Land redistribution and poverty reduction in South Africa: The livelihood impacts of smallholder agriculture under land reform
Abstract
Since its inception in 1994, South Africa’s land
reform programme has aimed to achieve multiple
objectives, including redressing the historical
racial imbalance in landholding, alleviating poverty
and developing the rural economy. A range
of policies has been developed to deal with restitution
of historical land rights, redistribution
of agricultural land and protection of the rights
of people living in communal areas and on commercial
farms. Delivery, however, has been painfully
slow, with all key policy areas falling far behind
their stated targets (DLA 1997; Hall 2004).