South Africa: Why Water Rights Aren't Enough to Fix South Africa's Deeply Unequal Farming Sector

What the report says

A Conversation Africa analysis published by AllAfrica says South Africa’s farming sector remains marked by the legacy of slavery, colonialism and apartheid, with most commercial farms still controlled by a relatively small number of white farmers even though Black South Africans are the majority of the population. The article focuses on efforts to broaden access to irrigation water and on joint ventures between emerging Black farmers and established commercial producers as part of post-apartheid land and water reform.

Drawing on interviews with 34 farmers in the Great Fish and Lower Sundays River area of the Eastern Cape, the authors found that water access alone has not been enough to build independent Black-owned farming businesses. While some emerging farmers gained irrigation infrastructure through partnerships, they still depended on commercial partners for finance, equipment, technical knowledge, market access and business decisions. The piece notes that upfront water and compliance costs can be significant, and that some farmers struggle to pay before crops generate income.

The report says this dependence can leave emerging farmers with little control over the enterprises they are meant to be building. It also highlights wider pressures such as rising input costs, climate variability and limited access to commercial credit. The authors argue that land and water redistribution must be paired with training, infrastructure, financing and real decision-making power if agricultural transformation is to succeed. The article adds that a newer water-pricing approach giving emerging farmers more time to pay bills may help, but is not a complete solution.