The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform Strategic Plan 2015 – 2020 is a national sectoral policy whose mission is to create and maintain an equitable and sustainable land dispensation, and act as a coordinator and catalyst in rural development to ensure sustainable rural livelihoods, decent work, and continued social and economic advancement of all South Africans.
Improved food security is amongst the policy goals. To this end, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) will work toward facilitating rural livelihoods development by providing quality Infrastructure development and support to rural enterprises and development of rural industries. Further, the initiation of sustainable land reform programmes and promotion of equitable land redistribution and agricultural development will ensure that the land acquired for agricultural purposes is used productively and will contribute towards economic development and food security.
The policy also seeks to make agriculture more productive and sustainable. To this end, the DRDLR will work towards an integrated and comprehensive land reform system, including the provision of geospatial and cadastral services such as geospatial information, cadastral surveys, deeds registration, and spatial planning, to support an integrated and sustainable growth and development. A comprehensive rural development programme will also lead to sustainable and vibrant rural communities.
Further, the document aims to reduce rural poverty by initiating land reforms that promote secure tenure, equitable use and sustainable management of land by rural communities. Such efforts include the establishment of a modernized cadastre solution, settlement of land restitution claims under the Restitution of Land Rights Act (1994) and provision of settlement support to beneficiaries, restoration of land rights, and efforts to increase rural employment and job opportunities.
To enable more efficient agricultural and food systems comprehensive farm development support will be offered to smallholder farmers and other land reform beneficiaries for agrarian transformation. More broadly, the land reform will also help to this end.
Regarding governance, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is the main authority responsible for the policy implementation.