"South Africa: Apartheid, Globalization and Agriculture" in "Globalization and Agriculture: Redefining Unequal Development."

Abstract

South African agriculture has had a varied past. Pre-colonial agriculture combined nomadic livestock rearing with home based crop cultivation. During the centuries proceeding colonial occupation, indigenous African people were progressively forced off their land and into small reserves, or ‘bantustans’, which were typically overcrowded and could not support substantial levels of agriculture beyond subsistence farming. In comparison, European settlers were awarded, or afforded the opportunity to buy, large tracts of land on which to settle and establish successful farming enterprises. Not all the settlers were successful, but over time the dominance of European descendants as farmers and large landholders persisted, resulting in skewed demographic ownership patterns. This was reinforced with the exclusion of black South Africans from participating in commercial agriculture beyond the role of cheap labour. Because of these skewed ownership and skill demographics, few black South African’s are today involved in commercial agriculture, while many of the white owned commercial farms display high levels of productivity and competitiveness. This history has presented challenges for the sector's long term development, especially considering the growing challenges posed by globalisation and international competition. This chapter explores the South African scenario in further depth, analysing performance and opportunities in light of apartheid history and the effects of globalisation.