Commercial farmers Sample Clauses

Commercial farmers. This category of farmers produces primarily for the market and makes considerable living from farming. In practical terms, in order to be classified as commercial, farm income must exceed a minimum economic size. Due to the expensive nature of capital formation and implementation of technological processes, the landowners of such farms are often large in scale to counteract the low returns on investment of the sector. The established commercial sector is struggling to compete internationally and in the process farms are getting more concentrated or diversifying into game farming, in the process shedding jobs. Land is a catalyst for poverty alleviation, job creation, food security and entrepreneurship. Much of the land that has been transferred through land reform is not being used as productively as it should due to inadequate pre- and post-settlement support. There has been emphasis on delivering hectares of land at the expense of stimulating agricultural production, ensuring food security and promoting economic development. This has contributed to a decrease in employment in the agricultural sector. There is a need to accelerate the land reform programme in order to ensure productivity by new land owners, contribute to their income, food security and local economic development. Opportunities exist in using underutilised high potential agricultural land in the former homelands. The focus should initially be districts that have relatively high concentration of black farmers and land reform beneficiaries. This should include effective development and beneficiation of land reform beneficiaries, creation of decent jobs on farm and establishing agri-villages for local economic development. A developmental approach to the settlement of restitution claims will be taken. Land reform projects will be recapitalized through programmes that seek to increase the productivity levels, employment and gross value of these farms.