Uncertainty among farmers caused by government's land restitution programme has resulted in the decline of food production, a Restitution of Land Rights commissioner said on Thursday afternoon.

"The land restitution programme has created uncertainty among farmers. This has resulted in the decline of food production," said Sbusiso Gamede during a workshop in Durban.

The workshop was organised by the commission to engage with traditional leaders on the problems caused by the restitution programme and to discuss possible remedies.

Gamede said that there was a need to finalise land restitution, saying that South Africa could not afford the decline of food production.

The uncertainty had been caused by the fact that certain farms had been gazetted, he said.

"According to the legislation, before any improvement can be done on a farm that has bee gazetted, the owner must notify us. Some (farmers) thought this meant that they must not do anything on them. Some stopped farming," he said.

Gamede said that the land restitution programme had created tensions between claimants and the landowners.

"There is a need to speed up the process. I strongly believe that land restitution is supposed to contribute to reconciliation," he said.

South Africa was doomed if it did not complete restitution in the rural areas. One of the things that hindered the restitution process was the fact that some rural lands were too expensive.

Workshop attendees who were mainly traditional leaders also discussed the thorny issue of Communal Property Associations (CPAs), which have created serious tensions in rural areas.

They fell under the Communal Property Associations Act 28 of 1996 to enable communities to manage their land. In most cases, the land had been acquired through land restitution.

There have been serious concerns that CPAs create "royalties within royalties" by undermining the institutions of traditional leadership.

CPAs have committees that are elected by their members. Their annual reports are submitted to parliament and they are accountable to parliament and to their members.

Gamede said that there was concern that CPAs behaved as if they were gods and did not respect traditional leaders.

"We are here to talk about these problems. If you (traditional leaders) feel there is a need to change the law, tell us. We will take the matter to our political principals," he said.

He said that if the traditional leaders felt that CPUs must go, they would have to be abolished.

Gamede said that the problems around CPUs had been brought to the commission's attention with Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini.

He said that he was aware that many traditional leaders were not happy with CPAs.

It was important to finish restitution, as 87% of the land was still in the hands of the minority, he said.