The implementation and impact of the One household- One hectare land redistribution programme in Kokstad

The South African land redistribution has lately been criticized for its sole focus on redistributing land for commercial farming ignoring land demand for small-scale farming and settlement. This study assesses the implementation and impact of the 1HH-1H program in two Kokstad villages that have benefited to the program. To achieve these objectives, purposively surveyed data from 20% of the beneficiaries, supplemented by focus group discussions and participatory rural appraisal is analysed descriptively using the Sustainable Livelihood Framework as a guideline. Findings show that the implementation of the program was need based and was a joint effort from various government departments. The implementation has led to a village setup, where, each beneficiary household has in their one-hectare plot, a residential area for buildings and kraals and a garden. The remainder of the land is shared as grazing common, forest and the other arable land is used for cooperative farming and for individual arable field lands. In general, beneficiaries are mostly content with program’s implementation and cite significant increment in their livestock herds and crop outputs. Beneficiaries also enjoy access to clean drinking water, irrigation water, and primary healthcare among other benefits. These benefits have greatly contributed to beneficiary’s well-being, livelihoods and are in line with what is envisaged in the 1997 White Paper on Land Reform Policy.