, technical change and entrepreneurship. Land is a significant asset and agricultural products make up a large portion of national income. This chapter reviews land redistributed between 1994 and 2017, the role of land in the production function and the evolution of area planted in various agricultural sector commodities. The trends show that the land reform programme has failed to meet the set target of redistributing 30 per cent (85 million hectares) of agricultural land by 2014 by a wide margin. The breakdown of land redistributed by province shows that more than a quarter of the land redistributed is in the Northern Cape. The Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have been the biggest beneficiaries of land reform and restitution in terms of hectares. In addition, women are a minority of beneficiaries of the land redistribution policy in a majority of provinces. Statistics show that women beneficiaries make up less than one quarter of beneficiaries of land redistribution. However, data shows that the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal contribute less to the agricultural sector and the economy. Hence, we argue that the accelerated land reform policy is a necessary but insufficient condition to increase the agricultural sector output growth, reduce the unemployment rate, high poverty and inequality rates. Post-settlement support should be an integral part of the policy output in order to achieve a long-term sustainable development outcomes. Thus, policy interventions should be designed to ensure that post-settlement support cuts across all major land reform programmes, namely, redistribution, land tenure and restitution. In addition, policy interventions should provide a comprehensive post-settlement reconstruction and development programme plan.

Therefore, the policies of accelerated land reform and expropriation of land without compensation must be accompanied by productive utilisation of land as captured in the Land and Agricultural Development Bank Act (2002), a holistic approach to post-settlement support and favourable trade policies. At the same time, the policy of accelerated land reform that results in an increase in hectares (area) planted can create a class of entrepreneurs and self-employed people through the formation of co-operatives, and small and medium enterprises. This is another channel through which output growth and employment growth can be created.