THE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURE AND LAND REFORM TO GENERATE NEW JOBS

The policy brief examines how South Africa can leverage agriculture and land reform for job creation. It highlights the current dominance of large-scale commercial farming and the failures of previous land reform efforts. The document proposes three scenarios for job growth, ranging from a modest 220,000 net jobs through commercial intensification to 1,263,000 net jobs if 60% of commercial farmland is redistributed to market-oriented smallholders. It concludes that while significant livelihood opportunities exist for smallholders, the potential for high-wage, secure employment in the sector is limited and depends heavily on state capacity and irrigation access.

• The South African agricultural sector, including forestry and fisheries, contributes 2% to GDP and 5% to employment, with approximately 840,000 workers. The majority of produce for formal markets is provided by 30,000 to 50,000 medium- to large-scale commercial farmers, only about 5,000 of whom are black.
• Commercial agriculture is experiencing a long-term trend of job losses due to increased mechanization and efficiency, alongside a shift toward temporary, casual, and seasonal labor. Farmworkers often face poor pay, insecurity, and widespread noncompliance with labor laws, including illegal evictions.
• Land reform in South Africa has failed to achieve its goals of creating equitable land ownership and new economic opportunities. Black entrants to large-scale farming are hindered by high capital requirements and managerial skill gaps, while small-scale farmers lack state support for infrastructure, capital, irrigation, and markets.
• Scenario A focuses on the intensification of commercial farming and slow land reform, projecting 280,000 new jobs in commercial agriculture and forestry, offset by 60,000 losses from mechanization and displacement, resulting in 220,000 net new jobs.
• Scenario B, based on the National Development Plan (NDP) but assuming less available irrigation water (200,000 hectares), estimates 351,000 net jobs. This includes 152,000 in commercial agriculture, 194,000 in communal areas, and 105,000 in land reform, minus 100,000 lost to mechanization and displacement.
• Scenario C proposes redistributing 60% of commercial farmland, primarily to market-oriented smallholders. This scenario projects the highest net job creation at 1,263,000, including 1,117,000 jobs in land reform, though 200,000 jobs are lost to mechanization and displacement.
• The document concludes that while land reform targeting market-oriented smallholders can create many opportunities, these are typically low-income, precarious roles. There are limited opportunities to create high-wage, secure jobs in the sector, and success depends on the state building capacities it currently lacks.

APA

Cousins, B., Genis, A., & Clarke, J. (2018). THE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURE AND LAND REFORM TO GENERATE NEW JOBS. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-2-Policy-Brief-1-The-potential-of-agriculture-and-land-reform-to-generate-new-jobs.pdf

Chicago

Cousins, Ben, Amelia Genis, and Jeanette Clarke. THE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURE AND LAND REFORM TO GENERATE NEW JOBS. Institute for Economic Justice, 2018. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-2-Policy-Brief-1-The-potential-of-agriculture-and-land-reform-to-generate-new-jobs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cousins |first1=Ben |last2=Genis |first2=Amelia |last3=Clarke |first3=Jeanette |title=THE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURE AND LAND REFORM TO GENERATE NEW JOBS |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=August 2018 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-2-Policy-Brief-1-The-potential-of-agriculture-and-land-reform-to-generate-new-jobs.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cousins2018potential, author = {Cousins, Ben and Genis, Amelia and Clarke, Jeanette}, title = {{THE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURE AND LAND REFORM TO GENERATE NEW JOBS}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Stream-2-Policy-Brief-1-The-potential-of-agriculture-and-land-reform-to-generate-new-jobs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }