The causes and consequences of agricultural change : a case study of agricultural commercialization in the communal areas of South Africa

Abstract

This paper analyses the causes and consequences of agricultural change in two regions of the former Bophuthatswana homeland of South Africa. The paper identifies a number of circumstances which provided the set of comprehensive support services which are essential for the development of commercial agriculture. The changing rural-urban wage differential, and the demise of traditional institutions as well as the drought of the early 1980's were important factors in the changes described. No single factor caused the development of a commercial agriculture, but a package of prime movers was necessary. The broad consequences of the transformation in agriculture has significance for both those with agricultural resources, as well as those without. One of the most important consequences is the creation of a commercial farming class, and conversely, the creation of two other groups: a group of wage labourers and a group of land right owners who lease out their land.