Women, farm workers and persons with disability, were among the latest land reform beneficiaries of a multi-million rand fund to acquire land through the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform programmes.
A game and livestock farm was acquired for R6.3 million under the under the department's Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) for a female farmer with 21-years of farming experience at Limpopo's Blouberg municipality.
"The purpose of acquiring this farm is to support small-holder farmers farming in communal areas like Blouberg," said Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti.
At present, the beneficiary is farming in the backyard with vegetables and has 40 cattle grazing on communal land and another 40 on cattle on privately leased land.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, on 4 August 2015, also approved an R3.8m land acquisition for 22 farm workers from Zululand District, in KwaZulu-Natal. The farm dwellers will receive a full title on the land.
"We found out during a land rights enquiry that two families on the farm had resided there for over 40 years. These families own 22 cattle and 27 goats. This is a practical step for us in strengthening the rights of farm dwellers working that land," said Minister Nkwinti.
The department's National Land Allocation and Recapitalisation Control Committee (NLARCC), which is chaired by Deputy Minister Mcebisi Skwatsha processes the applications before they are brought to the Minister for approval.
In Mpumalanga, the department acquired a farm for R4.1m and allocated it to a farmer with disabilities in the Ehlanzeni District.
"The grazing land he is currently occupying is not big enough for his current livestock and it also does not allow him to expand his herd," said Nkwinti.
More importantly, the beneficiary was losing cattle due to livestock theft in the communal area.
It was submitted as a motivation that the farmer with disability was experiencing high levels of theft and it proved difficult for him to protect his cattle from the communal area.
A total of 11 farms in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga received funding to start social and agricultural infrastructure upgrades on the allocated land.
The department approved R73m for farm recapitalisation projects in this latest round, for farmers in poultry production, table grapes, grapes for wine and raisins, maize, lucerne and crops and livestock.
A total of R74m was spent by Rural Development and Land Reform on land acquisitions.
A total of 7 725,0883 hectares were acquired across five provinces under PLAS.
Enquiries:
Sivuyile Mangxamba
Tel: 012 312 8881
Cell: 0713342915
