Andries du Toit | University of the Western Cape (original) (raw)
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Papers by Andries du Toit
Abstract This paper advances 2 arguments concerning land restitution in South Africa: that the mo... more Abstract This paper advances 2 arguments concerning land restitution in South Africa: that the most important problem in the restitution programme is not the slow rate of delivery but also the question of just what is being delivered (the vision, aim, and policy that drives delivery); and that many of the problems of restitution arise out of some of the assumptions and frameworks with which role players (the state, the claimants, and commentators in civil society) approach restitution. The case of the Port Elizabeth Land and Community ...
Routledge eBooks, Jun 4, 2020
This paper connects Marxist approaches to the agrarian political economy of South Africa with pos... more This paper connects Marxist approaches to the agrarian political economy of South Africa with post-Marshallian and Foucauldian analyses of distributional regimes and late capitalist governmentality. Looking at South Africa's stalled agrarian transition through the lens of biopolitics as well as class analysis can make visible otherwise disregarded connections between processes of agrarian change and broader contests about the terms of social and economic incorporation into the South African social and political order before, during and after Apartheid. This can bring a fresh sense of the broader political implications of the course of agrarian change in South Africa, and helps contextualise the enduring salience of land as a flashpoint within South Africa's unresolved democratic transition. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the BICAS international conference Rural Transformations and Food Systems-The BRICS and Agrarian Change in the Global South on 20-21 April 2015 at the University of the Western Cape. Key points have also been recapitulated in Development and Change (Du Toit 2017). As usual, my intellectual debts are many and various, and too large to be paid back in either coins or land. Most of the arguments set out here come from what I have learned Henry Bernstein,
International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) The International Institute of Social Studies (IS... more International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Since its foundation in 1952 ISS has dedicated itself to post-graduate education, research, capacity building and policy advice in the field of ‘Development Studies’. Its main goal is to make a significant contribution to issues of development, equity and poverty reduction in the era of globalization. ISS offers a Masters in Development Studies (with a number of majors, and specializations), a PhD and a variety of shorter Diploma and tailor-made training courses. The academic department of Rural Development, Environment and Population Studies of ISS provides a Major in Agrarian and Environmental Studies, and has a state-of-the art research programme on the Political Economy of Resources, Environment and Population (PER). It als houses Initiatives in Critical Agrarian Studies (ICAS( and the Land Deal Politics Initiatives (LDPI).
![Research paper thumbnail of Hunger in the Valley of Fruitfulness globalization, "social exclusion" and chronic poverty in Ceres, South Africa [Draft]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/108872558/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Wes... more The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Western Cape district of Ceres, one of the centres of the South African deciduous fruit export industry. It considers the usefulness of the concept of "social exclusion" for understanding chronic poverty in the context of relative surrounding wealth. It argues that households' livelihood options can only be understood in the context of the broader dynamics of globalized agro-food restructuring and the modernisation of paternalist farming styles in the context of political transition. Key components of chronic poverty in Ceres are asset depletion, the stresses of seasonality and the often disregarded and invisible "dark sides" of social and human capital: criminality, violence, and the exploitative relationships of the "underground economy". It argues that "social exclusion," though focussing welcome attention on the disabling effects of poverty, fails for the most part as a way of making policy sense out of the dynamics that keep poor people poor. It agrees with proposals that these are better captured by the notion of adverse incorporation. The paper argues that there is a need to go beyond modernising and trickle-down approaches to development in Southern Africa, and makes recommendations of some of the key requirements that need to be met if policy is to be able to deal with the problems of chronic poverty.
''Tu articulate the past historicctlly dot:~ not mean to rcc~)gnizc it 'tht: way it really was' {... more ''Tu articulate the past historicctlly dot:~ not mean to rcc~)gnizc it 'tht: way it really was' {Ranke). It means to seize hold of a memory as it lla~ht:s up at a momt:nl of danger."
The social legitimacy of the 'COVID-19 lockdown', government's regulations imposed to... more The social legitimacy of the 'COVID-19 lockdown', government's regulations imposed to contain the spread of the virus, is most likely to run aground unless an urgent plan can be made to ensure that everyone in the country has access to sufficient food And it's not looking good Based on interviews, statements by various organisations and our own experience, here is our summary of the already-evident impacts of the lockdown on poor people's access to food, and on the informal food economy - from small farmers to street vendors and spaza shops - that is so important in meeting people's daily food needs
CHAPTER 3 Western Cape Case Study By Andries du Toit 3-1 Introduction Background to the study The... more CHAPTER 3 Western Cape Case Study By Andries du Toit 3-1 Introduction Background to the study The HSRC was requested by the Office of the President to contribute to a review of trends and policy challenges in the rural economy. It asked PLAAS to contribute to this process by providing a case study of trends and challenges in the rural economy of the Western Cape. The HSRC's work focuses particularly on trends in four key areas: • Labour absorption in the commercial agricultural sector; • Utilisation of land for subsistence and small-scale agriculture; • Non-farm micro- ...
Citeseer
But in spite of having made this move, her conditions still seem grim. Indeed, there is an unsett... more But in spite of having made this move, her conditions still seem grim. Indeed, there is an unsettling vagueness about Katriena's hopes that things will improve. The reality is that her husband's job has not brought in much money. In theory he should be paid between R150 and
plaas.org.za
This paper considers the role of 'measurement'and other forms of poverty knowledge in a... more This paper considers the role of 'measurement'and other forms of poverty knowledge in a context where the nature and direction of global economic growth is creating 'surplus populations' suffering various forms of marginalisation in the global economy. It links the development of different forms of poverty knowledge with the ways in which states and non-state agents seek to 'govern'poverty and poor populations, and with the 'biopolitics' whereby calculations are made about the differential allocation of resources towards ...
Zuma’s Own Goal
Introduction This chapter explores some key challenges facing poverty research in South Africa to... more Introduction This chapter explores some key challenges facing poverty research in South Africa today. Although there have been real advances in poverty studies, important challenges lie ahead. In particular, it argues that a key challenge for poverty researchers is the need to go beyond the limits of what Alice O'Connor has called official American poverty knowledge: a theoretically orthodox, politically circumscribed and institutionally enforced 'normal science'—exported globally through the dominance of institutions like the World ...
This paper considers the challenges facing stakeholders in one particular case of private sector ... more This paper considers the challenges facing stakeholders in one particular case of private sector self-regulation: the Ethical Trading Initiative's pilot project in monitoring compliance with its 'Base Code'in the South African wine industry (Box 1). It explores questions arising both out of direct participation in ETI monitoring and inspection processes and out of independent research conducted on behalf of a 'Southern'NGO, the Centre for Rural Legal Studies (CRLS), in Stellenbosch (Du Toit, 2001). In particular, it considers some of the ...
The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Wes... more The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Western Cape district of Ceres, one of the centres of the South African deciduous fruit export industry. It considers the usefulness of the concept of “social exclusion” for understanding chronic poverty in the context of relative surrounding wealth. It argues that households' livelihood options can only be understood in the context of the broader dynamics of globalized agro-food restructuring and the modernisation of ...
Poverty Dynamics, 2009
Discussions about the limits of econometric approaches to understanding poverty are often framed ... more Discussions about the limits of econometric approaches to understanding poverty are often framed as if the central differences are those between quantitative and qualitative method and as if the key issue up for discussion is the best way of ‘integrating’ them. This chapter argues that it is necessary to go further. It considers the difficulties that arise out of the domination of development studies and poverty research by what is here called the ‘econometric imaginary’: an approach that frames questions of social understanding as essentially questions of measurement. But, although the limitations of the econometric imaginary clearly illustrate the need for qualitative modes of research and understanding, more is needed than various methods of combining or ‘integrating’ qualitative and quantitative approaches, as if these are traditions that can be connected to one another without themselves being transformed or affected; or as if they proceed from a set of underlying assumptions t...
Abstract This paper advances 2 arguments concerning land restitution in South Africa: that the mo... more Abstract This paper advances 2 arguments concerning land restitution in South Africa: that the most important problem in the restitution programme is not the slow rate of delivery but also the question of just what is being delivered (the vision, aim, and policy that drives delivery); and that many of the problems of restitution arise out of some of the assumptions and frameworks with which role players (the state, the claimants, and commentators in civil society) approach restitution. The case of the Port Elizabeth Land and Community ...
Routledge eBooks, Jun 4, 2020
This paper connects Marxist approaches to the agrarian political economy of South Africa with pos... more This paper connects Marxist approaches to the agrarian political economy of South Africa with post-Marshallian and Foucauldian analyses of distributional regimes and late capitalist governmentality. Looking at South Africa's stalled agrarian transition through the lens of biopolitics as well as class analysis can make visible otherwise disregarded connections between processes of agrarian change and broader contests about the terms of social and economic incorporation into the South African social and political order before, during and after Apartheid. This can bring a fresh sense of the broader political implications of the course of agrarian change in South Africa, and helps contextualise the enduring salience of land as a flashpoint within South Africa's unresolved democratic transition. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the BICAS international conference Rural Transformations and Food Systems-The BRICS and Agrarian Change in the Global South on 20-21 April 2015 at the University of the Western Cape. Key points have also been recapitulated in Development and Change (Du Toit 2017). As usual, my intellectual debts are many and various, and too large to be paid back in either coins or land. Most of the arguments set out here come from what I have learned Henry Bernstein,
International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) The International Institute of Social Studies (IS... more International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Since its foundation in 1952 ISS has dedicated itself to post-graduate education, research, capacity building and policy advice in the field of ‘Development Studies’. Its main goal is to make a significant contribution to issues of development, equity and poverty reduction in the era of globalization. ISS offers a Masters in Development Studies (with a number of majors, and specializations), a PhD and a variety of shorter Diploma and tailor-made training courses. The academic department of Rural Development, Environment and Population Studies of ISS provides a Major in Agrarian and Environmental Studies, and has a state-of-the art research programme on the Political Economy of Resources, Environment and Population (PER). It als houses Initiatives in Critical Agrarian Studies (ICAS( and the Land Deal Politics Initiatives (LDPI).
The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Wes... more The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Western Cape district of Ceres, one of the centres of the South African deciduous fruit export industry. It considers the usefulness of the concept of "social exclusion" for understanding chronic poverty in the context of relative surrounding wealth. It argues that households' livelihood options can only be understood in the context of the broader dynamics of globalized agro-food restructuring and the modernisation of paternalist farming styles in the context of political transition. Key components of chronic poverty in Ceres are asset depletion, the stresses of seasonality and the often disregarded and invisible "dark sides" of social and human capital: criminality, violence, and the exploitative relationships of the "underground economy". It argues that "social exclusion," though focussing welcome attention on the disabling effects of poverty, fails for the most part as a way of making policy sense out of the dynamics that keep poor people poor. It agrees with proposals that these are better captured by the notion of adverse incorporation. The paper argues that there is a need to go beyond modernising and trickle-down approaches to development in Southern Africa, and makes recommendations of some of the key requirements that need to be met if policy is to be able to deal with the problems of chronic poverty.
''Tu articulate the past historicctlly dot:~ not mean to rcc~)gnizc it 'tht: way it really was' {... more ''Tu articulate the past historicctlly dot:~ not mean to rcc~)gnizc it 'tht: way it really was' {Ranke). It means to seize hold of a memory as it lla~ht:s up at a momt:nl of danger."
The social legitimacy of the 'COVID-19 lockdown', government's regulations imposed to... more The social legitimacy of the 'COVID-19 lockdown', government's regulations imposed to contain the spread of the virus, is most likely to run aground unless an urgent plan can be made to ensure that everyone in the country has access to sufficient food And it's not looking good Based on interviews, statements by various organisations and our own experience, here is our summary of the already-evident impacts of the lockdown on poor people's access to food, and on the informal food economy - from small farmers to street vendors and spaza shops - that is so important in meeting people's daily food needs
CHAPTER 3 Western Cape Case Study By Andries du Toit 3-1 Introduction Background to the study The... more CHAPTER 3 Western Cape Case Study By Andries du Toit 3-1 Introduction Background to the study The HSRC was requested by the Office of the President to contribute to a review of trends and policy challenges in the rural economy. It asked PLAAS to contribute to this process by providing a case study of trends and challenges in the rural economy of the Western Cape. The HSRC's work focuses particularly on trends in four key areas: • Labour absorption in the commercial agricultural sector; • Utilisation of land for subsistence and small-scale agriculture; • Non-farm micro- ...
Citeseer
But in spite of having made this move, her conditions still seem grim. Indeed, there is an unsett... more But in spite of having made this move, her conditions still seem grim. Indeed, there is an unsettling vagueness about Katriena's hopes that things will improve. The reality is that her husband's job has not brought in much money. In theory he should be paid between R150 and
plaas.org.za
This paper considers the role of 'measurement'and other forms of poverty knowledge in a... more This paper considers the role of 'measurement'and other forms of poverty knowledge in a context where the nature and direction of global economic growth is creating 'surplus populations' suffering various forms of marginalisation in the global economy. It links the development of different forms of poverty knowledge with the ways in which states and non-state agents seek to 'govern'poverty and poor populations, and with the 'biopolitics' whereby calculations are made about the differential allocation of resources towards ...
Zuma’s Own Goal
Introduction This chapter explores some key challenges facing poverty research in South Africa to... more Introduction This chapter explores some key challenges facing poverty research in South Africa today. Although there have been real advances in poverty studies, important challenges lie ahead. In particular, it argues that a key challenge for poverty researchers is the need to go beyond the limits of what Alice O'Connor has called official American poverty knowledge: a theoretically orthodox, politically circumscribed and institutionally enforced 'normal science'—exported globally through the dominance of institutions like the World ...
This paper considers the challenges facing stakeholders in one particular case of private sector ... more This paper considers the challenges facing stakeholders in one particular case of private sector self-regulation: the Ethical Trading Initiative's pilot project in monitoring compliance with its 'Base Code'in the South African wine industry (Box 1). It explores questions arising both out of direct participation in ETI monitoring and inspection processes and out of independent research conducted on behalf of a 'Southern'NGO, the Centre for Rural Legal Studies (CRLS), in Stellenbosch (Du Toit, 2001). In particular, it considers some of the ...
The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Wes... more The paper explores the findings of a household livelihood survey among poor households in the Western Cape district of Ceres, one of the centres of the South African deciduous fruit export industry. It considers the usefulness of the concept of “social exclusion” for understanding chronic poverty in the context of relative surrounding wealth. It argues that households' livelihood options can only be understood in the context of the broader dynamics of globalized agro-food restructuring and the modernisation of ...
Poverty Dynamics, 2009
Discussions about the limits of econometric approaches to understanding poverty are often framed ... more Discussions about the limits of econometric approaches to understanding poverty are often framed as if the central differences are those between quantitative and qualitative method and as if the key issue up for discussion is the best way of ‘integrating’ them. This chapter argues that it is necessary to go further. It considers the difficulties that arise out of the domination of development studies and poverty research by what is here called the ‘econometric imaginary’: an approach that frames questions of social understanding as essentially questions of measurement. But, although the limitations of the econometric imaginary clearly illustrate the need for qualitative modes of research and understanding, more is needed than various methods of combining or ‘integrating’ qualitative and quantitative approaches, as if these are traditions that can be connected to one another without themselves being transformed or affected; or as if they proceed from a set of underlying assumptions t...
This fact sheet argues that dealing with food and nutritional insecurity in South Africa will req... more This fact sheet argues that dealing with food and nutritional insecurity in South Africa will require measures that go well beyond increasing food production and educating consumers. While Big Food delivers cheap food to the urban and rural poor, it also delivers ill health. Concerted action needs to be taken to restructure value chains in ways that allow for more opportunities for labour absorptive and inclusive growth; and policy makers will need to explore how the food environment could be shifted to make healthier options and choices more available and affordable to poor South Africans.