The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) welcomes Professor Ruth Hall as the new Director of the research institute. Beginning 1 June, Professor Hall has been appointed as Director of PLAAS, which also celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Professor Hall will hold the Directorship for five years.
New PLAAS Director Ruth Hall at a PLAAS-Tshisimani public dialogue on expropriation as a tool for land justice, which took place in March 2025 at the University of the Western Cape. Picture: Shelley Christians/UWC
“Seeing PLAAS have a constructive, brave, effective, progressive, principled role in the world is my life’s work and I cherish the opportunity to lead it,” says Professor Hall.
“I see this endorsement for a five-year period as a mandate to me to consolidate the gains we have made at PLAAS and reap the fruits of it – expansion, growth, and most of all, sustainability of work, life, people, and the institute.”
PLAAS, along with Professor Hall, has local, regional, continental and global partnerships in our research on land, poverty, oceans and water, conservation, and food systems. PLAAS also focuses on advising governance bodies to ensure our research is used to make active changes in the dynamics of marginalised livelihoods — particularly livelihoods that are vulnerable, structurally excluded, or incorporated into broader economic systems on adverse terms.
“A priority for me is to diversify our funding base and to ensure that we align closely with the rest of the University, while remaining relevant at a national, regional and global level, and strengthening our partnerships especially with other African universities.”
University of the Western Cape Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Balfour celebrated Professor Hall’s appointment.
“On behalf of the entire UWC community, I am delighted to extend my warmest congratulations to Professor Ruth Hall on her appointment as Director of one of our flagship institutes, PLAAS. This is a pivotal role at a critical time, as agrarian studies and poverty remain among the most pressing challenges facing our nation and the world at large.
Prof Hall’s distinguished scholarship and leadership in both national and global policy forums, including service to high-level advisory bodies such as the Office of the President and the African Union’s Scientific Committee on Land Policy among others, speaks to the exceptional vision and expertise that she brings to this role. I have every confidence that under her stewardship, PLAAS will build upon its 30-year legacy of excellence and further elevate its impact on both national and international stages.”
Professor Balfour also offered institutional support.
“As you take up this important responsibility, please know that the university stands firmly behind you. We wish you every success as you lead the institute toward even greater achievements in research, policy engagement, and transformative scholarship. We look forward to supporting you in this new chapter and to witnessing the institute’s continued growth under your guidance.”
Professor Balfour thanked former PLAAS Director Professor Andries Du Toit for his leadership over many years of service to the organisation.
“His contributions, and that of the PLAAS team, have helped to cement the institute’s reputation as a global leader in its field.”
Professor Hall is a B1 rated scholar, reflecting her international recognition as a leading scholar in her field. She has worked at the institute since 2002, starting out as a researcher and going on to become a senior researcher, then an associate professor, and taking on a full professorship at UWC in 2016.
About Professor Hall
Professor Ruth Hall holds a DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and where she previously obtained an MPhil in Development Studies. Her first two degrees were from the University of Cape Town. She has published extensively on land reform, tenure and governance in Africa, with a focus on transnational land investments. She convenes a continent-wide accredited short course for land professionals, activists and officials and on the Political Economy of Land Governance in Africa. She has served on the Scientific Committee of the African Union’s Conference on Land Policy in Africa and a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture.
Professor Hall is an editor of the Journal of Peasant Studies. She has co-founded several regional and global research networks: the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI), the BRICS Initiative in Critical Agrarian Studies (BICAS), the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI), and the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA). She has published several books, including Global Land Grabbing and Political Reactions from Below; Another Countryside? Policy Options for Land and Agrarian Reform in South Africa; Land, Memory, Reconstruction and Justice: Perspectives on Land Claims in South Africa, The Land Question in South Africa and Africa’s Land Rush: Rural Livelihoods and Agrarian Change.
Professor Hall previously held the South African Research Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies from 2020 to 2024, which is funded by the National Research Foundation. She was simultaneously Acting Director of PLAAS since May 2024.
