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Browsing by Author "Mtero, Farai"

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Amendment submission: National policy for beneficiary selection and land allocation
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, 2020-03-02) Ramantsima, Katlego; Mtero, Farai; Gumede, Nkanyiso; Du Toit, Andries; Hall, Ruth
PLAAS has read and considered the implications of the National Policy for Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation and submits the following comments and recommendations to the Director-General: Rural Development and Land Reform.
Commercialisation, deagrarianisation and the accumulation/reproduction dynamic: Massive maize production schemes in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2012-12) Mtero, Farai
The post-apartheid era has seen the South African government trying to reverse ‘deagrarianisation’ in the former homelands by introducing ‘modern’ farming techniques and agribusiness principles. This paper situates the massive maize schemes currently being implemented in the context of increased national and international capitalisation of agriculture. The paper focuses on the ‘communal area’ villages of Ongeluksnek Valley in the Eastern Cape, one of the localities where the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) maize scheme was initiated. The scheme requires villagers to consolidate their arable fields into larger blocks of land which can be ‘efficiently’ cultivated by private contractors using machinery and agro-chemicals. Villagers are not involved in decision making, but receive 10% of gross income in return, while ‘learning about’ commercial production. In practice, however, costs are high, and very little surplus is available for redistribution to the beneficiaries. In this paper, we argue that the process of capital accumulation, and associated trajectories of increased centralisation and concentration, is critical to understanding the social reproduction and accumulation dynamics of small scale farming in the countryside. The current corporate food regime constrains accumulation from below.
Covid-19 Impacts: Household Food Production, Agroecology, Rural Livelihoods and Alternative Food Systems
(Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), 2023-02) Mtero, Farai; Gumede, Nkanyiso
De-agrarianisation, livelihoods diversification and social differentiation in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Mtero, Farai; Cousins, Ben
This case study of three rural villages in Matatiele district in the Eastern Cape, South Africa examines the extent to which the diversification of rural livelihoods and processes of social differentiation are interconnected. The study combines intensive and extensive research methods to explore livelihoods diversification and social differentiation in the villages of Litichareng, Mutsini and Thaba Chicha. The intensive research consisted of 36 life history interviews, a wealth ranking exercise and a focus group discussion. The extensive research consisted of a survey of 124 households. The study makes use of political economy concepts of class, power and inequality and argues that these concepts enhance the heuristic value of livelihoods approaches which have often been critiqued for under-theorising power and politics. In the contemporary capitalist world, particularly in the global ‘South’, livelihoods have increasingly become diversified as rural households combine agricultural and non-agricultural sources of income for both survival and accumulation purposes, often straddling the rural-urban divide. In the ‘ de-agrarianisation’ thesis, livelihood diversification has been interpreted as entailing a shift from agrarian livelihood systems to non-agrarian modes of existence in the context of increased urbanisation and industrialisation. These kinds of large-scale processes have been unfolding in rural Matatiele, but this study argues that rural households combine both agricultural and non-agricultural sources of income and emphasises the continued importance of agricultural sources of income in rural livelihood systems. De-agrarianisation is cyclical and not unilinear, as some components of farming have remained important and resilient (homestead garden cultivation and livestock production) while other have declined (dry-land cropping in large arable fields).These shifts in agriculture occur against the background of state-sponsored, large-scale agricultural development schemes introduced to commercialise agriculture and reverse de-agrarianisation and fragmentation of rural livelihoods, but which have largely failed to do so. The challenge for scholars is how to characterise rural households, small-scale farmers, or ‘peasants’ in the light of highly diversified livelihood systems and their straddling of the rural and urban divide. This study uses a political economy approach and defines rural households that engage in small-scale agriculture as petty commodity producers in capitalism, combining class places of capital and labour and subject to social differentiation. The study argues that the highly diversified livelihood systems characteristic of rural households reflect a ‘crisis of social reproduction’ as rural households struggle to survive and accumulate. In this study it is argued that rural households are part of growing ‘classes of labour’ within contemporary capitalism.
Elite Capture in Land Redistribution in South Africa
(PLAAS, 2019-12-03) Mtero, Farai; Gumede, Nkanyiso; Ramantsima, Katlego
The research on elite capture in land redistribution in South Africa was conceived against the background of a significant decline in systematic research on land reform outcomes. Data on land reform outcomes and more specifically, evidence on who has been benefiting from South Africa’s land redistribution, is generally poor. Currently, land reform beneficiaries access land through the leasehold system, initially introduced through Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) in 2006, and operationalised through the State Land Lease and Disposal Policy (SLLDP) in 2013. The government introduced a new and revised SLLDP in 2019. This research specifically focuses on land reform projects commonly referred to as PLAS farms but are leased to beneficiaries on the basis of the SLLDP. Accordingly, we refer to these projects as SLLDP farms in line with the SLLDP which outlines the terms on which the state may agricultural land to land reform beneficiaries. Our research for this report sought to deepen our understanding of elite capture and to provide a more comprehensive picture of how elite capture unfolds in land reform. The key overarching questions framing this report include the following: who has benefited from South Africa’s land redistribution? Who have been the winners and losers in land redistribution and why? What are the criteria for beneficiary targeting and selection? This research shows that the net effect has been to redirect state resources originally intended for the poor, to the better-off.
Elite capture in South Africa’s land redistribution: The convergence of policy bias, corrupt practices and class dynamics
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2023) Mtero, Farai; Gumede, Nkanyiso; Ramantsima, Katlego
Land reforms are an important mechanism for addressing inequalities in society. Whileaddressing South Africa’s racialised land inequalities remains crucial, new forms of classinequality are produced through land reform, with the well-off becoming predominant asbeneficiaries. This article focuses on elite capture in land redistribution and analysesland-reform outcomes in South Africa’s state land lease and disposal policy (SLLDP). Thearticle presents empirical evidence from 62 land-reform farms in five provinces of SouthAfrica and shows how policy biases in favour of well-off beneficiaries converge withcorruption and rent-seeking practices to produce uneven agrarian outcomes. Beneficiaryselection and targeting inherently favour well-off beneficiaries, who are consideredcompetent to engage in large-scale commercial farming. Land reform is a new frontier ofaccumulation for different agribusinesses, urban-based businesspeople and state officials,who increasingly benefit from cheap state land and various forms of production supportmeant to recapitalise land-reform farms.
Housing development and customary land tenure systems in Ghana: A case study of peri-urban Kumasi
(University of Western Cape, 2020) Fosu, Augustine; Mtero, Farai
This research examines the ways in which the rapid commoditisation of land in Ghana’s peri-urban areas is transforming local customary tenure systems. The research focuses on two selected research sites in Ghana’s peri-urban Kumasi, namely Aburaso and Kromoase. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in an increase in demand for housing land. Consequently, wealthy migrants are moving to peri-urban areas in search of relatively affordable residential land. This has accelerated the commoditisation of customary land in most peri-urban areas of Ghana. Customary forms of tenure are increasingly being converted into individual or private systems of land ownership. Evidence from this study shows that traditional authorities are increasingly alienating customary land without the consent of their subjects. The commoditisation of customary land in Aburaso and Kromoase has resulted in the decline of agrarian production as agricultural land is parcelled out to wealthy outsiders.
The impact of land property rights interventions on investment and agricultural productivity in developing countries: a systematic review
(Taylor & Francis, 2017) Lawry, Steven; Samii, Cyrus; Hall, Ruth; Leopold, Aaron; Hornby, Donna; Mtero, Farai
We conducted a systematic review on the effects of land tenure recognition interventions on agricultural productivity, income, investment and other relevant outcomes. We synthesise findings from 20 quantitative studies and nine qualitative studies that passed a methodological screening. The results indicate substantial productivity and income gains from land tenure recognition, although gains differ markedly by region. We find that these effects may operate through gains in perceived tenure security and investment; we find no evidence for a credit mechanism. The qualitative synthesis highlights potential adverse effects. A conclusion emphasises the need for further research on interregional differences and on the role of customary tenure arrangements.
PLAAS Submission on 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, 2020-02-28) Mtero, Farai; Hall, Ruth
The 18th Amendment Bill of South Africa’s constitution seeks to make changes to Section 25 of the Bill of Rights (the property clause) in order to make explicit the circumstances that would warrant the payment of nil compensation following the expropriation of land. Land reform remains a key aspect of transformation in South Africa. South Africa’sland reform is provided for in the Constitution and the property clause strikes a balance between the protection of existing private property rights and the imperative to effect historical redress through equitable redistribution of land and other natural resources.
Policy Brief 55: Food in the time of coronavirus: Why we should be very, very afraid
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, 2020-04-01) Hall, Ruth; Du Toit, Andries; Ramantsima, Katlego; Mtero, Farai; Gumede, Nkanyiso; Hara, Mafaniso; Isaacs, Moenieba; Monjane, Boaventura; Yeni, Sithandiwe
The social legitimacy of the ‘COVID-19 lockdown’, government’s regulations imposed to contain the spread of the virus, is most likely to run aground unless an urgent plan can be made to ensure that everyone in the country has access to sufficient food. And it’s not looking good. Based on interviews, statements by various organisations and our own experience, here is our summary of the already-evident impacts of the lockdown on poor people’s access to food, and on the informal food economy – from small farmers to street vendors and spaza shops – that is so important in meeting people’s daily food needs.
Social reproduction of ‘classes of labour’ in the rural areas of South Africa: contradictions and contestations
(Taylor & Francis, 2018) Cousins, Ben; Dubb, Alex; Hornby, Donna; Mtero, Farai
Marxist agrarian political economy has focused largely on the problematic of accumulation and its politics, but the dynamics of social reproduction in rural contexts remain somewhat undertheorised. These are explored through consideration of empirical evidence from communal areas and land reform farms in South Africa. Key arguments advanced are that social reproduction in such contexts include the reproduction of distinctive forms of marriage, systems of kinship and community membership, as well as of property relations that are not characterised by private ownership. Much social reproduction occurs outside of (direct) market relations, but it is nevertheless deeply conditioned and shaped by the dynamics of the wider capitalist economy, including in relation to wage labour and small-scale agricultural production. As a result, social reproduction in rural areas involves contradictions, tensions and contestations, and these are often at the centre of local forms of politics. The wider significance of these findings is discussed, and it is suggested that similar dynamics may be at work across the Global South.

Browsing by Author "Mtero, Farai"

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