Occasional Paper

Evaluating Land and Agrarian Reform in South Africa: Land Redistribution

“The land reform programme of the South African government is conventionally described as having three legs: restitution, tenure reform and redistribution. While restitution deals specifically with historical rights in land, and tenure reform with forms of land holding, redistribution is specifically aimed at transforming the racial pattern of land ownership.This study provides an overview of the government’s land redistribution programme since
1994 and pays particular attention to the LRAD programme. It addresses two main questions: Is LRAD changing the patterns of land ownership in South Africa? What has been the impact of LRAD on the livelihoods of the rural poor.”