In this article the focus is on the structural changes that have occurred recently in South Africa in respect of ownership and the right of use of land in commercial agricultural production units. Attention is devoted more specifically to changes in respect of the numbe~ of farmers and farms, farm sizes, types of ~nterpnse, the lease of land and part-time farm1?g. ~n effort was made to answer the following questions m respect of every structural component: - What changes have recently occurred? What were the most important socio-economic forces behind these changes? What socio-economic forces should have an important influence on these changes in the near future? What are the effects of these changes on their structural components likely to be? Is the direction which the changes are expected to take desirable from the point of view of social welfare? Briefly, the ~nding was that important changes, caused by a vanety of factors, are taking place in respect of every structural component and that the direction which these structural changes are taking is not very desirable from the point of view of social welfare. Possible courses of action to deal with this problem are discussed.