South Africa: Ministers of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Deputy Minister in the Presidency engage with farmers following a march

 

Yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen together with the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso and the Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli, held an engagement with the Izwi Labantu Forum as part of efforts to address grievances delivered during a march to the Union Buildings on January 29,  2026.

The ministers were joined by senior officials at the head office of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development in Pretoria. Ministers Nyhontso and Steenhuisen and Deputy Minister Mhlauli confirmed that constructive discussions were held and that, the engagement demonstrated that the government is committed to addressing genuine concerns raised, with ongoing and concrete interventions already underway across the affected sectors.

The issues presented by the Izwi Labantu, including matters relating to land reform, support for emerging farmers, rural safety, access to markets, bureaucratic delays, and transparency in agricultural support programmes, are not new to Government and form part of existing policy, reform, and implementation programmes currently being executed. 

Government has already initiated a series of interventions aimed at strengthening farmer support, improving land reform outcomes, enhancing rural safety coordination, and accelerating service delivery in affected communities. In addition, government wishes to reiterate its efforts and interventions to accelerating land reform and agriculture from both emerging and commercial farmers.

Over the years, government has put together programmes to addressing equity and inclusion of small scale and previously disadvantaged farmers. The inclusion of emerging black farmers in commercial agriculture is critical for the transformation of the agricultural sector and our land reform programme. 

The ongoing land reform process and release of government land demonstrates our government’s commitment to ensure that emerging farmers are given the necessary support to contribute to the growth of South Africa’s agricultural economy.

Given that the issue of land reform is critical for the transformation of the agricultural sector to the same degree that the development of small and medium scale black farmers is vital for ensuring food security and increasing agricultural exports, the Government remains dedicated to advancing land reform and agricultural development, with the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Agriculture and Land Reform providing political and strategic leadership on these issues.

In terms of targets for land reform, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has been working towards allocating 200,000 hectares of land between 2024 and 2029 to ensure equitable land access and improved tenure security.

This work will build on the significant progress achieved during the previous administrations. Among other matters, the following progress has been reported to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and Agriculture:

• The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights reported that a total of 3,760,495 hectares of land were settled in the period between 1995 and 31 December 2024. A total of nearly 2,4 million individuals, including 1,275 persons with disabilities and 466,568 households, including 180,354 female-headed households benefited from these settlements. 
• Since 2019, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has released 125 land parcels measuring 25 549 hectares, for land redistribution,
• As of April 2025, the Department of Human Settlements had already released 44 land parcels measuring 2 424 hectares in extent. Power of Attorneys (POAs) have been issued to enable development planning. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.