Mr Nkwinti triggered a barrage of criticism in May when he vowed he would bring legislation to Parliament this year that created ceilings on farm size for both natural and juristic persons, due to the need to address the legacy of colonialism and apartheid.
It was proposed the ceiling for a viable small-scale commercial farm should be 1,000ha; for a viable medium-scale commercial farm 2,500ha; and for a viable large-scale commercial farm 5,000ha. Last week Mr Nkwinti, in response to a parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance MP Tsepo Mhlongo, gave the assurance that two studies — "A Comprehensive Assessment of Land Ceilings in Selected Countries and Lessons for SA’s Proposed Reforms" by Professor Sam Kariuke and "The Agricultural Economy of SA and the Implications of a Potential Land Ceilings Policy and Legislation on the Broader Economy" — informed the government’s intention to implement land ceilings.
The Kariuke study noted land ceilings were set to regulate the extent of property ownership allowed and areas that exceeded the ceiling were to be expropriated. It was found that high ceilings affected relatively few owners and were easier to implement but delivered very little land for redistribution. Low ceilings delivered more land for redistribution, however, this would trigger stronger opposition to the policy.
Prof Kariuke said international case studies of countries that had implemented land ceiling laws suggest land ceilings were a potential tool to use in conjunction with other land reform tools in averting the unregulated concentration of land ownership.
Lessons learned from the Romanian, Taiwanese and Mexican experiences showed the "necessity of having limits which are neither too big nor too small", Prof Kariuke said.
"In addition, other nuances such as complex ownership structures that may underpin ownership of established commercial farms (complex shareholding structures) deserves careful consideration. To avoid circumvention and unnecessary litigation by landowners, the legal and institutional framework that underpins land ceiling (sic) must be clearly formulated and devoid of shortfalls."
The study found "the imposition of land ceiling must be underpinned by an effective and clearly defined legal and institutional framework that will not be open to manipulation, circumvention and unnecessary litigation".
The consensus was that land ownership concentration in SA was rising, with only 30,000 farmers left in the country from 15 years ago when there were 60,000. Also, average farm sizes had doubled since 1994.
