Ramaphosa’s 2.5m-hectare plan puts title deeds in focus
PRETORIA — President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed government’s programme to release approximately 2.5 million hectares of state-owned land to black farmers with title deeds, placing ownership and access to finance at the centre of efforts to expand commercial agriculture. In his weekly newsletter on Monday, he said agricultural transformation was necessary to strengthen food security and build a new generation of farmers.
The land was acquired through the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy. Ramaphosa’s announcement concerns transferring land already held by government to beneficiaries, with ownership documents intended to support their farming businesses. The distinction matters in a debate that has attracted international attention and frequently blurred different mechanisms of land reform.
In his June Presidency budget vote speech, Ramaphosa explained that much of this land had generally been leased to beneficiaries on short-term arrangements. He said those arrangements restricted farmers’ ability to borrow, invest in their properties and increase production. Government’s proposed conversion of agricultural leases into title deeds is intended to strengthen land rights while supporting rural economic activity.
The programme follows the diplomatic dispute sparked in February 2025 when US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of confiscating land and threatened to cut funding. Trump provided no evidence for the confiscation claim. Ramaphosa responded that government had not confiscated land and defended the recently signed Expropriation Act as a process governed by the Constitution.
That earlier dispute concerned legislation governing expropriation. The current programme deals with government’s existing agricultural land holdings. Its immediate significance for beneficiaries lies in the move from leasing state land towards holding registered ownership, a change Ramaphosa has linked to the ability to invest and grow farming enterprises.
Ramaphosa reinforced the commitment during a visit to Redlands Dairy Farm in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape on 8 October. He said the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development had begun releasing the land with title deeds. However, the approximately 2.5 million hectares refers to the land covered by the programme; his remarks did not establish that the entire area had already been transferred.
Redlands, which has benefited from the Land Bank’s Blended Finance Scheme, provided an example of the support government wants to expand. The scheme combines grants with loans to help finance viable agricultural investments. Ramaphosa said public funding alone could not meet the sector’s needs and called for additional investment through commercial banks, development partners and the private sector.
In Monday’s newsletter, the president also emphasised practical training, mentorship and access to technology. He cited work by agricultural commodity associations and encouraged more lenders and agribusinesses to participate in financing programmes. His argument links land ownership to a wider support system: farmers need both secure access to their properties and the resources to produce commercially.
For prospective beneficiaries, implementation will be the decisive measure. Monday’s newsletter did not provide a completion date or a tally of hectares already transferred with title deeds. Those figures will help establish how quickly the ownership programme is translating into the investment, production and rural opportunities government says it wants to create.
Anyone with additional information can contact the press desk at press@townpress.co.za or drop a tip on our annonymous platform https://tips.townpress.co.za/