With the right attitude, land reform can work

This past year was a controversial one for South Africa’s agriculture sector. Land reform and expropriation without compensation dominated the public discourse and caused great concern amongst South Africans. Many fear that an expropriation policy will lead to food insecurity, while others are concerned about the effect it will have on the trajectory of South Africa’s economy.

In March 2018, I had the opportunity to visit Siyazama Klipland Boerdery, a BEE company near De Doorns, as part of a media tour hosted by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDL). While there are a staggering number of land reform projects across the country that has failed, Siyazama is testimony to how land reform projects can succeed. What impressed me about this farm was the stakeholders’ attitude towards the land reform project. Alec Abrahams, managing director of Siyazama Klipland Boerdery, said that in order to be successful, a land reform farm should not be treated as a project. “It’s a business, and as a business owner, you should not be looking for handouts. It’s essential to be constantly on the lookout for new profit-making opportunities and to provide high levels of employment,” he said. Abrahams and his team do not idly wait for things to happen from government’s side. For them, it is important to be able to operate independently of the funding received from the DRDLR, and they make alternative plans to ensure that they have the capital to invest in the farm and to produce quality crops, thereby retaining their export status. Siyazama gave me hope that land reform can work in South Africa, but for it to have any chance of success, beneficiaries with the right attitude must be at its centre.

Jeandré van der Walt