“WITHOUT LAND REFORM RURAL DEVELOPMENT WILL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL” AN EXPLAINATION OF HOW LAND REFORM CAN AND SHOULD GIVE RURAL DEVELOPMENT A PUSH START.
Stanley Maphosa
S3R Consulting
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 Definition of terms 3
3.0 Access to land for the poor 4
4.0 Introduction of cash cropping 5
5.0 Land reform as a mechanism for development 5
6.0 Land reform as a push start for rural development 6
7.0 Conclusion 8
8.0 Bibliography 9
1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the pivotal role played by land reform in rural development as it has been a channel through which the poor can access land, and how this exercise can push start development. However, there is a need to be aware of other factors that might affect development, for example a balanced allocation of land to agriculture and industrial development. In the process of qualifying the given statement, a critical analysis will be done with examples of South Africa, as a country that is in the midst of a land reform debate. Recommended prerequisites for successfully implementing land reform will also be highlighted in a bid to show how land reform can and should push start rural development.
2.0 Definition of terms
Rakolojane (2002) points out that land reform deals with the way in which land is owned and how patterns of ownership change. She also quoted Jeppe (1980: 208) defining land reform as a means of altering inequitable power structures for effective development of participatory institutions both local and national and thus strengthening democracy. This therefore means that democracy is so much attached to the reforms in land which were amongst the major causes of colonialisation and oppression. Land reform may extend to land redistribution, change of tenure and settlement on the land. Masilela and Weiner (2001), in their case study of land reform in South Africa point out this process is viewed as a way of responding to unjust acts that occurred during apartheid. De Wet (2000) elaborates on this issue by noting that the primary aim of South African government for the land reform program is to contribute towards reconciliation by addressing the injustices and inequalities of post freedom land allocation. Thus, land reform is a saturated program that contains social, political and economic aspects that need to be recognised.
Social, political and economic capitals that are associated herein with land reforms are essential for development in the rural areas since the most important field of production is agriculture. Therefore, deriving from the given definition, it is assumed that successful rural development would call for land reform especially in countries where the majority of the rural population was at some time displaced from fertile land by the colonial masters
3.0 Access to land for the poor
Providing land to the poor is the crucial starting point in rural development as agriculture is the main means of production in rural areas. With land available to them and all things being equal in terms of the rain, developed agricultural skills and inputs, rural communities can only buy salt which they cannot grow on the soil. Land reform, therefore, comes in to address issues on welfare (where land is given to the one who tills it), efficiency (to do with giving land to the majority of rural dwellers) and empowerment (that looks at land being the key resource that will cut off the dependency cycle of the poor). Thus, ownership of land has implications on the livelihood of the rural population and their development. Hence, writing about the Zimbabwe land reform exercise, Moyo (2003) states that the overriding objective on the land policy is to improve farm productivity and land use where access to land has to be improved. However, before independence most of the African countries like South Africa did not have access to fertile and adequate land. Most of the prime land belonged to the whites. This eventually led to poverty being associated with the rural population where they were very poor since they were driven to areas without investment, where they could not produce cattle because of tsetse flies, and where rainfall patterns were erratic therefore resulting in low productivity.
From the past, land had always had socio – economic and political meanings to people hence the existence of a strong attachment to land. Ownership of land was a symbol of wealth and influence to the blacks. Therefore, the loss of their land stripped them off their dignity, left them poor and with no identity. As some African countries gained independence, land reform programs were taken up to rectify this anomaly. Though with challenges and weaknesses, many rural areas were developed and continue to be developed through this process. For example, through land reform, the poor landless population in the rural areas will be able to access land. Finally they will put up decent shelter and rear their livestock with adequate grazing land, restoring their dignity. The government needs to made available facilities to easily access inputs. This will greatly contribute to the food security of the rural areas, an achievement towards developing the rural poor. Despite criticisms that have been published on how only the affluent and foreigners access land property due to their influence and the money that they have, if it is not for land reform, the rural poor will still be landless and poor after 15 years of democracy.
4.0 Introduction of cash crop production
Land reform gives room for local farmers to engage in cash cropping and still be able to grow food crops. This stance will see the development of many rural areas as it will attract investors. For example, amazing infrastructural developments can be seen in the Mashonaland part of Zimbabwe where they grow cotton as a cash crop and grain crops for food. The state needs to support communal farmers by making available facilities to access inputs and viable markets. In the process of exposing the local farmers to markets, they are also exposed to various investors who came into the rural areas to offer them relevant services. For example banks, Post Office depots and supermarkets offering basic commodities will be established.
This in turn will lead to construction of roads for easy access to communities and provision of reliable transport. In Kenya, land reform was meant to increase land productivity and encourage the rural people to invest in land as a way of increasing productivity. However, cash cropping brought about the concept of feminisation of poverty, where men have access to most of the benefits of cash cropping leaving women with very little or nothing to support their welfare. Though challenges were faced in achieving this aim, this was meant to place the rural poor at a strategic position of being developed.
5.0 Land reform as a mechanism for development
Masilela and Weiner (2001: 25 - 26) outline various objectives stated by the government of Zimbabwe in their documents that present land reform as a mechanism for development. Firstly, land reform in Zimbabwe was meant to relieve population pressure on overcrowded communal lands by bringing abandoned and under utilised commercial land into full production. Secondly, land reform was meant to extend and improve the agricultural base by supporting the peasant farmers through households and cooperative production. Thirdly, it aimed at improving the standard of living of the largest part of the poorest sector of the population that is the rural folk. It also aimed at distributing services and infrastructure to neglected areas and these were the rural areas. Finally, it aimed at implementing a resettlement programme that would eliminate the country’s economic dependence on the numerically small large-scale commercial sector. These five objectives define development of the rural poor elaborating the point that land reform is very essential in rural development. It does not only look at agricultural development but also considers development of industries, especially agriculture – related and service industries in rural areas.
Therefore, though the actual implementation of the program came with challenges, Zimbabwe had managed to justify that land reform is crucial for rural development. South Africa and other countries can learn from the Zimbabwe situation yet avoiding the pitfalls experienced thereof.
6.0 Land reform as a push start for rural development
Land reform is indeed essential for rural development, and this can be learnt through the analysis of lessons learnt from countries that implemented land reform. As aforementioned, various challenges were met and can still be met in the process of implementation; however, this cannot be a justification of disqualifying the crucial role played by land reform in rural development. Van de Wall (2004: 39) outlines prerequisites for a successful land reform and these show how land reform can and should push start rural development. He states that the rural population must accept the principle of land reform. During this process there is a lot of movement and political upheavals. It also demands a change in the patterns of life. For example, if there were plots allocated specifically for commercial farming, more time should be spent in the fields leaving less time to work elsewhere. The commercial farmer should treat that as a full time work that needs planning and the whole weight in it.
In South Africa, it is reported that 90% of the people allocated land have not fully utilised it. Some have sold it and gone to look for employment elsewhere. Farming should be viewed in the light of the change of lifestyle. In response to this change of lifestyle, a number of new commercial farmers need to leave their places of employment to take up full time farming. Secondly, for land reform to push start development, commercial farmers have to be aware that it would imply high costs and a large number of qualified and trained staff. There is also need for technical support services. This calls for proper management within the farms and adequate inputs for good harvests. The government and other partners in rural development need to take note of this need and provide credit facilities for inputs and farming implements.Extension staff from the Department of Agriculture needs to train farmers on various skills and assist them with equipment. The training should not be done in hotels and fancy venues but hands on in the farm with practical deomonstrations.This will assist farmers who have to develop their plots and cannot afford all the required inputs and those who have limited knowledge in farming. However, this is not to say that the whole process will be an automatic and total success since some challenges will be faced.
The land reform process should be push started by the commitment of the central government of the country. Other levels of government, NGOs, civil society and corporate should also realise the long term benefit and support the programme. The government needs to fully participate in the process through political and economic interventions. The government should also open up opportunities for the new farmers to easily access markets to sell their produce. For example depots need to be set up in various areas for easy access to the market. Prices should be monitored to ensure free trade for the new farmers
For land reform to push start development in the rural areas farmers need to enjoy security in respect of land rights. In South Africa there are plots that were put up for sale and the owners would have complete control over thee land. True, this came with some discourse as it isolated the poor who could not afford to buy land, but it speeded up the process of growth among the new commercial farmers. Because, they had spent financial resources to acquire the land, they were, therefore pushed to work towards fruitful results. In the rural areas, land is said to belong to the chief and so it can not be sold. That is why the chief is able to evict any person not subject to him or suspected of witchcraft. Rural subsistent farmers cannot sell but pass on to the next generation.The rural population is in secure with their land rights as they cannot use land for collateral in banks to get money to develop it for their economic improvement.
7.0 Conclusion
It is unfortunate that the African countries that underwent land reform faced great challenges that even threatened the political stability of the countries concerned and their economic sector. However, a close and balanced analysis of the implementation of the land reform program reveals that land reform can and should push start rural development as it is concerned with the key means of production. It is important that we understand and acknowledge the multi sectoral nature of rural development. It is not only agricultural benefits brought about by land reform that would complete the development process in the rural areas. All activities be they infrastructural or spatial, take place in the land amd the questions of land ownership, restitution of the land, allocation of used or underutilised land is crucial to this debate. The fact that rural populations that comprise the highest numbers in the country are crowded in small pieces of land some of which is not arable while there are huge spaces if unused land need to be look at very critically and appropriate redress action taken as soon as possible.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
De Wet, C. 2000. Land reform in South Africa: a vehicle for justice and reconciliation, or a source of further inequality and conflict? Development Southern Africa 14 (3).
Masilela, C & Weiner, D. 2001. Resettlement planning in Zimbabwe and South Africa’s rural land reform discourse. Third World Planning Review 18 (1)
Moyo, S. 2003. The land question – which way forward? Southern African Political and Economic Monthly 7
Rakolojane, M. 2002. Only Study Guide for OADRUR – Y. Pretoria: University of South Africa
Van de Wall, G. 2004. Towards a system of land tenure in the national states, in Towards freehold? Options for land and development in South Africa’s black rural areas, edited by CR Cross and R Haines. Cape Town: Juta
