Although South Africa's land reform programme has achieved some progress in terms of improving access to land and contributing to improved livelihood for beneficiaries, its sustainability has been questioned, both within and outside government circles. In particular, some of the transferred farms have not reached the desired levels of productivity while others are not operational at all (Kirsten and Machethe, 2005; Anseeuw, 2012). It was partly as a result of the above that the Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP) was introduced in 2010, promoting recapitalisation of land reform farms and links with strategic partners. On request of the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), a mid-term evaluation was undertaken to assess the programme¿s implementation progress and intermediary results. This paper aims at presenting the results of this evaluation exercise. Based on extensive fieldwork and the implementation of a participatory M&E in 6 provinces, the results show that progress has been made regarding land reform, particularly from a socio-economic point of view. Production is increasing, market access has improved and social determinants such as social well-being and food security are on the rise. However, the strategic partnership model implemented questions effective empowerment of emerging farmers.