Department of Rural Development

During the period from 1994 to 2009, land reform focused mainly on land redistribution. Little attention was paid to developing that land and the productive forces that received that land; and, even less attention was paid to the creation of institutional conditions for sustaining the transformation being introduced.In 2009, the new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR)was created. Cabinet adopted the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme(CRDP) in 2009. The CRDP was piloted on several sites across the country. Basedon the CRDP, a Framework for Rural Development (FRD), which defines ruraldevelopment measurables, was adopted. These measurables are: meeting basichuman needs, rural enterprise development, and rural agro-industries sustainedby rural markets and rural financing facilities.The Green Paper on Land Reform, 2011, gave birth to the Agrarian Transformation System, which is defined as 'a rapid and fundamental change in the relations of land, livestock, cropping and community'. This introduced a comprehensive and inclusive approach to land reform. It defined the pillars of land reform as land redistribution, land restitution, land development, land tenure and administration.The comprehensive and inclusive nature of the Agrarian Transformation System incorporates both rural development and land reform; and, as such, defines the mandate of the DRDLR.