Farewell to Farms

by Bryceson, Deborah Fahy; Jamal, Vali

• ISBN13: 9781840141931
• ISBN10: 184014193X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-12-01
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd

Summary

Is Africa's future necessarily rooted in peasant agriculture? The title of this book, Farewell to Farms, is deliberately intended to challenge the widely held view that Africa is the world's reserve for peasant farming. African rural populations are themselves moving away from reliance on agriculture. 'De-agrarianisation' takes the form of urban migration as well as the expansion of non-agricultural activities in rural areas providing new income sources, occupations and social identities for rural dwellers. Using recent case study evidence from locations throughout the continent, the authors assess the impact of de-agrarianisation on household welfare, business performance and national development. As well-known African and Africanist authorities with an intimate knowledge of the labour patterns of the continent, the authors findings reveal new economic and social trajectories during a period of accelerated change. The freshness of their empirical and theoretical insights should prompt awareness of the inadequacy of current policies, and the significance of de-agrarianisation for Africa's future place in the world division of labour.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	v
I. INTRODUCTION	1	(20)
1. De-agrarianisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Acknowledging the Inevitable	3	(18)
Deborah Fahy Bryceson
Defining and Discerning De-agrarianisation	4	(1)
Significance of Non-agricultural Rural Employment	5	(8)
Declining Utility of the Informal Sector Concept	13	(3)
Towards an Understanding of African De-agrarianisation	16	(1)
Notes	17	(1)
References	18	(3)
II. HORN OF AFRICA	21	(40)
2. Coping with Famine and Poverty: The Dynamics of Non-Agricultural Rural Employment in Darfur, Sudan	23	(18)
Hamid el Bashir Ibrahim
Agricultural Decline	24	(2)
Depleting Resources and Coping Strategies	26	(5)
Labour Migration and Non-Agricultural Employment	31	(3)
Growing Regional Service Sector	34	(4)
Conclusion	38	(1)
Notes	39	(1)
References	40	(1)
3. Farmers without Land: The Return of Landlessness to Rural Ethiopia	41	(20)
Yohannes Habtu
The Survey Site	44	(1)
Landlessness Defined and Estimated	44	(4)
Land Transactions	48	(2)
Rural Employment Opportunities	50	(6)
Conclusion	56	(2)
Notes	58	(1)
References	59	(2)
III. WEST AFRICA	61	(56)
4. Not by Farming Alone: The Role of Non-Farm Incomes in Rural Hausaland	63	(22)
Kate Meagher
Abdul Raufu Mustapha
Theoretical Considerations	64	(1)
Non-Farm Activities in Rural Hausaland	65	(2)
Structural Adjustment and De-agrarianisation	67	(7)
Impact of SAP on Non-Farm Activities	74	(2)
De-agrarianisation and the Household	76	(1)
De-agrarianisation and the Environment	77	(2)
Conclusions	79	(2)
References	81	(4)
5. Winners and Losers: Household Fortunes in the Urban Peripheries of Northern Nigeria	85	(16)
Mohammed A. Iliya
Ken Swindell
Rural Households and Non-Farm Work in the Gusau Periphery	88	(5)
Land Expropriation and Accumulation	93	(3)
The Expansion of Capitalist Agriculture	96	(2)
Conclusion	98	(1)
Notes	99
References	99	(2)
6. Economic Activities of the Poor in Accra	101	(16)
Meine Pieter van Dijk
Meaning of Poverty in Abeka	101	(2)
Poverty and Coping Strategies	103	(1)
Poor People in Segmented Labour Markets	104	(4)
Rural-Urban Relations under Structural Adjustment	108	(2)
Productivity and Growth of Informal Sector Enterprises	110	(1)
Policy Implications	111	(2)
Notes	113	(2)
References	115	(2)
IV. EAST AFRICA	117	(38)
7. Urban Trajectories in Rural Livelihood Strategies: Household Employment Patterns in Kenya's Coast Province	119	(18)
Dick Foeken
Coast Province: Low Economic Performance and Expectations	120	(2)
Employment in Coast Province	122	(3)
Income Divisions	125	(2)
Gender	127	(2)
Age Groups	129	(1)
Education is No Guarantee of Economic Success	130	(1)
Household Livelihood Strategies Unravelled	131	(2)
Conclusion: Where Rural and Urban Boundaries Blur	133	(1)
Notes	134	(1)
References	135	(2)
8. The Rural Informal Sector in Tanzania	137	(18)
Mboya S.D. Bagachwa
Tanzanian Rural Population	138	(1)
Poverty and Rural Households	138	(3)
Importance of the Rural Informal Sector	141	(4)
Anatomy of the Rural Informal Sector	145	(5)
Informal Sector under Adjustment	150	(2)
Conclusion	152	(1)
Notes	152	(1)
References	153	(2)
V. SOUTHERN AFRICA	155	(48)
9. Non-Farm Activities and Gender in Zimbabwe	157	(10)
Rudo B. Gaidzanwa
Zimbabwean Economy, Polity and Society	158	(1)
Non-Farm Activities in Rural Households	159	(2)
Legal and Regulatory Measures	161	(1)
Gendered Nature of Non-Farm Activities	162	(2)
Conclusion	164	(2)
References	166	(1)
10. Rural Diversification in Zimbabwe	167	(18)
Paul Ove Pedersen
Changing Theoretical Perceptions of Rural Non-Agricultural Activities	168	(2)
RNAs in Zimbabwe since Independence	170	(6)
Impact of Structural Adjustment and Drought	176	(4)
Conclusion	180	(3)
Notes	183	(1)
References	183	(2)
11. Of Livestock and Deadstock: Entrepreneurship and Tradition on the South African Highveld	185	(18)
Leslie Bank
Between Cattle and Commerce	187	(2)
Mass Relocation and Market Anarchy of the Bantustan Era	189	(2)
From Labour Tenants in the White Countryside to Bantustan Entrepreneurs	191	(4)
Commerce and Consciousness: Entrepreneurship and Social Identity	195	(3)
Beyond the Bovine Mystique: Entrepreneurship and Cultural Process	198	(2)
Conclusions	200	(1)
Notes	201	(1)
References	201	(2)
VI. CONTINENTAL POLICY ISSUES	203	(32)
12. Rural Industries in Africa: Hope and Hype	205	(18)
Ian Livingstone
Re-examining Rural Industries	206	(4)
Nature of Rural Manufacturing	210	(3)
Limited Rural Purchasing Power	213	(1)
Influence of the Resource Base	214	(2)
Tendency for Urban Concentration	216	(1)
Non-Farm Income and Household Welfare	217	(3)
Conclusion	220	(1)
Notes	220	(1)
References	220	(3)
13. Labour Diversification in Rural Africa: Implications for Public Works Programmes	223	(12)
Tesfaye Teklu
Diversification Practices: Micro Level Evidence	223	(3)
Source of Labour Supply and Variation	226	(3)
Rural Employment Programmes: Design and Practice	229	(2)
Conclusion	231	(1)
Notes	232	(1)
References	233	(2)
VII. CONCLUSION	235	(22)
14. De-agrarianisation: Blessing or Blight?	237	(20)
Deborah Fahy Bryceson
Forces Propelling De-agrarianisation	237	(7)
Analysing a Selective Historical Process	244	(4)
Assessing Welfare Outcomes	248	(3)
Occupational Specialisation versus Diversification: Finding the Right Policy Track	251	(4)
Conclusion	255	(1)
References	256	(1)
Notes on Contributors	257	(4)
Index	261