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This article was first published by The Conversation. Read the original at bit.ly/3wfPFJF.
"South African smallholders are abandoning farming. The decline in field cultivation is a problem, since many of these smallholder households struggle to make ends meet. If people were able to produce more of their own food, this would improve their lives.
The current situation is a combined effect of the country’s historical legacy and the negative impacts of recent agricultural programmes on many smallholders’ ability to farm. Understanding these reasons is an essential starting point for reversing the decline.
This article draws on work reported in three papers, and . It is based on research I undertook in villages in OR Tambo District, South Africa, between 2006 and 2020, two household surveys from 2008 and 2020, and perspectives from South African history.
