Browsing by Author "Okunlola, Adetola"

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    Challenging the stereotypes: small-scale black farmers and private sector support programmes in South Africa
    (Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape, 2016) Okunlola, Adetola; Ngubane, Mnqobi; Cousins, Ben; du Toit, Andries
    This report represents one of the outputs of a research and social dialogue project undertaken over 18 months. It explores a number of private sector partnerships and projects launched in support of black farmers – some of them highly innovative, others of dubious merit. Hardly a week passes by without news of some new initiative to ‘train’, ‘help’, ‘empower’ or otherwise assist ‘small-scale black farmers’. The findings of this research suggest that many of the current programmes of support on offer from the private sector are built on somewhat shaky foundations. These are often based on problematic assumptions and normative ideas about what constitutes desirable agricultural development, most of them deeply (if not consciously) informed by the experience of fostering a successful large farm sector in South Africa in the past. The problems that many small-scale black farmers experience in their attempts to enter the competitive world of formal value chains suggests that a fundamental re-think is now required.
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    Challenging the stereotypes: Small-scale black farmers and private sector support programmes in South Africa
    (Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016) Okunlola, Adetola; Ngubanei, Mnqob; Cousins, Ben; du Toit, Andries
    This report represents one of the outputs of a research and social dialogue project undertaken over 18 months. It was carried out by researchers from the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), based at the University of the Western Cape, in collaboration with the Southern Africa Food Lab, based at the University of Stellenbosch, between January 2013 and July 2014. The project focused on the role of the private sector in supporting small-scale black farmers to participate in agricultural value chains. This was not a purely academic research project. Although empirical research formed its backbone, it fed into a broader process of social dialogue and learning, convened by SAFL and facilitated by Reos Partners1. Research insights informed ‘learning journeys’ and ‘innovation labs’ that took place concurrently with the research. In these, field visits and workshop discussions and debates brought together a range of key role-players in the South African food system to explore the challenges and opportunities facing black farmers, and the manner in which these are being responded to by key actors from the private sector. This process is being carried forward by SAFL in a further process of structured innovation. The present report captures the most important insights and lessons from the research component of the initial phases of the project.
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    Supporting smallholders into commercial agriculture: The role of private sector partnerships
    (2016-07-25) Okunlola, Adetola; Ngubane, Mnqobi; Chikazunga, Davison
    • SSCA is a research project started by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and the South Africa Food Lab (SAFL). • Commenced in April 2012 with a specific focus on private sector support to smallholders. • What is a smallholder? Problematic...itself a research finding. • Three research interns: Adetola Okunlola, Mnqobi Ngubane, Davison Chikazunga to undertake a scan of such initiatives in South Africa, write up results in a report, further investigate selected case studies at a PhD level.