Xhosa Co-operative Agricultural Work Groups: Economic Hindrance or Development Opportunity?

Abstract

Recent research on agrarian issues in the Eastern Cape Province has indicated a number of ways in which rural people have adapted to changing ecological and socio -economic conditions in attempts to maintain household agricultural production. One such mechanism is the development of various forms of co-operative work in order to overcome shortages of resource inputs. In parts of the Transkei, co-operative work is constructed in terms of a particular rural ethos and morality, provides an institutional basis for agrarian activities, and has played an important role in allowing households to meet part of their subsistence requirements. Careful measurement of maize yields suggests that agricultural production is at a considerably higher level than previously thought, at least in better rainfall areas, and it is likely that co-operative labour plays an important role in making this possible.