WATCH: Ramaphosa: New agency planned to fast-track land reform

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the agency would be established in the next financial year. 

Ramaphosa revealed this in his State of the Nation Address in the National Assembly on Thursday evening. 

"To date, government has redistributed over 5 million hectares of land, totalling around 5,500 farms, to more than 300,000 beneficiaries. 

"This is in addition to the land restitution process, which has benefited over two million land claimants and resulted in the transfer of around 2.7 million hectares," said the president.   

He told MPs that government is also pursuing programmes to assist smallholder and emerging farmers with market access.

"To develop skills across the entire agricultural value chain and increase the number of commercial black farmers." 

Ramaphosa lauded the country's agricultural sector for its performance in spite of the economic damage wrought by Covid-19. 

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