Large-scale land and water acquisitions: What implications for food security?

Since 2007, the world has seen a rush towards natural resources, particularly land as well as water. It resulted from a convergence of the 2007- 2008 food price crisis in a context of growing populations and changing diets, and the search for alternatives to financial investment products. Although data is scarce, recent estimates show that about 42 million hectares have been acquired (Nolte, Chamberlain and Giger, 2016). Contrary to what is often highlighted, these lands are not the most marginal, underused and unowned, but are close to other resources, especially water, as well as infrastructure (roads and transport) and services. This means the resource acquisition phenomenon is embedded in a complex matrix of resources and processes which is increasingly under pressure. That said, attention has so far mainly been sectoral, focused on land issues and neglecting this interconnectedness. However, the water implications of these land deals are starting to surface

Working conditions in South Africa since the end of apartheid a comparison between the agricultural, forestry and mining sectors

International audienc

Diversity of the rural farming households and policy issues: an analysis based on a case study in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa

The transition from apartheid to integrated development is a contradictory process characterised by negotiations between an intervention and a market-driven liberal approach. Regarding agriculture, it was expected that a highly efficient and economically viable market-directed farming sector should enable the development of "small scale black commercial farms". Some economic interventions were also planned to support the development of these farms. But both design and implementation of such interventions are problematic as rural farming households are very diverse and as the role of agriculture is more important and more complex than its sole contribution to income generation. However, on the basis of a research carried out in a former reserve in the Northern Cape Province (Leliefontein), it is shown how this diversity can be analysed and formalised. In particular, it is possible to model the diversity of rural households into typologies and to understand the strategies of each type of households with regards to its objectives concerning agricultural activities. An accurate knowledge of the diversity of farm situations may help discuss the consequences of alternative agricultural policy measures for households in different social situations.South Africa, Namaqualand, agriculture, development policy, typology, farm trajectory, extension services

Poverty and livelihoods in rural South Africa: Investigating diversity and dynamics of livelihoods. Case studies in Limpopo

Food Security and Poverty,