Agricultural labour dynamics in small-scale farming systems in rural South Africa

ABSTRACT

South Africa’s 2030 National Development Plan (NDP), which is a long-term policy and development strategic guideline, places agriculture at the centre of employment creation. It estimates that a million jobs could be created through the agricultural sectors, including the smallholder farming sector. Considering the NDP’s goal, this viewpoint unpacks how smallholder agricultural labour supply has evolved over time and highlights the implications of this vigorous change. In doing so, it traces this evolution back to the kinships that have kept rural African communities together for many years. The viewpoint also raises looming issues for discussion by policymakers and development practitioners. To effectively develop rural communities it is important to understand and appreciate the rural sociological realities that are behind the remarkable changes in the use of labour in smallholder agriculture. The viewpoint is based on the author’s long-term engagement with smallholder farmers in his previous works.

KEYWORDS:

• Agricultural labour
• small-scale farming
• kinships
• dynamics
• policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 While smallholder farmers share similar features, they also differ somewhat; the above definition indicates that there could also be sub-classes (see e.g. Olofsson 2020).

2 About 2.5 USD.

3 These were independent South African states in which only Black people were allowed to live and farm. They were distributed by tribes and were poorer than the rest of South Africa. Homelands were a source of cheap labour.

4 In most Black South African rural communities (where there are no free title deeds), land access means access to land that one has been allocated by a community leader, a chief, or a headman. This land can be used for agriculture or for residential purposes, i.e. the person who allocates the land has control over it.

5 About 80 USD.

6 I use a relative term because, back then, most Black households were generally poor in all forms; however, there were some few Black households who were relatively better off than the rest. For example, those who had big livestock herds, owning agricultural production implements (e.g. ox drawn seeders, ploughs, yokes, etc.) and small tuck shops (see e.g. Bundy 1988).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre, University of Fort Hare.