The government has struggled to amass sufficient funds to achieve its goals for land reform‚ with many white commercial farmers being left unpaid for up to three years after the government bought their farms.
Mr Zuma said one proposed plan involved a district-based approach to land reform and its financing.
"It proposes that each district establishes a district land reform committee where all stakeholders are involved to be responsible for identifying 20% of the commercial agricultural land in the district and giving commercial farmers the option of assisting its transfer to black farmers‚" he said.
This was the first time Mr Zuma formally tabled the plan to both smallholder and commercial farmers.
He said the implementation of the proposal would include identifying land readily available in the market‚ land where the farmer is under severe financial pressure‚ land held by an absentee landlord willing to exit and land in a deceased estate.
"In this way‚ land can be found without distorting markets‚" he said.
After being identified‚ the land would be bought by the state at 50% of market value‚ which would be closer to its fair productive value. The shortfall of the current owner would be made up by cash or in-kind contributions from commercial farmers in the district who volunteer to participate.
Mr Zuma said commercial farmers would be protected from losing their land and gain black economic empowerment status in exchange for giving in kind a portion of the land value.
"This should remove the uncertainty and mistrust that surrounds land reform and the related loss of investor confidence‚" he said.
The president also referred to a stepped-up programme of financing‚ saying it should involve the Treasury‚ the Land Bank and established white farmers.
The model envisages that the cost of land reform be spread between all stakeholders‚ and that new financial instruments be designed to facilitate land reform.
These could include 40-year mortgages at preferential rates for new entrants into the markets‚ as well as land bonds in which white farmers and others could invest.
Mr Zuma said he these innovative proposals had to be tested. "It would be useful to hear from you as members of the farming sector if you would support such an approach."
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