1) THE PERCEIVED MISUSE of the natural grazing resource of sub-Saharan Africa has achieved the status of received wisdom and has been ascribed chiefly to the common property character of African traditional land tenure systems. The aim in this article is to show why the economic theory of common property is not sufficient for the purpose of explaining the perceived problems. For this reason the theory is discussed in section one below, while its influence on policy makers is reviewed in section two. The failure of current development policy adequately to address the real problems of the livestock subsector provides the motivation for a critique of the hypothesis in section three, while in section four it is shown how the shortcomings of this approach can be used as the basis of argument for an alternative theoretical construct. An example serves to illustrate the approach taken in this paper. Game farming with springbok in the Karroo, where proper fencing can be provided at reasonable cost; has not led to overharvesting. There is no need for regulations or licensing. In the Transvaal Lowveld fencing cannot be provided at reasonable cost as game is larger. Regulation, licensing and the demarcation of hunting seasons is required to prevent overharvesting. Common property is therefore the cause of over exploitation while private property leads to rational exploitation. Thus runs the conventional wisdom. The Lowveld differs from the Karroo however in more respects than systems of property rights. Population pressure is higher, there is greater un-and underemployment, the game has value in more than just meat and skins (e.g. ivory, more valuable trophies), and the game is more accessible to concentrations of population in the rural areas. The argument here is that factors such as these, as well as the nature of access to property rights, e.g. in a tribal area, must also be accounted for in analysing the problems of communal grazing systems.
TIIE DETERMINATION of the most profitable level of maize production involves the relationship between two sets of independent relationships, viz., physical production relationships which are determined by physical phenomena, and the economic relationships which are influenced by economic conditions. Physical relationships do have some economic implications, but they alone cannot specify the optimum quantity of each variable resource which would result in yields giving maximum profits. The amount of the factor inputs which will result in maximum profits can be determined in advance only when the relevant physical and economic relationships are known before the production period begins, and if there is absolute control over these factors during the production period. Of course, this is unrealistic and at best complete information can only be approached by a prediction or approximation of future happenings based itpon past experience.Given the physical relationships, the combination of the factors of production associated with maximum profits may be subjected to many modifications. These modifications result from variatioos in economic conditions such as factor and product prices which aNect the economic relationships (factor-factor and factorproduct price ratios). These in turn affect the most profitable levels and combinations of the factors of production. The estimate of optitnuin resource combinations in this study will be based on current and near current price ratios. Changing price relationships would alter the optimum combination. An attempt will be made to show the effect of cliaiigitig price ratios upon the most profitable lcvels of fertiliser application atid plant population. PROCEDURE Design cf ErperitritwtThe economic study described bclow was imposed upon an agronomic field experinleiit laid out at the Cedara College of Agriculture and Research Station. 233
REQUIREMENT S FOR CONTRIBUTION S Articles in the field of agricultural economics, suitable f9; publication in the journal, will be welcomed. Articles should have a maximum length of 10 folio pages (including tables, graphs, etc.) typed in double spacing. Contribuitions, in the language preferred by the writer, shouldbe submittedin triplicate to the Editor, c/o Department of Agricultural Economics and Marketing, Pretoria, and should reach him at least one month prior to date of publication.
EFFORTS DIRECTED at the systematic, accelerated development of most less developed countries (LDCs) can be dated from the early post-war years*(3) and arose from contemporary perceptions of the then existing conditions in those countries. Various attempts have been made to formulate a general theory of development, but the common element of all theoretical approaches is that they represent only partial models, and integration of these into a general theory has not yet been accomplished.*(4) A review of the evolution of thought on economic development*(5) shows, however, that a consensus may be emerging as regards the objectives of a new development strategy, concerning the target group for whose benefit the strategy should be implemented, and the framework within which it should be constructed. One element of this consensus is that there exists a need to increase food production in the LDCs, and the object of this article is to identify a paradigm within which a micro-level strategy towards this end may be formulated. Section 1 below contains a brief summary of the nature of the consensus, and in Section 2 a framework for micro-level development is formulated by means of the capacity-performance model of Ellis.* (6) In terms of Ellis's model, development is defined as the removal of barriers to the ability of a society to achieve the welfare objectives of its members, where such ability depends on the efficient functioning of the welfare feedback loops which operate within that society. In order to translate this definition into operational 1983 SAJE v51 (2) p284 proposals for development, it is necessary to identify existing barriers and to study the nature of social efficiency. These two aspects of the matter are discussed in Section Three. In the fourth and final section an operational model for development at the micro-level is proposed.
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