Commonage
By their own bootstraps: municipal commonage farmers as an emerging agrarian class in the Karoo
Municipal commonage land in South Africa is currently utilised by resource-poor black and coloured farmers. This paper analyses information from two case studies – the Karoo towns of Carnarvon and Williston in the Northern Cape. By comparing data between 2009 and 2018, we show that a significant number of these commonage farmers have increased their […]
Commonage in Philippolis
In the south western provinces of South Africa, municipalities own vast tracts of agricultural land. This phenomenon is primarily found in rural towns in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape and the Free State. Many municipalities inherited public land from their 19th century predecessors. In some cases, for example in Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, municipal commonage land was […]
Commonage in Pofadder
Commonage in Pofadder, Khai Ma Municipality, Northern Cape Anja Benseler, 2004 Abstract Municipal commonage is an essential tool towards economic development of communities and especially in poor rural areas it presents an opportunity to subsidise household income and acts as a sustainable food source. For many inhabitants, owning a few stock units on the commonage […]
Emergent farmers, local knowledge and the implications for land reform
It is a curious phenomenon that modern municipalities in the southern provinces of South Africa own vast tracts of agricultural land. This was primarily the case in rural towns in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the Free State. Many municipalities inherited public land, called “commonage” or “meentgronde”. In some cases, this land used to be […]
Human Sciences Research Council, Municipal Commonage Workshop
Human Sciences Research Council, Municipal Commonage Workshop, held at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Midrand, November 2003 Abstract Lest we forget, land reform has and remains one of the most onerous challenges facing post-apartheid South Africa. Yet, notwithstanding the potholes as we tackle these mammoth challenges head-on, we are proud about our achievements thus […]
Municipal Commonage Administration in the Free State Province
Buso, N (2002), Municipal Commonage Administration in the Free State Province: Can Municipalities in the current Local Government Dispensation promote emerging farming? Unpublished report, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH The primary purpose of doing the research concerned was to establish whether municipalities in the current local government dispensation in the Free State […]
Municipal commonage administration in the Northern Cape
Benseler, A (2002), Municipal commonage administration in the Northern Cape: Can municipalities promote emergent farming? Unpublished report, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria. INTRODUCTION Land reform is becoming a key part of government policy, especially in the light of land reform pressures in countries like Zimbabwe. It is clear to national and provincial governments that land reform […]
Municipal commonage and ecological knowledge in the Nama Karoo
Atkinson, D (2007), “Municipal commonage and ecological knowledge in the Nama Karoo”, Development Southern Africa, vol. 24, no. 5, December 2007. Abstract This paper examines the problem of managing municipal commonage land in the Nama Karoo, which is increasingly being used by black or coloured emergent farmers. Many of these live in the towns […]
Municipal commonage and implications for land reform
Atkinson, D and Buscher, B (2006), “Municipal commonage and implications for land reform: A profile of commonage users in Philippolis, South Africa” , Agrekon, volume 45, no. 4, December 2006. Abstract This paper reports on a survey of municipal commonage users, which was undertaken in Philippolis in the southern Free State, in May 2005. […]
Municipal commonage in South Africa
Atkinson D (2013), Municipal commonage in South Africa: A critique of artificial dichotomies in policy debates on agriculture, African Journal of Range & Forage Science, Volume 30, Issue 1-2, 2013, Abstract The paper critiques Vetter’s (in this issue) assertion that commercialisation of smallholder agriculture holds dangers for sustainable rangeland management. The paper argues […]
