South Africa plans to transfer about 2.5 million hectares of state-owned land to black farmers

China News Service, Johannesburg, October 12 (Reporter Sun Xiang) South African President Ramaphosa said on the 12th that the South African government is promoting the transfer of approximately 2.5 million hectares of state-owned land to black farmers through a "proactive land acquisition strategy" to promote the transformation of the agricultural sector.

Ramaphosa said in the presidential weekly newsletter that day that the government will provide land ownership certificates to eligible black farmers and help more farmers launch large-scale commercial operations through financing, skills training and technical guidance.

According to information previously released by the South African government, the above-mentioned approximately 2.5 million hectares of land were mainly purchased by the government through the "active land acquisition strategy" over the years. Previously, most of them were leased to beneficiary farmers. The South African government believes that the long-term lack of land ownership restricts some emerging farmers from using land financing and expanding agricultural investment.

Ramaphosa said that currently, about 944,000 people are employed in South Africa’s agricultural sector, and about 200,000 people are employed in other links in the agricultural industry chain. However, commercial farms dominated by white owners still contribute the majority of South Africa's commercial agricultural output, with black farmers contributing only about 10%.

Ramaphosa said that promoting agricultural transformation is necessary to address historical inequalities, strengthen food security, and ensure that the agricultural sector can meet South Africa’s future food needs.

Affected by the history of unequal land distribution during the apartheid period, South Africa has continued to promote land reform since 1994. However, the reform has progressed slowly, and issues such as land redistribution, property rights protection, and agricultural production capacity building have long been controversial. (over)