Browsing Working Papers by Issue Date
Now showing items 41-60 of 79
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Social security and the dignity of lone mothers in South Africa
(Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), 2014)This working paper forms part of a project entitled ‘Lone Mothers in South Africa: The role of social security in respecting and protecting dignity’. The project originates from research undertaken for the South African ... -
Dynamics of decline in small-scale sugarcane production in South Africa: Evidence from two ‘rural’ wards in the Umfolozi region
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2014-05)Using evidence from two rural wards in the Umfolozi region, this paper critically investigates the dynamics and constraints of small-scale sugarcane production under conditions of decline. The rapid decline in small-scale ... -
Changes in South Africa’s global agricultural trade regime, 1996–2013
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2014-10)This paper presents an examination of the major trends in South African international trade in agricultural products between the years 1996 and 2013. The analysis covers three broad areas: (1) the changing weight of key ... -
The state and land legislation in Botswana
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2014-10)This paper aims to understand the political and legal dynamics involved in aspects of local government in Botswana as exemplified by legislative enactments. Mawhood (1985) suggests that such structures are charged with ... -
Rural resource grabs or necessary inward investment? The politics of land and water in Africa
(International Institute for Environment and Development, 2015)What has happened since the furore broke over the corporate land rush in Africa? Field-based research has exposed new realities that challenge the linear suggestions of a ‘grab’. As the process unfolds and our understanding ... -
Foodways of the poor in South Africa: How value-chain consolidation, poverty & cultures of consumption feed each other
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016)South African food systems are in a dynamic process of transition due to changes in food value chain regimes which have major impacts on the poor. However, these transitions are also shaped by demandside drivers emerging ... -
Labour regulation and the economy: The case of the food value chain
(Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), 2016)Contrary to a popular narrative which seeks to attribute the country’s economic ills to labour legislation, this paper argues that the role of law in relation to the economy is constitutive, and that labour can also not ... -
Corporate power in the agrofood system and South Africa’s consumer food environment
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-05)This report maps the extent of corporate power in the South African agro-food system using a value chain approach. It identifies major corporate actors in the various nodes of the agro-food system as of 2014. Some nodes ... -
Food environments, health and nutrition in South Africa: Mapping the research and policy terrain
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-06)The aim of this paper was to review existing research and policies related to food environments so as to identify research gaps towards a research agenda for the new Centre of Excellence in Food Security. Food environments ... -
Alternative food networks and food insecurity in South Africa
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-06)Food security remains a persistent global challenge. Inequality means that food insecurity is disproportionately experienced. Despite positive shifts in the state of food security at a global scale, recent reports from ... -
Systematic review of the literature on ‘informal economy’ and ‘food security’: South Africa, 2009-2014
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-07)Despite the importance of the informal food economy in fulfilling the daily and weekly food needs of a large proportion of South Africa’s low-income population, it appears little research exists on the exact nature of ... -
Deflating the fallacy of food deserts: Local food geographies in Orange Farm and inner city Johannesburg
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-08)The availability and accessibility of food is constrained by the environments where people live, work and purchase goods, and the pathways which they use to traverse these. This recognition has given rise to innovative ... -
Understanding South African food and agricultural policy: Implications for agri-food value chains, regulation, and formal and informal livelihoods
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-08)In order to create credibility and sustainability between policies, to avoid political confusion and to reassure “investor confidence”, a clear agri-food policy package needs to be in place. To achieve this, policy ... -
Local food geographies: The nature and extent of food insecurity in South Africa
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-08)Food insecurity is a challenge for most countries in the Global South. South Africa is no exception - a significant proportion of its population still remains in poverty and is therefore vulnerable to food insecurity. ... -
Lusaka’s local food geographies: A gendered reading of everyday food insecurity in Mtendere, Lusaka
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-08)Little is known about how individual abilities and food security determinants - at the scale of everyday life - connect to formal and informal value chains, and broader urban structural systems in which daily processes ... -
The informal sector’s role in food security: A missing link in policy debates?
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-09)This paper aims to review what is currently known about the role played by the informal sector in general and informal retailers in particular, in the accessibility of food in South Africa. The review seeks to identify ... -
Going nowhere fast? Changed working conditions on Western Cape fruit and wine farms: A state of knowledge review
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-09)This state of the knowledge review sets out to identify the main research themes and findings in the literature on labour relations and conditions on Western Cape fruit farms over the past ... -
‘What is the value of the constitution?’: Value chains, livelihoods and food security in SA’s large- and small-scale fisheries
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2016-10)This paper seeks to assess the state of knowledge in relation to the interrelated subjects of value chains, livelihoods, food systems, and regulatory dynamics in South Africa’s large-‐ and s ... -
Women’s participation in fish value chains and value chain governance in Malawi: A case of Msaka (Lake Malawi) and Kachulu (Lake Chilwa)
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2017-05)This paper helps to fill an important gap that exists in gender responsive fish value chains by analysing the factors that influence women’s participation in fish value chains and value chain governance in Malawi. The study ... -
Trade, food and nutrition security in South Africa: The cases of sugar and poultry
(Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, 2017-10)The purpose of this paper is to consider the role that trade plays in food and nutrition security in South Africa. Despite an established commercial food system, South Africans experience high levels of food and nutrition ...