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Land ownership is one of the most contentious issues in South Africa. Land reform policies affect how South Africa produces its food, protects its food security, and seizes socio-economic opportunities. The resolution of the land issue carries with it the promise of healing the wounds of the past. Land has social, spiritual and economic value. It has the potential to be the foundation of the renewed economy our country so critically needs.
AN IFP GOVERNMENT WILL:
- Commission a full-scale land audit to determine who owns what, and use these findings to focus on State land, redistributing it where necessary and supporting community projects to farm land commercially.
- Reallocate all unused land that is in the hands of the State, for the benefit of the poor.
- Allocate specific support for modern agricultural and other developmental initiatives to redress imbalances of the past.
- Ensure significant State support, especially for new entrants into the agriculture industry.
- Ensure that government supports commercially viable cooperatives in rural and township areas.
- Create a training infrastructure by introducing agricultural science at school level and by reopening agricultural training colleges at tertiary level.
- Protect communal land to ensure that it will remain in the hands of the people, under the custodianship of traditional leadership, with the provincial governments providing support to traditional leaders and emerging farmers and elevating them to a state of commercial farming.
- Finalise all outstanding land claims and reopen the window for further applications and claims.
- Continue to support the policy of land expropriation with reasonable compensation.
- Merge the national departments of Agriculture, Land Affairs, and Traditional Affairs into one department to reduce the cost of Cabinet and to streamline the line-functions of these departments.
- Focus on small to medium-sized farming and subsistence farming, as a core strategy to provide economic relief for rural communities.
- Encourage partnerships and mentorships with experienced farmers to attract and train new farmers, and to develop supporting industries.
- Reactivate local agricultural support centers to assist farmers to access tractors, and new technologies that will help farmers scale-up their production.
- Promote the involvement of both private and public sectors in the country’s agricultural development processes.
