The land and agrarian reform programme would be given "a new burst of energy" to ensure its viability, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said on Monday.

"It needs to ensure that there is access to land and at the same time, provide support that makes it viable," he told a media briefing in Pretoria.

He said one of the main problems faced was funding and how this was co-ordinated at a provincial level.

A target total of 2.5 million hectares of land would be delivered to targeted beneficiaries by 2009 and another 2.5 million hectares in the following 2009/10 financial year.

Mpahlwa said implementation challenges were escalating land prices, and the capacity of targeted beneficiaries, while funding for rehabilitating collapsed agricultural infrastructure would also be addressed.

Cabinet following its July lekgotla had approved that the programme should be sufficiently resourced going forward.

Climate change also needed to be addressed and land in high rainfall areas would be particularly targeted to meet the demand, said Mpahlwa.