Drawing on research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden, this paper compares changing... Show moreDrawing on research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden, this paper compares changing economic and social patterns in a wide variety of rural settlements in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently emerged or refashioned income diversification tendencies are highlighted and linked to the blurring of strong rural-urban contrasts. After a schematic consideration of continental trends, followed by a more detailed examination of rural livelihood patterns, the author teases out some of the major tensions embedded in the broad-based reorientation of rural livelihoods, leading to a discussion of how effective current government and donor policies are in addressing this rural transformation. The conclusion returns to the issue of sub-Saharan Africa's 'betwixt-and-between' status (the balancing act of African rural dwellers caught in between farm and nonfarm, family and individual, and rural and urban contrasts), arguing that the uncertainty could be alleviated with a more directional policy approach, an approach that facilitates provisioning of rural households and communities local-level, daily needs, and strengthens public policy, training facilities and infrastructure for future occupational diversification and specialization. Show less
This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the... Show moreThis working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper is based on research in South Africa, namely in Shixini, an Administrative Area which is part of the Jinqi Tribal Authority, located in Willowvale district, former Transkei, in the Eastern Cape. The paper looks at the extent to which agrarian activities are still important within rural areas, or the extent to which agrarian activities are being replaced or supplemented by other economic activities (income diversification). The conclusion is that most of the homesteads in Shixini derive at least part of their livelihood from agricultural activities; that no homestead can survive without some form of cash income (in the form of migrant labour earnings or social and disability pensions); and that very few are able to secure access to cash by selling agricultural products. Show less
This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of... Show moreThis working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper focuses on Nigeria and chronicles the patterns of long-term diversification that are observable in the cocoa farming community of Alade in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State. After some historical background information on cocoa cultivation and government policies up to 1970, when Nigeria began to experience its oil boom, it looks at the impact of the oil boom of the 1970s and the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), introduced in 1986, on cocoa farming before turning to the situation of household production and reproduction in the aftermath of SAP, and the internal dynamics of Alade households. Finally, it looks at the extent and trends of diversification of livelihood strategies within the farming community. The conclusion is that SAP has led to a revival of cocoa farming in Nigeria and that farming households have responded to new opportunities opened up to them by adjusting their use of household resources. However, the benefits of this revival have not been evenly spread. Show less
The upsurge in nonagricultural income diversification which has taken place on the African continent during the last fifteen years represents large-scale agrarian labour displacement within an... Show moreThe upsurge in nonagricultural income diversification which has taken place on the African continent during the last fifteen years represents large-scale agrarian labour displacement within an accelerated process of depeasantization. The literature's current preoccupation with market response and prescriptive behaviour based on Western norms and formal economic models clouds perception of what is actually taking place. The confusion begins with limiting the focus to the household as the unit of analysis while tacitly assuming that such households operate within a clearly delineated formal/informal/peasant three-sector economy. One by one, the components of the three-sector model are changing; national economies represent an amalgam of these three sectors into one 'formless' sector. This paper presents colonial and postcolonial perspectives on the African rural labour question, specifically with respect to Tanzania, in order to lend historical depth and sociopolitical dimension to the current focus on income diversification. To ground the analysis, case study observations are presented from four Tanzanian villages: two situated in the Mbeya region and two in Iringa region. The new 'sustainable rural livelihoods' (SRL) approach is a response to the complexity of rural livelihoods and their growing nonagricultural character. Show less
This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of... Show moreThis working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper focuses on South Africa and is concerned with the problem of rural livelihoods against the background of changes which have occurred in South Africa in recent years. It is based on research in Melani village, in the dry interior district of Alice in the former Ciskei, which began in 1996. The paper starts with a description of household structure and income, including pensions, wages, remittances and material benefits derived from informal economic activities as well as the occasional sale of stock and crops. Then it describes various types of rural-urban interaction and interaction between the rural households. The data illustrate the unsatisfactory conditions of rural dwellers who derive either very little or nothing from the land while there are also few employment opportunities locally. Show less
This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of... Show moreThis working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper focuses on Nigeria, and is based on research carried out in the village of Osumenyi in Nnewi South (Igboland), in southeastern Nigeria. It considers aspects of farm and nonfarm activities: the role and trend of farming activities and output, patterns of migration, incomes from nonfarm activities and other sources, the role of social networks, the role of infrastructure and community development, and linkages between nonfarm activities and agriculture. The conclusion is that nonfarm income far outweighs agricultural income. The Nigerian government, still under the impression that rural development is synonymous with agricultural development, should encourage areas with increasing land shortage, increasing populations and poor agricultural resources to diversify their incomes as a matter of priority. Show less
