Exploration of contributing factors leading to a decrease in agricultural productivity in restituted farms of Ehlanzeni District Mpumalanga province

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Access to land has been identified as a tool through which the poverty and hunger ofhistorically disadvantaged individuals can be tackled. Agriculture is also known as asource of employment and of livelihood, such as through food security. Manycountries use the land reform programme as a tool for access to land that can thenbe used for agricultural productivity. Land reform implementation takes the form ofthree major approaches: market-assisted, community-based, and state-led. All threeapproaches have recorded shortcomings that have led to stumbling blocks in thesuccess of the land reform programme. Historically disadvantaged individuals aremost affected by these failures. In this context, this study aims to explore contributingfactors leading to a decrease in agricultural productivity in restituted farms inEhlanzeni District, Mpumalanga province. The methodology followed in this study is that of an empirical case study of a landreform programme in the form of both state-led and market-led approaches. The caseis that of the Mapulana community situated in the Ehlanzeni District in Mpumalangaprovince. The case study is used as a unit of analysis of the land reform programme. The objectives of the study are as follows: 1. To present a theoretical framework bydiscussing the main concepts of agricultural productivity in order to identify conditionsunder which agricultural productivity can be attained through land access. 2. Topresent a theoretical framework by discussing the main concepts of land reform inorder to identify criteria for successful land reform, specifically restitution in developingcountries and to explore contributing factors leading to a decrease in agriculturalproductivity. 3. To investigate and discuss contextual and legislative frameworkswhich guide land reform in South Africa, specifically the current land reformprogramme and its implementation in rural areas. 4. To assess the implementation ofthe land restitution programme in the Mapulana case study in Ehlanzeni District inMpumalanga. 5. To make recommendations based on the above findings in order toimprove the implementation of the land restitution programme in the Mapulana casestudy in the Ehlanzeni District in Mpumalanga. The case study assesses identified gaps in policy formulation, land acquisition, aswell as post-settlement support. Policy formulation in the Mapulana case shows signsof a top-down approach without beneficiaries. For example, it ignores the communalland tenure systems that govern black land ownership. Land acquisition in theMapulana case study consists of the grouping together of competitive land claims intoone community claim, despite the fact that the land claimants are not from the samecommunity. Post-settlement support for land beneficiaries is lacking, and this lack ofpost-settlement support has led to a decrease in agricultural productivity on therestored farms. The literature review reveals that for the sustainability of agriculturalproductivity there must be enough inputs, including, but not limited to, land, labour,seeds, fertilisers and technology. This research offers recommendations to mitigatethese obstacles: 1. It is recommended that the Restitution of Land Rights Act (1994) be amended toclearly address post-settlement support issues.2. The Commission must make sure that all claimants are treated equally during theprocessing of land claims. Much must be done to dispel the notion that chiefs getpreferential treatment when it comes to land claims. A chief is not supposed to benefitby virtue of being a chief even though he had lodged a claim on behalf of hiscommunity unless he too was personally affected or lost rights to land on the land inquestion.3. Project planning and implementation need to be carefully handled, and the officeof the Commission needs to ensure that the project is transferred to the office of thepremier or any delegated member of the executive council, including the municipalcouncil under which the land is situated as stated in the Act. 4. In addition, the department must be careful about making generalised assumptionsregarding the capability of land beneficiaries to participate in agricultural productionfor the market; collective enterprises should be supported only where consensus hasbeen reached between beneficiaries; and all stakeholders must agree on the monitoring and evaluation tools to be used. Land beneficiaries need to be thoroughlytrained before the actual land restoration occurs, and on a continuous basis.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University