Small-family farm types: Examples from Northern Namibia and implications for agrarian reform in South Africa

Small-farmer types in southern Africa differ significantly in terms of factor-input patterns and support structures. On peasant family farms (PFF) cash input costs are very low, non-household labour is sourced largely from communal work groups through kinship ties, and support services needed to sustain production are minimal. By contrast, on commercial family farms (CFF) cash input costs are high, little non-family labour is used and strong support services are necessary. The first objective of this article is to point out and emphasise the different situations which exist in these two small-family farm types, based on data from farm studies in Northern Namibia. The second objective is to extract the implications of these differences in relation to development paths under land reform. This is based on experiences of the outcome of land reform in Latin America. It is concluded that the agrarian situation in post-land reform South Africa will comprise a mix of large-scale commercial farms and small-scale farms of both the PFF and CFF types. It will be necessary to recognise the existence of each of these types and their interrelationships, to monitor their development, to understand their different production situations and to cater for their different needs.