An analysis of land redistribution and the land market in the Boland region of the Western Cape

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is experiencing major political, economic and social changes and in its policyorientation towards the event of globalisation. These changes are intended for theempowerment of those previously disadvantaged and for the levelling of the playing field forfuture equality of opportunities. In empowering these individuals it is recognised thatagriculture is one of the important sectors that would serve as a vehicle for the developmentof the country. It is the main source of economic growth and the bedrock of economicdevelopment.Agriculture depends strongly on land, which is also an asset that can be used to generateincome. For this reason land reform in the form of grants is one of the important toolsemployed in South Africa to redistribute land to the disadvantaged in order to enable them toimprove their income and also to develop rural areas. As this programme is based on amarket-assisted approach, its success depends on land markets that function well and arestable enough to carry it.The objective of this study was to determine the state of land redistribution and to analysethe land market in the Boland region of the Western Cape province. The effectiveness ofland redistribution was analysed with regard to the number of transactions that took place inthe years 1998, 1999 and 2000 in terms of citizenship, race, mode of land acquisitionamongst the disadvantaged (government grants, private acquisitions and inheritances),quantity and quality factors. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications forthe success of the programme and their influence of the land market. Finallyrecommendations were made for potential improvements as well as for further research.It was found that land redistribution by means of government grants was rather slow andmost of the transactions took place through private purchases, mostly through mortgageloans provided by the Land Bank of South Africa. Although private transactionsredistributed more wealth measured in terms of size pf land, the accompanying land was lesssuperior using price per hectare as a proxy for quality compared to land purchased with theassistance of the government. Transactions for the latter were mainly through joint ventureswith current owners. The study also revealed that the land market in the Boland is one of themajor obstacles to the speedy transfer of land not because of the foreign investment, but due to the nature of the sectors. The two main agricultural sectors are viticulture and deciduousfruit which have experience high growth in income and export. The analysis conductedestablished that there was no significant difference between properties bought by foreigners,white and Black South Africans. Future trends in land prices could not be predicted but it isexpected that agricultural land prices will be well above the capitalisation value of futureprofits arising from the level of foreign investment as well as economic gain.Based on the finding the areas to be emphasised by the land reform programme in this regionare joint venturing and the promotion of subsidies on mortgage loans as well as extendingthe government's role in the land market. Increased government spending and involvementof the private sector, including financial institutions and established commercial farmers, aresome of the things to be encouraged to facilitate the process and ultimately to overcomepoverty. The sole reliance on the current regional land market seems incapable of effectivelyand speedily redistributing land to beneficiaries, whereby equality can be achieved in thelong run. However, if all the shortcomings of the land market are recognised and a newpolicy is adopted, land reform in the Boland and in South Africa will in the future be morelikely to promote increased access to land, resulting in higher productivity, growth and aglobally competitive agriculture.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University