President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that government is releasing about 2.5 million hectares of state-owned land to black farmers, with title deeds for the beneficiaries, according to BusinessTech. He made the announcement in his weekly newsletter, “From the Desk of the President”, on Monday 12 October 2026, saying the land falls under the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy.
What the President said
In the newsletter, which SAnews also reported, Ramaphosa said title deeds will help build a new generation of commercial farmers. He described South Africa as having “two agricultures”: predominantly white-owned commercial farms produce most commercial output, while black farmers contribute around 10%.
He said that relying on “a relatively small segment of the population” for the country’s food is unsustainable, given a growing population and rising demand for food. He argued that transformation is needed to address historical inequality, strengthen food security and meet future needs.
The newsletter also set out the size of the sector. Agriculture has more than doubled since 1994, and South Africa is the world’s 32nd-largest agricultural exporter. Exports reached a record R270 billion in 2025, led by table grapes, maize, beef, wine, citrus, sugar and wool. The African continent takes nearly half of these exports, and other markets include the European Union, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.
The sector employs about 944 000 people, with a further 200 000 working across the broader agricultural value chain. “Agriculture is a sector that holds immense potential for growth and jobs,” the President said, according to BusinessTech.
Finance, skills and the Redlands example
Ramaphosa pointed to Redlands Farm, a commercial dairy farm in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape that is owned and run by young black farmers. It has expanded with support from the Land Bank, and benefits from the Land Bank’s Blended Finance Scheme, which combines government grant funding with loans.
He said access to affordable, long-term finance is a key need for emerging farmers, and that the Land Bank and the Department of Agriculture introduced the blended finance instrument to address it. The scheme is also encouraging agribusinesses and commercial banks to join and develop more funding instruments, and he urged more of them to take part.
Land alone is not enough, he said. Commercial-scale farming also needs skills, mentorship, training and technology. He welcomed programmes run by the Citrus Growers’ Association, Grain South Africa, the National Wool Growers’ Association, Potatoes South Africa, Red Meat Industry Services, the Milk Producers’ Organisation and Fruit South Africa.
The President added that government is working to expand and diversify export markets, and is engaging farmers and agribusinesses on new breeding techniques and agricultural biotechnology. He called for stronger partnerships among government, farmers, businesses, lenders, traditional leaders and communities.
Background: acquired land on short leases
The 2.5 million hectare figure has appeared before. In a column for Sunday World published on 7 June 2026, Wandile Sihlobo, the presidential envoy on agriculture and land and chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, wrote that Ramaphosa had told Parliament in the Presidency’s Budget Vote speech that government had acquired about 2.5 million hectares under the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy.
That land, Sihlobo wrote, had generally been leased to beneficiaries on a short-term basis, which limits their ability to borrow, invest and expand production. He said the President had signalled the start of a title deeds release process.
This is an opinion column, and Sihlobo’s views are his own. He argued that the lack of title deeds has been the main constraint on inclusive agricultural growth, and that the land will mainly be used for commercial farming, which makes financing and training for new beneficiaries important. He described the move as a signal that property rights are protected and that farm investment is secure. He wrote that details would come from the minister of land reform and rural development “in the coming weeks and months”.
Sihlobo also noted that employment in primary agriculture rose from 718 000 at the end of 2012, when the National Development Plan was published, to 960 000 in the first quarter of 2026. The plan estimates that the sector and its value chain could create close to one million new jobs.
Questions about who benefits
Briefly News reported that some South Africans questioned how beneficiaries would be chosen after the announcement. Users on X asked who the beneficiaries are and how they were selected, and one demanded that the list and criteria be published. Another user alleged that most beneficiaries are ANC-affiliated, a claim Briefly presented without verifying it. Another commented that the announcement came just before the elections.
Briefly’s report does not name any beneficiaries, set out selection criteria, give a rollout timeline or carry an official response to those questions. The same gaps remain in the newsletter coverage reviewed here. The wording also differs between sources: the newsletter says government is releasing the land, while Sihlobo describes the 2.5 million hectares as land already acquired. How many hectares will be titled, to whom and by when has not been stated in the material reviewed.
