Black owned farms failing. (BBC)
About 90% of farms that have been redistributed to black farmers in South Africa are not being productive as compared to when owned by white farmers according to the government. The minister for land reform says the farm lands will be given back to the white farmers if their productivity does not improve. The lands were bought from white farmers and redistributed to blacks who didn’t have means of catering for themselves after apartheid.
The government set a target for 2014 to redistribute all white owned farms that have been acquired but as the situation is the government will not be able to meet the deadline. It is planning to help black farmers increase productivity from their farms. Land reform in South Africa is a very sensitive issue and had come into the spotlight because of the decline in agriculture in Zimbabwe which also embarked on a similar program.