“They Don’t Own the Land”: Gent Explains Why Black Farmers Are Struggling in South Africa

• A political podcaster shared a clip from his interview with an agricultural expert who explained the main reason black farmers struggle
• The expert said black farmers often don't own the land they farm on, which means they have no leverage
• South Africans agreed with the explanation, with many calling for an AgriFund started by farmers to help other farmers

A political podcaster has sparked an important conversation about why black farmers in South Africa continue to struggle despite government land reform programmes. TikTok user @lelethushayi, who runs a political podcast discussing issues affecting South African citizens, shared a clip from his interview with Dr Theo de Jager, Executive Director of the Southern African Agri Initiative and former President of the World Farmers' Organisation.

In the clip, Dr de Jager explained one of the biggest obstacles facing black farmers who have benefited from land reform programmes. He said many black farmers are actually better at farming, and the problem isn't their ability to farm. The real issue is that beneficiaries of land reform programmes don't own the land they're farming on, which means they can't access capital from banks.

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Dr de Jager explained that agriculture is an investment-hungry business where farmers need to reinvest every year. When farmers don't have title deeds to their land, banks won't give them production loans because they can't use the land as collateral. He said this is the same problem across most of Africa, where only four countries have solid track records of farmers owning their land with proper title deeds: South Africa, Namibia, and small pockets of Botswana and Zambia.

The expert pointed out that many of South Africa's best soils and high-potential production areas are in former homelands and communal areas. However, these fields don't have pivots, turning or export orchards because the people farming there can't access capital. He asked where the money is supposed to come from when no one can get loans because they don't own the land.

Dr de Jager also touched on the problems with communal property associations that the government set up for land restitution beneficiaries. He said it's very difficult for commercial farmers to partner with these associations because there's a lot of internal fighting, especially after harvest, when money comes in and people argue about who decides how it gets shared.

Watch the YouTube clip below:

Mzansi weighs in on farmers' struggles

Social media users shared their thoughts on TikToker @lelethushayi's clip:

@lawrence shared:

"I have a title deed of 70ha, a business plan, soil test, feasibility study, and the big struggle is funding for equipment, fence and structure."

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@ghostdeadmanwalking said:

"The system is against us. That's the systemic change we need from banks."

@mama_ka_simba suggested:

"There needs to be an AgriFund that will help farmers. Started by farmers for farmers."

@guaganacari commented:

"That also goes for the land under the Ingonyama Trust. People should have title deeds!"

@bentravelingexplorer argued:

"A 30-year lease is sufficient for capitalisation. Banks just refuse to support beneficiaries of land reform because the banking system is oppressive."

@alhumdulillah stated:

"This is the real truth: owning land gives access to capital. Land ownership is important."

More about South African farmers

• Briefly News recently reported on an Afrikaner man working in the United States who posted a year-end video showing his 2025 journey on an H2A visa.
• A US woman shared her research into the 59 Afrikaner refugees who arrived in America on a private jet, revealing that they were business owners instead of farmers.
• An Afrikaner farmer's comments on land expropriation reignited debate across South Africa.

Source: Briefly News