This was one of the agreements reached at the conference on “Resolving the Land Question: Land redistribution for equitable access to land in South Africa,” held at the University of the Western Cape earlier this month.

Behind some of the policy proposals and discussions on land redistribution in South Africa is a persistent notion that the country should establish 'small-scale farms' so that there could be more participants, and increase in productivity.

Zimbabwe's controversial land reform programme, which left most of its land without collateral value has meant the country is now carrying a dead asset, its Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube has said.

The most recent state-backed land conference in Pretoria was full of sunshine. Through an ionic colonnade, the generous tiled portico of St George’s Hotel gave onto a neatly styled courtyard garden nestled between mosaics of ancient gods and cherubs and fountains and ponds.

Government appears to have cut the Ingonyama Trust Board loose, choosing not to join the ITB’s defence of a court challenge to its authority to issue leases to residents of the 2.8-million hectares of land it administers on behalf of King Goodwill Zwelithini.

In a televised interview, the former president said the ANC under his leadership never prioritised land reform because numerous other demands seemed far more pressing.

Chiti Makwetu’s farm is a long way away from the main road. That, he believes, is why his government has been ignoring him. One day last September, he complained that efforts to install electricity have been limited to properties near the road—a ploy, he suggested, to convince passersby of the government’s commitment to the area. Meanwhile, land farther from view, like his, has been neglected. “We are literally off the grid,” he said.

At no other time since the birth of the democratic dispensation in 1994 has the land question become such a defining feature of national elections. In a bid to win the hearts and minds of the electorate political parties upped the tempo of their election drive as May 8 drew nearer.

SOUTH Africa’s prolonged land reform programme, if not resolved now, will soon be likened to deadly United States atomic bombs dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II in 1945.

Industrial agriculture – farming that involves the intensive production of livestock, poultry, fish and crops – is one of the most environmentally destructive forms of land use.

We’re used to seeing some strange things emanate from the Twitter account of Donald Trump. By all means, he is the world’s first “social media president”. But the divisive politician managed to send South Africa into a frenzy last year when he weighed-in on the land expropriation debate.

An entitled black population, centuries old white capital and high political stakes are at the heart of the land debate. Is this still only about land or there are several issues South Africa needs to deal with?

Persistent unemployment has becomesynonymous with the youth experienceacross South Africa. Youth unemployment rates are almostfour times higherthan the regional average – 62% of South Africans between 15 and 35 years areunemployedand of these 60% havenever been employed .

Since Zimbabwe’s land reform of 2000 – when around 8 million hectares of formerly large-scale commercial farmland was distributed to about 175,000 households – debates about the consequences for food security have raged.

Parliament is on track to finalise the redrafting of section 25 of the constitution, or the property clause, amid growing concern by investors about the government’s proposals to expropriate land without compensation.