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Rural Livelihoods in South Africa

Author

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  • Daniels, Reza Che

    (Saldru, School of Economics, University of Cape Town)

  • Partridge, Andrew

    (Western Cape Department of Agriculture)

  • Kekana, Dineo

    (Saldru, University of Cape Town)

  • Musundwa, Sibongile

    (Saldru, University of Cape Town)

Abstract

This paper discusses the changing profile of rural livelihoods in South Africa using the National Income Dynamics Study Waves 1 – 3 data (Southern Africa Labour & Development Research Unit (SALDRU), 2013a, 2013b, 2013c). The rural sector is undergoing a form of compositional change, with the literature suggesting that a phenomenon of de-agrarianisation is taking place as households become more dependent on government grants while moving away from agricultural-based activities. Furthermore, Tribal Authority Areas (TAAs) retain a communal form of land tenure that implies very different social and behavioural norms in these areas compared to formal rural areas. We find that there are indeed very different labour market, migration and subsistence agricultural trends between TAAs and formal rural areas. For the rural sector in general, selected findings include that rural migrants who have moved to urban areas between 2008-2012 have a higher probability of being employed than rural stayers; that among the employed population, the major transition out of agriculture was to the transport, storage and communication sector while the major transition into agricultural employment was from the wholesale & retail sector; and finally that there is indeed evidence that de-agrarianisation is taking place in the NIDS rural sample, with individuals much more likely to transition out of either commercial or subsistence agricultural activities than to start doing these activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniels, Reza Che & Partridge, Andrew & Kekana, Dineo & Musundwa, Sibongile, 2013. "Rural Livelihoods in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 122, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    • Handle: RePEc:ldr:wpaper:122
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carter, Michael R. & May, Julian, 1999. "Poverty, livelihood and class in rural South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 1-20, January.
    2. Larry A. Sjaastad, 1970. "The Costs and Returns of Human Migration," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Harry W. Richardson (ed.), Regional Economics, chapter 9, pages 115-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Charles Puttergill & Nolunkcwe Bomela & Janis Grobbelaar & Khumisho Moguerane, 2011. "The limits of land restitution: Livelihoods in three rural communities in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5), pages 597-611, December.
    4. Bryceson, Deborah Fahy, 2002. "The Scramble in Africa: Reorienting Rural Livelihoods," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 725-739, May.
    5. Ron Sandrey & Nick Vink, 2009. "Deregulation, Trade Reform and Innovation in the South African Agriculture Sector," OECD Journal: General Papers, OECD Publishing, vol. 2008(4), pages 219-255.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tyler W. Myroniuk & Michael J. White & Mark Gross & Rebecca Wang & Carren Ginsburg & Mark Collinson, 2018. "Does it Take a Village? Migration among Rural South African Youth," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(6), pages 1079-1108, December.
    2. Clement Mensah & Abdulrazak Karriem, 2021. "Harnessing Public Food Procurement for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in South Africa through the National School Nutrition Programme: A Qualitative Assessment of Contributions and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Mugido, Worship & Shackleton, Charlie M., 2018. "Price Determination of Non-timber Forest Products in Different Areas of South Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 597-606.
    4. Janina Isabel Steinert & Lucie Dale Cluver & G. J. Melendez-Torres & Sebastian Vollmer, 2018. "One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 51-72, February.

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