Events in Zimbabwe show clearly that land reform without an economically sustainable master plan can be disastrous for a country, according to Paul van der Walt, president of TAU SA (formerly the Transvaal Agricultural Union).
He pointed out that the government of Zimbabwe had now taken back 1,449 of the farms it seized from their white owners and gave to black farmers, after discovering the land was either empty or the new occupiers were not doing any farming. "This was the main reason for the food crisis in Zimbabwe," Van der Walt said.
"Zimbabwe chased the white farmers off their farms without planning for sustainable food production for the country’s inhabitants. Merely eight years later the government has to admit that its policy of land reform did not succeed."
TAU SA called on the South African government to take note of the mistakes made in Zimbabwe. "The land reform programme is being speeded up, without the needed master plan to ensure sustainable food production," he said.The Times
