Occupational paths towards commercial agriculture: The key roles of farm pluriactivity and the commons

• Published in: Journal of arid environments Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 659 - 671
• Main Authors: Anseeuw, Ward, Laurent, Catherine
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Commons; community areas; employment; farm income; Farm settlement; farm surveys; farmers; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; household income; investment; Labour; Life Sciences; literature reviews; mining; Namaqualand; Occupational paths; occupations; off-farm employment; Pluriactivity; profitability; public lands; small-scale farming; South Africa; surveys; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; South Africa; Africa; Occupational paths; South Africa; Farm settlement; Labour; Pluriactivity; Commons; Arid environment; Population recruitment; Agriculture; PLURIACTIVITE; FARM SETTLMENT; INSTALLATION EN AGRICULTURE; PLURIACTIVITY; TRAVAIL; TRAJECTOIRE PROFESSIONELLE; OCCUPATIONAL PATH; COMMUN; COMMON; LABOUR
• ISSN: 0140-1963; 1095-922X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2006.11.009

In South Africa, “black” and “coloured” farmers engaged in several occupational activities are often considered as being “not interested in farming” or “not serious”. However, in Namaqualand the large majority of “coloured” farmers and especially the most successful ones are pluriactive and have off-farm incomes. Investigations were therefore carried out in that region to better understand the role of pluriactivity. Observations focus on middle-income households from the mining sector entering into small-scale commercial farming. Based on surveys in both non-farm and farm sectors, the results show that, for many households, access to sufficient farm assets depends strongly on the employment situation of the sector of origin and requires a level of investment which can be reached only progressively. This obliges these households to rely on off-farm incomes and communal land at least during the early transitional stage. These results stress the importance of taking into account the diversity of paths and of differentiating the various stages in the transitional period between two occupational activities. Finally, the paper emphasises the importance of taking these specific situations into consideration in the management of the commons.