Empowerment

In 1994 Sizwe Manjezi acquired some 900ha near Peddie in the Eastern Cape to expand his family tradition of cattle farming. Even though he's at the helm of a respected Bonsmara stud today, he's still struggling to obtain a title deed from the Eastern Cape Department of Land Affairs. Mike Burgess tells how this farmer went from communal to commercial against all odds.

Feeling let down by government policing efforts, a group of farmers in rural KwaZulu-Natal have established their own innovative and successful system to fight stock theft between the province and neighbouring Lesotho. Lloyd Phillips braved chilly weather and very rough roads to bring you this report.

In South Africa's rural areas children have alarmingly low levels of vitamin A, which can result in infections, blindness and even death. To combat this critical deficiency, researchers suggest the cultivation of the beta-carotene-enriched, orange-fleshed sweet potato, which is hardy and well adapted to South African conditions, thus making it ideal for cultivation in poor rural areas. Cornelia du Plooy reports.

Dieter Sellmeyer of Lynx Wines, a small boutique winery near ­Franschhoek, believes CDs are for the birds - ­metaphorically, not ­literally.

The Popela judgment by the Constitutional Court is probably the most important legal benchmark in land reform law since the Richtersveld ruling in 2004. It has widened the definition of restitution and lent legal clarity to previously grey areas like the definition of a community, and the strength and scope of customary land rights. Stephan Hofstätter unpacks the implications.

Some 32 000 hectares of land worth R1 billion was officially handed over recently to four communities as part of the Greater Tenbosch land claim in Mpumalanga's deep rural Nkomazi area.

Land claims on the world heritage site, Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP) in northern Zululand, are being settled quickly and amicably between affected parties.

Over 50% of all stock in the Eastern Cape belong to communal farmers, which is why efforts are being made to absorb these animals into mainstream marketing channels and to enable cultural producers to compete successfully in this intricate market.

With the option of buying a controlling share in Kanhym Estates, one of South Africa's most successful agribusinesses, empowerment consortium Kgomo Kgolo seems to have done a good job in allaying any fears the estate's management might have had about AgriBEE. Today Khehla Mthembu is non-executive chairperson of Kanhym Estates and, as Susan Botes reports, the business is more bullish than ever about its prospects.

At the recent mohair producers' conference held in Port Elizabeth in early June, the buying houses, for once, were not the hot topic of debate. Gordon Wright was there and shares his view of events that played out at the conference.

Independent agricultural education institutions catering to the black youth could be an answer to our land reform failures. With the financial support of private corporations and the mentorship of successful farmers, these institutions could turn out black farmers who will make land reform the success it should be. Lloyd Phillips reports. Issue date 15 June 2007

Cape Aloes (Aloe ferox) in the Eastern Cape have provided the Xhosa people with medicinal and cosmetic necessities for hundreds of years. Recently their value has been recognised in helping to alleviate grinding poverty in the region.