How can land reform contribute to a revitalisation of smallholder agriculture in Southern Africa? This question remains important despite negative perceptions of land reformas a result of the impact of Zimbabwe’s “fast-track” resettlement programme on agricultural production. This article focuses mainly on South Africa, where a highly unequal distribution of land coexists with deep rural poverty, but dominant narratives of the efficiency of largescale agriculture exert a stranglehold on rural policy (cf Toulmin and Guèye, this IDS Bulletin for West Africa).