oPi i(uY RFSFARC(-H WORKING PAPFR 245 1

# Summary findings

Deininger anLd Mav use evidence from a survey of about 1,200 beeneficiaries of South African land reform to assess the performance of thie initial phase of the land reforni program.

They find that the program has not lived up to the quantitative goals set, but did successfuilly target the poor. [t has led to a significant number of economically sLcICessful projects that already generate sustainable revenues. These projects have involved significantly larger shares of poor people than less viable projects, suggesting that increased access to productive assets could be an important path to poverty reduction.

Given the need to develop a diverse and less subsidydependent strategy for poverty reduction, suitably adaptcd land reform could play an important part in restrLIcturing South Africa's rural sector.

Much of this potential has yet to be realized. The authors' analvsis points toward clear lessons about program design:

* Increase beneficiary awareness and participation. Shift from a centralized, bureaucratic structure designed for land distribution toward seeing program components as part of an integrated vision of rural development. This would strengthen links to other parts of land reform (including tenure reform), make better use of local synergies (including infrastructure such as housing), and encourage rather than stifle local initiative and decentralized implementation mechanisms.

* Integrate land redistribution into a land policy framework that strengthens existing property rights, especially tenure security for residents of communal areas.

Ensure transparency, accountability, and the participation of the private sector. These are essential for dispelling fears that land reform is just another means of political favoritism rather than an instrument to transform the rural sector, as is indeed supported by international evidence.

'his paper-a product of Rural Development, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to evaluate innovative land policy initiatives. Copies of the paper are available free from the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433. Please contact Maria Fernandez, room MC3-508, telephone 202-473-3766, fax 202-522-1151, .mnail address mfernandez2( worldbank.org. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at w wa-v.worldbank.org/research/workingpapers. Klaus Deininger may be contacted atkdeiningerCc,worldbank.org. September 2000. (26 pages)

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