This article focuses on the Farmer Input Subsidy Program (FISP) in Southern Africa. The FISPs are part of agricultural support by governments providing input subsidies to small-scale farmers from public resources. FISPs are intended to reduce the production costs of small-scale farmers. Rural women members of the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) in Southern Africa argue that the FISP is captured by the global agro-industry and that the FISP, far from providing real support to farmers, advances a green-revolution agenda and has become a tool of the political elites and MNCs.
This article draws on interviews with women farm workers and trade union organisers as well as my observations as an activist working with farm workers in post-apartheid South Africa. It highlights women farm workers’ entrapment in past and present cycles of disempowerment, drawing attention to the paradox that the producers of food are often those who have least access to the most basic human rights, including the right to food. Poor working conditions and low wages create indebtedness and a dependence on farm owners and therefore perpetuate powerlessness. The article highlights the complexities of how these farm workers navigate worlds of food production and food purchasing.
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