In the intricate tapestry of South Africa’s agricultural landscape, the legacy of colonialism and land dispossession still weaves its threads, impacting farmers who cultivate on communal lands. Agricultural economist from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Dr Siphe Zantsi shed light on this topic on a recent Gather To Grow session on Instagram.
He said the Land Act of 1913 gave black people only 13% of South Africa’s land, and as such many black people are still trying to make it in the big market while farming on communal land.
Title deeds vs permits to occupy
“These places were called Bantu stands, homelands, and reserves, and that is where cheap labour was found for the advancement of the colonial government. Even though we are in a democracy, those laws have not been abolished but we are now transitioning to the rest of the country’s land.
“The land titling in these laws is different in the sense that people who own land there, do not have title deeds, but they have permits to occupy (PTOs),” he shared.
Zantsi highlighted that people owned land collectively and the ownership of land was bestowed on chiefs and other headlands in some areas, which is why it is known as communal land.
Government owns the land
Craig Murrell, head of rural development and advisory services at Agri SA Enterprises, added that the native land redistribution act has identified ten homelands in the country.
Effectively, this means that the government is the owner of that land and has entrusted different people as custodians of that land, which is millions of hectares across the country, explained Murrell.
“One thing that carried unintentionally was the inability to acquire a balance sheet, the inability of people farming on communal homelands to acquire assets.
“That is one thing that tracks over hundreds of years of living or farming on land that you don’t own. Anything you do to that land does not belong to you as the person who works the land,” he said.
Key steps of obtaining permission to occupy
For farmers to get access to a PTO, they have to go through a process of vetting and application, however, Murrell stressed the importance of researching the needed land first.
“If you want to use the land for residential purposes or agricultural purposes, you need to do your homework properly so that you can know about it, whether it can be used or not.
“You have to be a resident or know a resident of the area that you want to acquire land in. Then you need to consult with the induna, the headmen, and after receiving permission and identifying the land you want,” he said.
Murrel said after doing research, a farmer can consult the induna who would take the request to the tribal council. The council would convene and give directives on whether they would allow a farmer to farm or not.
“Once the approval is given, then the farmer gets a lease which will go through negotiations on whether they are able to lease it on a monthly term basis, and conditions of how a farmer will be paying to the traditional authority. Once that is done and dusted, then it will then be signed by the king and the chief,” added Murrell.
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