Abstract:
The ability of farmers to operate redistributed farms in a profitable and sustainable manner
is crucial for both successful integration into agricultural value chains and sustainable production
systems. The performance of redistributed farms is becoming increasingly important as the number
of redistributed farms increases in light of correcting previous anomalies in land ownership in South
Africa while ensuring continued food security. Although much has been done to assess the impact of
land reform on macro variables, little has been done to unpack factors associated with the success of
redistributed farms. Using a sample of 1956 redistributed farms across the nine provinces of South
Africa, the current study employs an ordinary least square regression as well as a generalised logistic
regression model to identify factors associated with the success (measured by net farm income and
probability to operate at commercially viable scale) of the sampled farms. The results show that
infrastructure, support (both technical and financial), and type of market used are significantly
associated with the performance of redistributed farms. In addition, the results reveal disparities
in performance across provinces and across gender categories. The study provides valuable insight
to programme managers on the factors that needs to be enhanced in order to increase the odds of
success for redistributed farms.
