Labour Migration And Agricultural Development In Southern Africa

In this innovative book Allan Low uses the theory of household economics to establish the link between the stagnation of African farming and the rapid development of modern market sectors in southern Africa.

A study which examines the economic rationale for migration and its effect on agricultural development. It features case studies of rural-to-rural migration in 10 countries, making a comparative assessment of forced and spontaneous migration.

This title was first published in 2001. "This is also a study of rural Xhosa identity and community, and its survival in the face of the overwhelming odds stacked against it by colonialism and apartheid. The maintenance of homestead production can be properly understood only if this wider context is taken into consideration. The analysis is thus directly relevant to current debates about agrarian change, land reform and economic development in South Africa's communal areas, since it shows how some rural Xhosa are able to maintain a sense of community and identity, and of how they are able to harness the socio-cultural resources at their disposal to engage in productive activity, with some success."--BOOK JACKET.