GTAC/CBPEP/ EU project on employment-intensive rural land reform in South Africa: policies, programmes and capacities Municipal case study Sakhisizwe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Michael Aliber and Avuyile Xabadiya University of Fort Hare 31 March 2020 Abbreviations and acronyms BFAP Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy CMW Cape Mohair and Wool CPA Communal Property Association DAFF Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries DRDLR Department of Rural Development and Land Reform FTE Full time equivalent GFADA The Grain Farmer Development Association LRAD Land Reform for Agriculture Development LSU Large Stock Unit LSUE Large Stock Equivalent NWGA National Wool Growers Association PLAS Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme SADT South African Development Trust SASSA South African Social Security Agency SLAG Settlement and Land Acquisition Grant SPLAG Settlement, Planning and Land Acquisition Grant ii Contents Abbreviations and acronyms .................................................................................................................. ii Executive summary ................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Status quo ....................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Descriptive overview of Sakhisizwe Local Municipality .......................................................... 6 2.2 Agro-ecological conditions ...................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Small-scale farming sector .................................................................................................... 12 2.3.1 Statistical overview .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3.2 Findings from fieldwork ....................................................................................................... 14 2.4 The large-scale commercial farming sector ................................................................................ 20 2.4.1 Livestock production systems ....................................................................................... 25 2.4.2 Crop production systems .............................................................................................. 28 2.5 Land reform to date .................................................................................................................... 31 2.5.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 31 2.5.2 Findings from fieldwork ................................................................................................ 32 2.5.3 The GFADA programme ................................................................................................ 35 2.6 Settlement patterns, local food demand and markets ............................................................... 37 3. Promising commodities, production systems, and marketing strategies ..................................... 40 3.1 Livestock ...................................................................................................................................... 40 3.2 Dryland crop farming .................................................................................................................. 42 3.3 Horticulture ................................................................................................................................. 43 4. Specific proposals for employment-intensive land reform in Sakhisizwe .................................... 45 4.1 Extensive grazing with sheep ............................................................................................... 46 4.2 Dryland crop farming ........................................................................................................... 47 4.3 Irrigated vegetable farming ................................................................................................. 48 5. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 51 References ............................................................................................................................................ 53 Appendix: Additional maps ................................................................................................................... 56 List of figures Figure 1: Elliot Magisterial District and Sakhisizwe Local Municipality .................................................. 6 Figure 2: Land cover categories of cultivated land, with annual average rainfall .................................. 8 Figure 3: Potential of arable and non-arable soils .................................................................................. 9 Figure 4: Grazing capacity (HA/LSU), 2016 ........................................................................................... 10 Figure 5: Satellite images showing land use patterns in the Elliot part of Sakhisizwe (top two images) versus the Cala part of Sakhisizwe (bottom two images) ..................................................................... 11 iii Figure 6: Satellite image showing land use patterns on either side of the fence separating Elliot District (upper-left) from Engcobo Local Municipality (lower-right) .................................................... 11 Figure 7: Sheep shearing near Askeaton Village ................................................................................... 17 Figure 8: Photos of ‘Farmer 1’ (left) and ‘Farmer 3’ (right) .................................................................. 20 Figure 9: Trends in the composition of commercial agriculture, by shares of gross farm income ...... 22 Figure 10: Derelict farmhouse amid productive maize fields ............................................................... 23 Figure 11: Agricultural employment trends, 1970 to 2002 .................................................................. 24 Figure 12: Agricultural employment trends, 1993 to 2018 .................................................................. 24 Figure 13: Herd of Bonsmara on large-scale farm in western part of Elliot District ............................. 27 Figure 14: Pattern of relatively small, discrete fields ........................................................................... 29 Figure 15: Potato packing ..................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 16: land redistribution delivery in Sakhisizwe over time ........................................................... 31 Figure 17: Spatial distribution of land redistribution projects in Elliot ................................................. 32 Figure 18: Labour intensity of maize production as a function of hectarage ....................................... 37 Figure 19: Highstreets of Elliot town (top) and Cala town (bottom) .................................................... 38 Figure A1: Mean annual rainfall in and around Sakhisizwe .................................................................. 56 Figure A2: Land capability in and around Sakhisizwe ........................................................................... 56 Figure A3: Degraded land in and around Sakhisizwe ............................................................................ 57 Figure A4: Pension pay-points, 2003 .................................................................................................... 57 List of tables Table 1: Disaggregation of the population of Sakhisizwe ....................................................................... 7 Table 2: Numbers of households involved in different types of agriculture ........................................ 12 Table 3: Estimated numbers of households owning cattle, sheep or goats ......................................... 13 Table 4: Estimated numbers of cattle, sheep or goats owned by households ..................................... 13 Table 5: Summary table of livestock numbers (in large-stock unit equivalents) per area ................... 13 Table 6: Farmers who have a significant numbers of sheep ................................................................ 17 Table 7: Components of value added of Sakhisizwe Local Municipality .............................................. 21 Table 8: Commercial agricultural land uses in Elliot District, 1993....................................................... 21 Table 9: Livestock numbers in Elliot District, 1980 to 2002 .................................................................. 23 Table 10: Summary of employment during harvesting through the GFADA programme .................... 36 Table 11: Estimated annual consumer food expenditure. R millions ................................................... 39 Table 12: Estimates of 50% of the remaining commercial farmland in Sakhisizwe Municipality ........ 45 Table 13: Employment changes due to the redistribution of 50% of the remaining commercial farmland in Sakhisizwe Local Municipality ..........................................................................................