Ramaphosa Announces Release of 2.5 Million Hectares of State Land to Black Farmers With Title Deeds
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, October 12, 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government is releasing approximately 2.5 million hectares of state-owned land to Black farmers through the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy, and giving them title deeds. SAnews and the Bulletin reported his message: bringing more land under cultivation can create a new generation of Black commercial farmers and ensure South Africa grows enough to feed its people and sell to world markets.
Ramaphosa said the agricultural sector has immense potential for growth and jobs, but the benefits of its expansion have not reached all communities. Agriculture employs about 944,000 people, with another 200,000 across the value chain; exports reached a record R270 billion in 2025, making South Africa the world's 32nd-largest agricultural exporter of products including table grapes, maize, beef, wine, citrus, sugar and wool. Yet he described 'two agricultures': large commercial farms, predominantly white-owned, account for the bulk of output, while Black farmers represent around 10 percent of the sector.
Land access must be combined with financing, skills development, mentorship and training, he said, citing Redlands Farm, a commercial dairy farm in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape owned by young Black farmers, which expanded with support from the Land Bank's Blended Finance Scheme combining government grants with loan finance. He said such partnerships show a transformed agribusiness sector can boost the rural economy and create jobs, and encouraged other agribusinesses and commercial banks to develop further funding instruments.
Land remains one of South Africa's most sensitive post-apartheid questions and a point of friction with the Trump administration in the United States, which has criticised South Africa's land-reform policies; Pretoria rejects accusations of expropriating private land without compensation. This release concerns state-owned land rather than private farms, and the government hopes title deeds plus finance can balance historical redress with agricultural output, a formula whose delivery will be tested by farmers, banks and markets alike.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 北开普省卡鲁地区的农舍与农地。摄影：BeanieAll，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
