Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Ilima / Letsema Programme
At a glance
Who qualifies
- Household or small-scale farmer with access to a plot of land (even small)
- Willing to grow food for own consumption and local markets
- Registered with your Provincial Department of Agriculture as a producer or subsistence farmer
- Priority given to women-headed households, youth, and persons with disabilities
Who does not qualify
- Commercial farming operations above the vulnerable / subsistence scale
- Applicants without access to land or a garden plot
- Purely commercial trading requests (no production component)
Documents you bring
- Certified copy of your ID
- Proof of land access (title deed, PTO, lease, or headman's letter)
- Household composition information
- Basic production or garden plan
Ilima/Letsema is a low-barrier programme. Provincial extension officers help complete the application with you, so paperwork requirements are lighter than for CASP.
How to apply
- Contact your nearest Provincial Department of Agriculture or ward office and register as a producer.
- Attend the Ilima/Letsema information session held in your community.
- Complete the simplified application with the extension officer.
- Provincial DALRRD screens and pools the applications.
- Approved households receive input packs (seed, fertiliser), tools, or irrigation support in-kind.
- Extension officer supports planting, monitoring, and end-of-season reporting.
Distribution of input packs is seasonal, timed with the planting calendar for your region. Register before the local cut-off date to be included in the current season.
Miss the local planting window and you wait a year
Input packs (seed, fertiliser, tools) are distributed to align with the planting calendar in your area, which differs by province and altitude. If registration closes in your district before you sign up, there is no top-up round mid-season; the next opportunity is the next planting cycle. Register with your provincial DALRRD office as soon as harvest ends.