Small Scale Farmer Programme
Our Small-Scale Farmer Programme is located in the struggle for pro-poor agrarian transformation, which includes three elements: Land, Water and Agricultural Reform. Its broad aim is facilitating agrarian reform for food sovereignty as the basis for transforming the rural economy and broader social change. Land, water and agricultural reform are important components to restructure rural relations between different classes.
The small-scale farmer programme is geographically dispersed in the Western and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. In the Western Cape the programme stretches over the West Coast District Municipality and in the Northern Cape over the Namaqua District Municipality, which covers the Namaqualand and Hantam Karoo regions.
The small-scale farmer programme has key focus areas:
Eradicating rural poverty and improving rural livelihoods through access and control over land,
natural and productive resources. The programme targets municipal commonage land, private
landowners, Act 9 areas, state and church land and aims to change land ownership and
concentration patterns that leads to more landlessness, homelessness and concentration.
Supporting small-scale farmers with agricultural and non-farm development as a basis for rural development and economic restructuring in particular to change the dual nature of the agricultural economy.
Support and promote ecological agriculture, which considers the environment and future use of the natural resources.
Advocating and lobbying for policy changes that promotes sustainable agriculture and appropriate farming technologies.
Providing post settlement support to small-scale farmers that is linked to broader agricultural transformation and which includes access to primarily local markets, management of resources and institutional development based on cooperative principles.
Facilitating water reform that includes: access and redistribution of water resources, transformation of water management institutions and the sustainable use of water resources.
Supporting the building of the organisation of small scale farmers and agrarian social movements.
Support small-scale farmers and farm dwellers to implement production systems that are based on co-operation, and actively resist the dominance of multi nationals and world governance institutions.