LAND REFORM ADVISORY DESK FACILITATES DONATION TO WITZENBERG PALS

LAND REFORM ADVISORY DESK FACILITATES DONATION TO WITZENBERG PALS

The newly established LREAD recently facilitated a donation of R90 000 to the Witzenberg Partnership in Agri Land Solutions (PALS). This donation cements a working relationship between the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and PALS, and it is foreseen that the LREAD will play a pivotal role in facilitating and supporting this initiative.

PALS is a unique initiative in the Western Cape Province. Farmers and agricultural businesses in the Witzenberg area decided to proactively implement Chapter 6 of the National Development Plan, which sets out a vision for district based land reform.
The NDP proposes that 20% of agricultural land per district be transferred from white land owners to new black owners by 2030. According to the NDP, government will purchase land identified by a District Committee for 50% of market value. The districts farming community will contribute the 50% shortfall, which will be acknowledged by government as their contribution to land reform and exempts them from any future land reform demands.

With this in mind, the Witzenberg business community established the Witzenberg PALS to work towards achieving these goals. A permanent office in Ceres with three full-time staff members has been established and 80 potential transformation projects were identified, which include land reform, value chain, housing and training projects. These projects are in various stages of conceptualisation or implementation. There are approximately 50 land projects that comprise more than 4200 hectares of agricultural land to be transferred to new black farmers and business entities. Casidra is excited to be part of this long awaited initiative.