Ramaphosa hands 2.5 million hectares of State land to black farmers
The Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy will issue title deeds to black farmers, the President said, as he named Redlands dairy farm in Stutterheim as proof that finance and mentorship can build commercial operations.
Government is releasing approximately 2.5 million hectares of State-owned land in various parts of the country to black farmers, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter on Monday, under an initiative called the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy.
The land will come with title deeds. Ramaphosa said the aim is to build a new generation of commercial farmers and expand the country’s productive agricultural base.
“We can bring more land under cultivation, create a new generation of black commercial farmers and ensure that we grow enough not only to feed all our people, but to sell to markets across the world,” he said.
Land access on its own is not enough, the President said. Financing, skills development, mentorship and training are also required for aspiring farmers to operate successfully at commercial scale.
He said the agricultural sector has immense potential for further growth and job creation, but that the benefits of that expansion have not reached all communities.
“Although our farming sector has flourished, many communities have remained on the periphery,” he said.
The numbers he cited describe both halves of that picture. The sector has more than doubled since 1994, and South Africa ranks as the world’s 32nd-largest agricultural exporter. Agricultural exports reached a record R270 billion in 2025, in products including table grapes, maize, beef, wine, citrus, sugar and wool. The continent takes nearly half of those exports, with the European Union and markets in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas making up much of the rest. The sector employs approximately 944 000 people, with a further 200 000 working across the broader agricultural value chain.
Against that, the President said the sector remains characterised by unequal participation. Predominantly white-owned commercial farms account for most commercial agricultural output, while black farmers contribute only around 10%.
“We still have what has been called ‘two agricultures’,” he said. “Being reliant on the productive capacity of a relatively small segment of the population to meet our country’s food needs is unsustainable. Our population is growing and with it, the demand for food.”
He tied the transformation drive to three ends: addressing historical inequalities, strengthening food security, and positioning the sector to meet future demand.
Ramaphosa pointed to Redlands Farm, a commercial dairy operation in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape owned and operated by young black farmers, as evidence that the model can work. The farm has expanded with support from the Land Bank.
“Redlands’ success shows that with effective partnerships, a transformed agricultural and agribusiness sector can boost the rural economy and create jobs,” he said.
The farm is a beneficiary of the Land Bank’s Blended Finance Scheme, which combines government grant funding with loan finance. Ramaphosa said the scheme is helping farmers in various parts of the country establish commercially successful businesses, and he encouraged other agribusinesses and commercial banks to take part and develop further funding instruments for the sector.
Access to affordable, patient capital is one of the requirements he identified for emerging commercial farmers, alongside the skills and practical experience needed to run a farming enterprise.
“We have to build a pipeline of skilled and productive commercial farmers who can sustain the sector,” he said. “We must equip aspiring farmers with the skills, mentorship, training, technologies and other resources to farm successfully on a commercial scale.”
The President welcomed programmes run by agricultural commodity associations, naming the Citrus Growers’ Association, Grain South Africa, the National Wool Growers’ Association, Potatoes South Africa, Red Meat Industry Services, the Milk Producers’ Organisation and Fruit South Africa. He said they play an important role in building a more inclusive farming economy by supporting emerging farmers.
Government is also working to expand and diversify export markets for South African agricultural products, and is engaging farmers and agribusinesses on new breeding techniques and advances in agricultural biotechnology.
Ramaphosa said stronger partnerships between government, farmers, businesses, lenders, traditional leaders and communities would be critical to building on the sector’s progress.
The newsletter, published by SAnews (South African Government News Agency), is a summary of the President’s position rather than the record of the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy itself. The newsletter does not set out a timetable for the release of the 2.5 million hectares, the locations of the land, the criteria for allocation, or the mechanism by which title deeds will be issued. Those details are not contained in the document.
Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-ramaphosa-calls-transformation-agricultural-sector
