Custodianship of land can be a burden too heavy for the state to bear
The high court on the ruling Ingonyama Trust leasing land held in custody highlights the dangers.
Minister Didiza’s Budget Vote Speech centered on the themes of private-public-partnership approaches
The Minister’s speech is positive as it centred on the theme of public-private partnerships for development and expansion in the sector and emphasised various programmes that the social partners are already working on in collaboration with the government. I share the minister’s broad view that harnessing the power of public and private sector collaboration is critical to unlocking opportunities for inclusive growth in the sector.
South Africa’s expropriation debate must not sap energy from agricultural master plan
The debate over amending section 25 has gone beyond the realm of agriculture as various other stakeholders have engaged with parliament. As the outcome is likely to have direct implications for the success of the department’s work programme, it would be prudent for parliament to consider the broader impact on the agricultural and other sectors of the economy while SA is in an economic reconstruction phase.
South Africa’s agriculture and land reform: How far are we from an integrated and inclusive rural economy?
Progress with South Africa’s land reform as per the National Development Plan has been underestimated and, while still slow, is closer to the 30% target than typically believed.
Some thoughts on South Africa’s Land Reform
Today, the Agrekon Journal, a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, published my article — a response to a critique of the Presidential Advisory Panel report on South Africa’s Land Reform and Agriculture. I was a member of the Panel.
State of the Nation Address a mixed bag on agriculture
The agricultural message within the State of the Nation Address was a mixed bag; an acknowledgement of the farming potential to create jobs and foster growth, yet a hazy view on land policy and support programmes for land reform beneficiaries. There may also be an over-reliance on the master plans; time will tell if it will genuinely deliver on its promise.
South Africa’s agricultural policy in 2021
Wandile Sihlobo, Johann Kirsten and Sifiso Ntombela[i] From the Reconstruction and Development Programme of President Mandela to the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of President Mbeki, the National Development Plan of President Zuma and recently the...
What next for the land the South African government wants to distribute?
By Wandile Sihlobo and Prof Johann Kirsten[i] Agriculture, land reform & rural development minister Thoko Didiza’s announcement that 700,000ha of agricultural land will be released for distribution is a positive step for agricultural expansion and inclusive...
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity and Agriculture“.
He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand.
Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2022), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018.
He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).
Sihlobo is a columnist for Business Day, The Herald and Farmers Weekly magazine.
His weekly podcast, “Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo“, is available on all podcast platforms.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University.