Farm Workers and Farm Dwellers inLimpopo Province,SouthAfrica

Abstract

One of the less studied legacies of settler colonialism and agrarian dualism in South Africa is the substantial population of people living and working on (still mostly) white‐owned commercial farms – a feature distinct from most other countries in Southern Africa. Many farm workers and farm dwellers in South Africa experience precarious tenure, and poor housing and labour conditions. This paper explores what is happening to farm labour and to agricultural capital in Limpopo province. Findings from field research on four horticultural and livestock/game farms illustrate how economic pressures, combined with land restitution and labour migration, have produced new and contested trajectories of agrarian change – largely cementing a historical shift from independent land tenure to wage labour but also prompting diversification of livelihoods. We explore the ways in which actors on farms – workers, dwellers, owners and managers – have responded with regard to three spheres of contestation: ownership, production and employment; tenure and livelihoods; and family, gender and children. We argue that, contrary to official visions of reform, long‐term processes of agrarian change predating political transition – proletarianization, casualization and the externalization of farm labour – are being accelerated. These processes, and the ways in which they are producing new contours of social differentiation, are illustrated at farm level.

(Re)constructing rural–urban spaces: gendered livelihoods, migration, and natural resources in South Africa

“…Numerous studies show increased dependence on multiple income sources for rural households, with remittances and pensions remain the largest source of income in Limpopo Province (McCusker and Carr 2006;Oberhauser and Pratt 2004;Oberhauser 2014;Eastwood et al 2006). Furthermore, shifts in livelihood strategies are occurring alongside increasing commercialization and mechanization of agriculture that reduces overall employment in this sector (Hall et al 2013;Todes et al 2010). This decline in employment opportunities on commercial farms has expanded people's reliance on subsistence agriculture and informal activities for livelihoods.…”

“…They are, however, also highly vulnerable to competition, mismanagement, and a lack of resources, as seen with the stone crushing group. Moreover, economic activities involving natural products have increased due to a shift in formal employment opportunities and especially the retrenchment of workers in commercial agriculture (Hall et al 2013). Other factors contributing to the rising importance of women's economic activities include the impact of HIV/AIDS on households and the additional burden on women as caretakers.…”

“…These efforts should counter the negative impacts of neoliberal approaches that focus on free market enterprises and export-oriented agricultural development. This situation has contributed to increasing unemployemtn among farm workers and further marginalization of rural households (Hall et al 2013). Moreover, the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme and other rural development policies implemented by the South African government should address social inequalities in rural areas and redress the urban bias of economic strategies.…”

“…First, circular migration incorporates temporary and return movements of migrants from cities to their rural communities in contrast to more permanent migration of labourers away from their homes. These trends reflect an increasingly mobile population, partly as a result of improved infrastructure and the reinforced pattern of 'split families' common under the apartheid era influx control (Hall et al 2013;Collinson et al 2009). Second, the use of natural resources in rural economic strategies complements other sources of income that are part of the complex and intersecting nature of rural and urban spaces.…”

Labour after Land Reform: The Precarious Livelihoods of Former Farmworkers in Zimbabwe

“…Tenants on farms subject to land reform notionally have greater rights through labour tenancy legislation, although in practice many former wage workers remain on farms with limited livelihood options. Indeed, around 3 million people were estimated to be living on farms in the early 2000s in South Africa, particularly in Limpopo province (Hall et al., : 53), including large numbers of migrants seeking employment, especially from Zimbabwe (Addison, ; Bolt, ).…”