Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Municipal commonage in South Africa : a critique of artificial dichotomies in policy debates on agriculture
Author
Atkinson, Doreen
Publisher
African Journal of Range & Forage Science
Publication Year
2013
Body

The paper critiques Vetter's (in this issue) assertion that commercialisation of smallholder agriculture holds dangers for sustainable rangeland management. The paper argues that a range of policy options are required, including commercialisation and subsistence farming, large-scale and smallholder farming, a range of land tenure options, rural and peri-urban farming, and part-time farming. The case of municipal commonage land is useful to show the effectiveness of a flexible range of policy options regarding land ownership, farming scale and the social nature of farming. However, the key requirement, in all cases, is effective institutional development.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Journal Volume
30
Journal Number
no. 1-2
Journal Pages
29-34
Journal Name
African Journal of Range & Forage Science
Keywords
sustainability
communal farming
subsistence agriculture
rangelands
management
policy
smallholder farming
South Africa