Deagrarianization and rural employment in sub-Saharan Africa: A sectoral perspective

Bryceson, Deborah Fahy

doi:10.1016/0305-750x(95)00119-w

Cited by 337 publications

(267 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

242

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Available evidence suggests continuing livelihood diversification, increased monetisation and constantly shifting livelihoods (Bryceson 1996Scoones et al 1996;Ellis 1998Ellis , 1999Ellis , 2000Mortimore 1998;Ashley and Maxwell 2001;Orr and Mwale 2001). We examine whether this is the case, exploring whether there is any evidence of poverty reduction, and look at the drivers of change.…”

Section: • To Identify the Different Groups Of Resource Users And Quamentioning

confidence: 96%

Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints

Campbell¹,

Jeffrey²,

Kozanayi³

et al. 2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: • To Identify the Different Groups Of Resource Users And Quamentioning

confidence: 96%

Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints

Campbell¹,

Jeffrey²,

Kozanayi³

et al. 2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Focusing on 'successful farmers' as opposed to 'good farmers' throws up some intriguing anomalies. If, for example, we take the mounting evidence on increasing rural livelihood diversification and de-agrarianisation seriously (Bryceson, 1996;Reardon, 1997;Bryceson, 2002;Ellis and Freeman, 2004), we are forced to at least entertain the proposition that in the early 21 st century the mark of some 'good' (successful) farmers SSA is that they leave farming altogether.…”

Section: Reversal Of Fortune and Beyondmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Good Farmers’ in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evolving Narratives

Sumberg¹

2011

Outlook Agric

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper the example of cocoa production in Ghana is used to explore how the narratives portraying African farmers have changed over the last 70 years. These evolving narratives are explored through the notion of a 'good farmer' . The argument is that over this period the image of African farmers has been progressively rehabilitated, from ignorant and tradition-bound to skilled and research-minded. Over the same time period the image of formal research and extension was undermined. With the recent renewed interest in agriculture, narratives around African farmers are again evolving: 'good farmers' are now increasingly being defined as those who approach their farming as a proper business.

show abstract

“…They do so for good reasons: (i) transaction costs are much lower because it is easier for a poor person to approach a well endowed neighbor, relative, or friend to help provide a good or a service than associating with other poor people to try to collectively obtain it; (ii) free-riding is not a real problem because, for instance, patrons take pride in providing a common or public good even if others do not contribute, giving them the power over others they seek; and (iii) the moral hazard is low because even if the risks tend to mount with the break-up of old community boundaries, seeking out others informally for problem solutions is less risky than relying on formal institutions to do so. Although much of the structuralist critique of the 1970s, e.g., Rodney (36), Leys (37), and Amin (38), is still valid when it comes to understanding Africa's predicament, agency matters in the local African context (39)(40)(41). Much of it amounts to coping under very difficult circumstances, but the point is that this behavior undermines formal institutions and renders them ineffective as instruments of development.…”

Section: The Overlooked Economic and Political Realitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance and poverty reduction in Africa

Hydén

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A careful review of the literature in political science and neighboring social science disciplines shows that prevailing assumptions in the international development policy community about improved governance as a principal mechanism to reduce poverty in Africa rests more on faith than science. Conventional policy models for tackling poverty fail to take into account the peculiar socioeconomic and political conditions in Africa, where the vast majority of those living on one dollar a day or less are only marginally captured by market and state institutions and instead rely on solving their problems ''outside the system.'' Poverty reduction through formal institutions therefore becomes ineffective. Although political science and other neighboring social science disciplines offer insights into these peculiarities, these contributions have been largely ignored to date. One reason is that economists continue to dominate the international development policy agenda. Another is that political scientists have typically looked at how economic variables shape political ones, rather than the other way around, as implied in the current governance agenda. Governance remains an undertheorized area of research held back by two chasms, one between economists and other social scientists and another between the scientific and the policy communities, to the detriment of gaining a better understanding of how it may help reduce poverty in Africa.informal institutions ͉ Millenium Development Goals ͉ development policy ͉ politics

show abstract

Deagrarianization and rural employment in sub-Saharan Africa: A sectoral perspective

Cited by 337 publications

References 25 publications

Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints

Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints

‘Good Farmers’ in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evolving Narratives

Governance and poverty reduction in Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About