There is widespread agreement that land reform in South Africa has failed to deliver the changes many hoped it would. Racially based dislocation and land dispossession were central features of colonial conquest and apartheid rule. To redress this, in 1994, the newly elected African National Congress (ANC) set a target of redistributing 30% of the country’s white-owned agricultural land to black people within the first five years of government. Persistently failing to come close to this goal, the government now hopes to reach it by 2030.
Agriculture continues to be dominated by large-scale agri-business, and small farmers frequently lack the support they need after land has been transferred. There are many debates about why land reform is not working.
