The impact of recapitalization and development program on the performance of land reform farmers in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
Land reform is and has been one of the South African development initiatives. The desire to
see agriculture as the core of the transformation for the previously disadvantaged citizens and
as a vehicle for improving the socio-economic status and rural economy cannot be ignored.
Research on land settlement operation across countries that have experienced land reform
indicates that land reform without post-settlement support regardless of the historical
background of the proposed beneficiaries or even political appraisal leads to the neglect of the
awarded land. The presence of effective farmer support services promotes the development of
the land reform farms whilst the opposite may contribute negatively to on-farm development
and affect the livelihoods and food security of the people that rely on the farm. There is no
doubt that the current land ownership patterns are unsustainable and are a threat to national
democracy. Therefore, the need to provide appropriate post-settlement support to farmers’
farms cannot be ignored to help the few farmers retain the farms. It is for this reason that the
recapitalization program was initiated.
This study aims to determine the impact of recapitalization and development on the
performance of land reform farmers. The study made use of a quantitative approach and
adopted the multistage sampling techniques: stratified random sampling and random sampling
procedure to select the land reform farmers that participated in the study (n =264). Descriptive
statistics were used to assess the socio-economic status of the land reform beneficiaries.
Econometric analysis was also used through Probit regression analysis to assess the factors
influencing the participation of farmers in the Recapitalization and Development Program
(RADP), and the Endogenous switching regression model to assess the impact of RADP on the
performance of land reform farmers.
The primary findings indicated that respondents are on average 49 years old and that around
80% of the sampled farmers are married. While approximately 64% of farmers engaged in nonfarm
economic activity, the average household has approximately five people. Similarly, the
number of years spent cultivating crops (a proxy for experience) is projected to have a
favourable effect on participation in the RADP and on net farm revenue. Around 70% of
respondents reported having a signed contract. These findings indicated that while 58% had
access to extension services from both the private and public sector contributing to the progress
of agricultural development with 54% of strategic partnership support, and mentorship was
indicated to be 44%. Tax compliance (p=0.022), secondary organization (p=0.0257, legal entity
(p=0.008), farm potential income upon acquisition (p=0.084), farmers getting third-party
support (p=0.071), and strategic partnership (p=0.081) all had a statistically significant effect
on farmers' RADP participation.
The findings indicated that age (p=0.029), farm potential income upon acquisition (p=0.088),
strategic partnership (p=0.049), and tax compliance (p=0.002) were all positively significant
with the impact of RADP on land reform performance. The impact of RADP on the
performance of non-RADP recipients was statistically significant for strategic partnerships
(p=0.059), legal entities (p=0.019), and farmers receiving third party support (p=0.095).
Strategic partnership (p=0.021) and tax compliance (p=0.010) had a statistically significant
effect on RADP beneficiaries' performance.
The results showed that land reform has made a progress in ensuing a positive livelihood of
beneficiaries even though some challenges are still experienced. Findings showed that the
majority of farmers were engaged in off-farm economic activities, access to formal education
and have signed a project contract. Mentorship remained a particularly difficult aspect of postsettlement
life. However, farmers got a chance to enhance their farms and raise their income
through RADP's strategic cooperation. Generally, land reform farmers are full-time farmers
and get their income from farm profits. Access to extension services was satisfactory for land
reform farmers. The strategic partnership of RADP is likely to improve the farm and the farm
income. RADP generally has a positive impact on the performance of the land reform program.
There is a need to significantly improve the mentorship program to increase land reform
farmers' engagement in the given farmer support programs. It is recommended that more
extension services are availed to the land reform farmers.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.