1,721,000 research outputs found
An alien in the country of my birth: xenophobia reinforcing otherness and promoting exclusion
No full textIn South Africa xenophobia conjures up gruesome images of the 2008 and 2015 attacks. Physically violent attacks appear to make local and international headline news. But xenophobia is not simply about nationals and non nationals, nor does it only occur as irregular violent outbreaks. Such portrayals obscure other far more widely lived experiences of xenophobia, which largely appear as a means of reinforcing otherness with the purpose of excluding such others from the benefits of citizenship or residence in South Africa. To understand this it is necessary to explore South Africa's xenophobic past, which has to do with continual struggles for limited resources. These struggles have not been effectively overturned by the removal of discriminatory apartheid legislation and the introduction of South Africa's Constitution. Our argument is based on author Margaret's experiences as a South African child born of middle-class immigrant parents, which are anchored in the broader political and social context of South Africa. These experiences produce the very real fear of being denied the Constitutional rights of a South African citizen or resident. Such fears are also experienced by South African citizens 'proper', and we include some evidence of this when it comes to interaction with naturalisation and police authorities, as well as what it means with regard to employment. While we have achieved a democracy, the next step is to move out of single-minded racial and ethnic silos to achieve a cosmopolitan democracy as envisaged in the constitution.
Visit to Italy for the purpose of attending 18th Symposium of the International Farming Systems Association at the Salesianum, Rome
No full text27 October to 7 Novembe
The significance of African vegetables in ensuring food security for South Africa's rural poor
No full textTechnologies and services provided to resource-poor farmers need to be relevant and compatible with the context in which they operate. This paper examines the contribution of extension services to the food security of resource-poor farmers in a rural village in South Africa. It considers these in terms of the local context and the production of African vegetables in household food plots. A mixture of participatory, qualitative and quantitative research tools, including a household survey, is used to argue that local production practices contribute more to food security requirements than the extension services. This is because of the ability of African vegetables to grow relatively well in semi-arid areas where other exotic plants do not, their ability to provide at least two foodstuffs during their life cycle, and the ability of either the fruit or the leaves, or both, to be dried and stored for consumption
in the winter months. These crops can make a significant contribution in terms of household food security, but a number of social and agro ecological factors are constraining their production and placing their availability under threat. Despite this, the extension services remain focused on certain activities within vegetable garden projects, even when these are not meeting their proposed
purpose food security by means of cash-crop production. The paper concludes that social and agro ecological constraints
could be improved if the extension services were changed. This could include the use of context specific and low-cost technologies to ensure that these crops are able to increase their contribution to household food security for resource-poor farmers in semi-arid areas.
He who pays the piper calls the tune: personal reflections on collaborators, conspirators and researchers at the HSRC
No full textHaving worked at the HSRC for 16 years and recently having undergone my fifth or sixth organisational transformation, one could do with greater stability especially if this might change the funding model, create formal relationships with universities, and reduce the quandaries that arise when doing contract research. The governmentseems to require the regular restructuring of the HSRC research agenda and programmes, specifically in line with the general elections and subsequent medium-term expenditure framework, seemingly detracting from the autonomy of the HSRC.During the last decade, the government was riddled with corruption and mired in state capture. This situation has impacted on the access to funds and possiblythe type of research requested by the state. Some criticisms by Cloete and others,therefore, have merit; but most seem rather facetious, especially when directed exclusively at the HSRC.
He who pays the piper calls the tune: personal reflections on collaborators, conspirators and researchers at the HSRC
No full textHaving worked at the HSRC for 16 years and recently having undergone my fifth or sixth organisational transformation, one could do with greater stability especially if this might change the funding model, create formal relationships with universities, and reduce the quandaries that arise when doing contract research. The governmentseems to require the regular restructuring of the HSRC research agenda and programmes, specifically in line with the general elections and subsequent medium-term expenditure framework, seemingly detracting from the autonomy of the HSRC.During the last decade, the government was riddled with corruption and mired in state capture. This situation has impacted on the access to funds and possiblythe type of research requested by the state. Some criticisms by Cloete and others,therefore, have merit; but most seem rather facetious, especially when directed exclusively at the HSRC.
From the ocean to outer space - and almost everything in between: Book review: Wild, S. 2015. Innovation: shaping South Africa through science. Johannesburg: Pan Macmillan
No full textHow rural land reform policy translates into benefits
No full textLand reform policy in South Africa has been strongly criticised, especially its instrumentality. However, recent ethnographic studies indicate that it is a complex and deeply social process in which policy is understood differently by different actors. Rather than asking whether land reform works we should ask how it works. Using a case study of SLAG (Settlement Land Acquisition Grant) redistribution beneficiaries in a southern Cape village, this paper describes how these rural residents interpreted policy and used the resources put at their disposal by the state. These local actors' decisions and actions were based largely on their livelihood
requirements and frequently determined by their historical experiences and social relationships. Although they behaved in ways that were not anticipated by officials, a number have gained tangible benefits. Beneficiary 'success stories' have given credence to the land reform policy, and state officials have responded by continuing to provide support to the project that was the subject of this study.
Book review: Beinart, W., Kingwill, R. and Capss, G. (eds.) 2021. Land, law and chiefs in rural South Africa: contested histories and current struggles. Johannesburg: WITS University Press. 344 p. ISBN 978-1-77614-679-6
No full textLand, Law and Chiefs in Rural South Africa is an exciting update to the literature about land reform, associated legislation, the roles of traditional authorities in South Africa and how their subjects challenge these roles and disputes. The book exposes the often less-publicised debates and contestations around land, property and other rights in the areas that belonged to South Africa's former homelands. Chieftainship succession is contested, whilst history, identity and custom are disputed and reinterpreted. The 13 chapters, by old hands and some new ones to the land rights and customary ownership discourse in South Africa, add a rich interdisciplinary (historical, legal, anthropological and activist) perspective to this body of literature with Beinart setting the scene in the introductory chapter. The remaining 12 chapters adopt a novel case-study lens of what happens in the courts and the former homelands as different groups attempt to assert their rights around land and its resources.
Local knowledge and agricultural applications: lessons from a Ugandan parish
No full textA multidisciplinary team of agricultural researchers worked with residents of a rural parish in south-western Uganda to generate local knowledge about the diverse use of plants identified as African vegetables. While some were sold at the commercial fresh produce market in Kampala most were cultivated for household consumption. Some plants had properties which, when planted in specific ways, could improve the fertilisation of farmers' marginal soils and protect their crops from pests. By focusing on people's local knowledge research and extension officials became aware of the importance of this knowledge for production purposes. The research illustrates, by using African vegetables as an example that it is important to focus on local knowledge in order to understand observed practices; including gender responsibilities. Such practices are largely governed by people's socio-economic and agro-ecological circumstances. In such contexts the utilisation of local resources are important. Understanding can enable agricultural professionals to optimise the integration of local knowledge in agricultural development.
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