Sammanfattning

South African smallholders have disengaged from cultivation in recent decades despite the lack of alternative incomes. The Covid-19 pandemic led to further rises in poverty and food insecurity. Between March and May 2022, we asked respondents from all 104 households in one village in the Eastern Cape province about how the pandemic had impacted their lives, and their perspectives on and engagement in agriculture. The majority reported that school closures and loss of incomes had led to increased food insecurity. Overall the respondents did not report that the pandemic had had any significant positive or negative impact on cultivation. Material limitations (purchased seed, fertiliser, fencing and traction) were widely mentioned as hampering the possibility of cultivating land already before the pandemic. At the same time, many respondents expressed a love for farming. Future agricultural development support could be directed at promoting farming systems that are less dependent on external inputs and that can support rural livelihoods in the face of external shocks and crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nyckelord

Deagrarianisation; Covid-19; livelihoods; Africa; agriculture

Publicerad i

Agrekon
2023, Volym: 62, nummer: 3-4, sidor: 279-291
Utgivare: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR AND FRANCIS LTD

SLU författare

• Fischer, Klara

  • Institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Bengtsson, Amanda

  • Institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Globala målen

SDG2 Avskaffa hunger, uppnå tryggad livsmedelsförsörjning och förbättrad nutrition samt främja ett hållbart jordbruk
SDG1 Fattigdom omfattar fler dimensioner än den ekonomiska. Fattigdom innebär bl.a. även brist på frihet, makt, inflytande, hälsa, utbildning och fysisk säkerhet.


UKÄ forskningsämne

Kulturgeografi


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2023.2288709

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/127591