Land reform and rural development in the Transvaal

Abstract

This paper considers and contrasts agriculture on the white‐owned farms and in the black‐occupied areas of the Transvaal. It outlines the limitations of the existing tribal tenure system in the black areas, and argues that the various development initiatives that have taken place there have not left the people either financially better off, or with a greater degree of control over their land than before. The whole Transvaal should be seen as a single unit for agricultural planning purposes. This would mean that natural resources, as well as agricultural services, could be spread more equitably among the entire population of the area, which would boost agricultural production, as well as lessen the gross inequalities currently pertaining between black and white agriculture in the area.

Notes

Environmental and Development Agency, Johannesburg.