Perception on land reform in Reef, Nkomazi District Mpumalanga South Africa.

Abstract

The study examined smallholder farmers’ perception of land reform in Reef, Nkomazi, South Africa. Data were collected from respondents using focus group discussion, structured and semi-structured questionnaires. Frequency, mean, percentage and ordinal logistics regression were used for data analysis. Results indicate that gender (P-value = 0.036, β=.862), age (Pvalue = .037, β = 0.56), education (P-value = .032, β= -.647) and farm experience (P-value = .002, β = 4.067) were significant variables influencing perception of respondents on land reform. The identified challenges of land reform beneficiaries were credit constraints (82%), insufficient skills (62%), inadequate market information (74%), and inadequate extension advisory services (65%). Land reform should be based on a clear identification of needs assessment, and guided by clear policy framework to address the identified challenges encountered by beneficiaries. Furthermore, post-settlement support should include effective stakeholder consensus during implementation process.