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'Undercultivation' and intensification in the Transkei: a case study of historical changes in the use of arable land in Nompa, Shixini

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  • Maura Andrew
  • Roddy Fox

Abstract

The large areas of abandoned arable fields in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are often interpreted as evidence that rural people are no longer interested in farming and largely rely on off-farm sources of income for their survival. However, this case study of land-use practices in one village shows that farmers in the Transkeian coastal belt have not abandoned cultivation, but have shifted from the extensive cultivation of maize in distant fields to the intensive intercropping of maize and other food crops in fenced gardens adjacent to homesteads. Studies of yields from fields and gardens indicate that this has been an effective intensification strategy adopted by rural households to maintain yields in the face of shrinking resources and increasing risks. Evidence of changing land-use practices is presented and the reasons for these changes identified and evaluated.

Suggested Citation

  • Maura Andrew & Roddy Fox, 2004. "'Undercultivation' and intensification in the Transkei: a case study of historical changes in the use of arable land in Nompa, Shixini," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 687-706.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:deveza:v:21:y:2004:i:4:p:687-706
    DOI: 10.1080/0376835042000288851
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chenai Murata & Sukhmani Mantel & Chris de Wet & Anthony R Palmer, 2019. "Lay Knowledge of Ecosystem Services in Rural Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: Implications for Intervention Program Planning," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(02), pages 1-29, April.
    2. Mtero, Farai, 2017. "Rural livelihoods, large-scale mining and agrarian change in Mapela, Limpopo, South Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 190-200.
    3. Sheunesu Ruwanza, 2020. "Topsoil Transfer from Natural Renosterveld to Degraded Old Fields Facilitates Native Vegetation Recovery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Sheona Shackleton & Marty Luckert, 2015. "Changing Livelihoods and Landscapes in the Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa: Past Influences and Future Trajectories," Land, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-30, November.
    5. M. E. Gilbert & N. M. Holbrook, 2011. "Limitations to crop diversification for enhancing the resilience of rain-fed subsistence agriculture to drought," CID Working Papers 228, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    6. Charlie Shackleton & Monde Ntshudu, 2023. "Declines in Livestock Numbers Accompany Cropping Deagrarianisation Processes in the Eastern Cape, South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Dale Blair & Charlie M. Shackleton & Penelope J. Mograbi, 2018. "Cropland Abandonment in South African Smallholder Communal Lands: Land Cover Change (1950–2010) and Farmer Perceptions of Contributing Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-20, October.
    8. Hebinck†, Paul & Smith, Lothar & Aliber, Michael, 2023. "Beyond technocracy: The role of the state in rural development in the Eastern Cape, South Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    9. Fischer, Klara & Mnukwa, Nomahlubi & Bengtsson, Amanda, 2023. "The Covid pandemic, cultivation and livelihoods in South Africa’s Eastern Cape," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 62(3-4), December.
    10. Shackleton, C.M. & Mograbi, P.J. & Drimie, S. & Fay, D. & Hebinck, P. & Hoffman, M.T. & Maciejewski, K. & Twine, W., 2019. "Deactivation of field cultivation in communal areas of South Africa: Patterns, drivers and socio-economic and ecological consequences," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 686-699.
    11. Schramski, Sam & Barnes, Grenville, 2016. "Agrarian Change and Adaptive Capacity in Rural South Africa," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 6(2), December.
    12. Keitometsi Ncube & Charlie M. Shackleton & Brent M. Swallow & Wijaya Dassanayake, 2016. "Impacts of HIV / AIDS on food consumption and wild food use in rural South Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(6), pages 1135-1151, December.
    13. Current Masunungure & Sheona E. Shackleton, 2018. "Exploring Long-Term Livelihood and Landscape Change in Two Semi-Arid Sites in Southern Africa: Drivers and Consequences for Social–Ecological Vulnerability," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, April.
    14. Bethwell Moyo & Khuliso Emmanuel Ravhuhali, 2022. "Abandoned Croplands: Drivers and Secondary Succession Trajectories under Livestock Grazing in Communal Areas of South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Sky Roberts & Charlie Shackleton, 2018. "Temporal Dynamics and Motivations for Urban Community Food Gardens in Medium-Sized Towns of the Eastern Cape, South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12, November.

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