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

Siphe Zantsi

Development in Practice, 2024, vol. 34, issue 4, 426-436

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.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2023.2248421

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