Report

Joint Ventures in Agriculture: Lessons from Land Reform Projects in South Africa

“This report begins by setting out the context for these types of joint ventures, within the context of the South African land reform programme (Chapter 2). Particular
attention is paid to the restitution dimension of land reform, which aims to return ancestral land – much of it now highly developed – to former owners, many of them
large and relatively poor communities. The two case studies of Levubu and Moletele
are then considered in turn (Chapters 3 and 4), looking at the land in question, the
communities and other actors involved, the nature of the business partnerships that
have been created and the success or otherwise of these partnerships to date.
Chapter 5 presents a comparative analysis of these two cases, looking in some
detail at the emerging business models, the benefits to the communities, links
between agricultural production and other (upstream and downstream) commercial
activities, the role of Communal Property Associations (CPAs) within the respective
communities and, finally, the impact on workers and employment. Chapter 6
summarises the main findings of the study, situating the South African experience in
the wider international context, and presents a number of policy recommendations.”