Government needs to transfer 8.9 million hectares of agricultural land by 2030 in order to meet the National Development Plan (NDP) target, says Rural Development and Land Reform Deputy Minister Mncebisi Skwatsha.

Delivering the departmental Budget Vote speech for the financial year 2015/16, Deputy Minister Skwatsha said chapter 6 of the NDP sets a target of transferring 20% of agricultural land to black people by 2030.

He said 20% of the 82 million hectares of agricultural land translates into 16.4 million hectares. From 1994 to December 2014, the state transferred 7.5 million hectares, or 46% of the 16.4 million hectares, to black farmers.

“Of the 7.5 million hectares already transferred, 4.4 million hectares were redistributed land and 3.1 million hectares was restitution in settlement of land claims.

“To meet the NDP target we need to transfer another 8.9 million hectares of agricultural land by 2030,” he said on Friday.

Since 2009, government has acquired 1.76 million hectares of land. For the 2014/15 financial year, the department acquired 209 580 hectares, at a cost of R1.2 billion.

For the current 2015/16 financial year, he said, they intend acquiring 208 350 hectares at a cost of R1.253 billion. Of this, R141.19 million will be spent on acquiring land for farm dwellers, and R132.19 million for labour tenants.

According to the Deputy Minister, the intention of land acquisition is to recreate the class of black commercial farmers which was deliberately destroyed by the 1913 Natives Land Act and similar colonial and apartheid laws.

In his State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma outlined a nine point plan to ignite growth and create jobs. The second of the nine points is “Revitalising agriculture and the agro-processing value chain”.