Appraisal of land reform projects in the Northwest Province of South Africa

The study entailed an audit of 177 land reform projects in Northwest Province to determine the extent to which the projects are meeting or not meeting the objective of commercial viability. A sample of 43 land reform projects was selected for a more detailed assessment and analysis using an evaluation instrument designed to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. These projects were divided into four categories based on their production status as follows: projects where production has increased, decreased, remained stable, or zero. The audit of land reform projects revealed the following: · More than a quarter (27%)of the projects were not operational and, thus, do not meet the agrarian reform objective of commercial viability. Reasons for this include conflict among and within groups, loss of interest from some of the beneficiaries, poor infrastructure and insufficient farm income. Farm infrastructure had either been vandalised or the quality thereof deteriorated on 50 of the 177 farms audited. No agricultural production had taken place on 30 of the audited projects. Of the 43 projects that were selected for in-depth appraisal, 19 had either decreased (10) or zero (9) production. Some of the reasons for this included: · Lack of investment in, and improvements and maintenance of farm infrastructure. · Limited access to funds to cover production costs. · Poor decision-making and management of farming activities. · Limited beneficiary involvement in farming activities. · Lack of aftercare for beneficiaries. · Limited farming advice and support. · Limited farming experience of beneficiaries. · Limited financial management skills.