South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the release of approximately 2.5 million hectares of state-owned land to Black farmers, in an initiative aimed at increasing their participation in commercial agriculture and reducing racial inequality more than three decades after the end of apartheid.

In his weekly newsletter published on Monday, 12 October, Ramaphosa said the land would be transferred with title deeds under the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy, a government programme designed to integrate more farmers into commercial production.

"Through the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy, we are making available approximately 2.5 million hectares of state land, in various parts of the country, to Black farmers, and we are giving them title deeds," Ramaphosa wrote.

The initiative comes against a backdrop of diplomatic tension with the United States, whose President, Donald Trump, has criticised South Africa's land reform policies, alleging that white landowners are being treated unfairly. Ramaphosa's government has rejected accusations that it is expropriating land belonging to white citizens. The dispute intensified in February 2025, when Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law, prompting Trump to threaten to cut American funding to the country. The two leaders clashed publicly at the White House in May of the same year. The legislation does not, however, provide for the indiscriminate expropriation of all private land without compensation.

Ramaphosa framed the land release as part of a broader effort to transform a sector marked by stark racial disparities in ownership and commercial production. "We continue to have what has been called 'two agricultures'," he wrote, referring to the dominance of larger commercial farms predominantly owned by white South Africans, which account for the bulk of agricultural output, while Black farmers represent around 10% of the sector, according to Ramaphosa.

Data released by Reuters in February 2025 indicated that white South Africans held approximately 75% of private land, while Black citizens owned around 4%, underscoring the disparities that continue to fuel the land reform debate in the country.

Ramaphosa also highlighted the financing difficulties faced by emerging farmers, citing the example of Redlands Farm, a commercial dairy operation managed by young Black farmers in Stutterheim, in the Eastern Cape province. The unit expanded its operations with support from the Land Bank's Blended Finance Programme, which combines government subsidies with loans.

"Too often, emerging farmers are trapped at subsistence levels because they cannot access the financing they need to purchase agricultural inputs, infrastructure and additional land," Ramaphosa said, arguing for improved access to credit to enable farming operations to grow.

South Africa's agricultural exports reached a record $16.3 billion, according to the President, with almost half of all exported agricultural products destined for other African countries.

Ramaphosa argued that broadening access to land must be accompanied by affordable financing, mentorship programmes, and training, in order to ensure that new landowners are able to develop sustainable farming operations and function at commercial scale.