Moller, Valerie

Schlemmer, Lawrence

English

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MIGRANT WORKERS: 
A PROFILE OF THEIR RURAL RESOURCES 
Valerie Miller 
Lawrence Schlemmer 
Centre for Applied Social Sciences 
University of Natal 
Durban 
October 1982 
Fact Paper No. 5 
It is typically assumed that migrant workers command over 
substantial rural resources which will supplement their wage earnings 
and provide social security in times of unemployment and in retire-
ment. In order to investigate this proposition a profile of rural 
resources is compiled here. The following studies conducted by 
the Centre in recent years have provided the data base. Not all 
data were comparable and hence not all studies are referred to in 
the tabulations below. 
STUDIES MIGRANT SAMPLES 
(in chronological order) (number in sample) 
An in-depth inquiry into the 
situation of Durban-based male 
contract workers was sponsored 
by the Chamber of Mines in the 
late 1970's. A quota sample 
design was employed in which 
all major employers of contract 
workers in the area were 
represented. A total of 625 
interviews was obtained during 
the period 1976-1979. Two 
subsamples emerged: Durban Zulus (N = 510) 
Durban Transkeians (N = 115) 
An attitude survey was conducted 
in 1979 as part of the 
investigations undertaken for 
the Ciskei Commission. A 
subsample of male migrants of 
Xhosa descent residing mainly in 
the Witwatersrand area was 
included in the study. Ciskei Xhosas (N = 86) 
2. 
« A socio-political survey was 
conducted during 1981 as part 
of the investigations undertaken 
for the Buthelezi Commission. 
The scope of the study was wide 
and included a subsample of 
Zulu male migrants residing in 
hostels in the Witwatersrand 
area. Witwatersrand Zulus (N = 105) 
A nation-wide study of stress in 
the lives of migrant contract 
workers was commissioned by the 
Rural-urban Project of the Unit 
for Futures Research, University 
of Stellenbosch, in 1982. A 
total of 678 interviews was 
obtained. The quota-controlled 
sample design yielded two sub-
samples defined as follows: 
Male migrants residing in atypical 
circumstances in the major urban 
areas of the country as squatters, 
illegal lodgers in black town-
ships, or temporarily and 
unwillingly in hostels. Urbanising migrants (N = 478) 
The control sample consisting of 
randomly selected male migrants 
residing in the Witwatersrand 
area. Typical migrants (N = 198) 
3. 
» A large-scale investigation into 
the attitudes and circumstances 
of contract workers employed in 
the cane-growing industry in 
Natal was undertaken during 1982. 
The quota control sample design 
yielded the following subsamples: 
Mainly male and some few female 
contract workers currently 
employed on sugar estates/farms 
originating from Natal/KwaZulu 
and the Transkei. 
The first control sample 
consisting of randomly selected 
male hostel dwellers in Durban 
who were not employed in the 
sugar industry, half of whom 
were Zulus, the other half 
Transkei Xhosas. 
The second control sample 
consisting of male past 
migratory workers, currently 
residing in the Transkei, half 
of whom had been employed in 
the sugar industry. The 
remainder had been previously 
employed elsewhere away from 
their home area. The majority 
of the men were very young in 
their late teens and early 
twenties. 
Cane-industry migrants (N = 856) 
Non-cane migrants (N = 100) 
Young Transkei ex-migrants (N = 200) 
4. 
RESOURCE PROFILE: 
1. Access to arable land 
access 
% 
Ciskei Xhosas 58 
Witwatersrand Zulus 57 
Urbanising migrants 39 
Typical migrants 43 
Cane industry migrants 53 
Young Transkei ex-migrants* 9 
* Due to their youthfulness the young Transkei ex-migrants have 
not yet gained access to land for cultivation. 
2. Details of accessible arable land 
2.1 Tenure total 
access 'own' shared leased; 
Witwatersrand Zulus 57 22 35 
Urbanising migrants 39 23 11 5 
Typical migrants 43 27 10 6 
Cane industry migrants 53 30 21 2 
Young Transkei ex-migrants 9 6 3 1 
2.2 Mean size of arable land (rough estimate) 
Durban Zulus 2,1 h 
Durban Transkeians 2,2 h 
Cane industry migrants 3,1 h 
Details of no access to arable land 
3.1 Access to garden land 
Cane industry migrants 
Young Transkei ex-migrants 
total no garden 
no access land only 
% % % 
47 39 8 
91 86 5 
5. 
4. Access to arable land after retirement from contract labour 
4.1 Quantity and quality of retirement land 
no land/no 
definite access probable/uncertain expectations 
to land access of land 
% I % 
Durban Zulus 67 21 12 
Durban Transkeians 65 19 16 
no land/no 
have or expect expectations 
access to land of land 
% ' % 
Urbanising migrants 72* 28 
Typical migrants 64 36 
no land/no 
enough land insufficient garden expectations 
to subsist for subsistence only of land 
Cane industry migrants 45 32 13 10 
Zulu non-cane migrants 30 44 8 18 
Xhosa non-cane migrants 32 52 8 8 
Young Transkei ex-
migrants 77** 12 1 10 
* The higher proportion of urbanising migrants with access or 
anticipated access to land is unexpected. Urbanising 
migrants differed from typical migrants mainly in terms of 
their expectations of land, in particular the temporary 
hostel residents in the subsample. It was observed that 
the category of temporary hostel migrants was occupationally 
and educationally more successful and might therefore hold 
relatively higher expectations than other urbanising migrants 
regarding land. A conjecture was that the temporary 
hostel migrants might anticipate purchasing land as a 
resolution to their current landless state. 
** As a typical expression of youthful optimism young Transkei 
ex-migrants may have overestimated their opportunities for 
gaining access to plentiful land of good quality to meet 
their subsistence needs. 
6. 
4.2 Tenure of retirement land 
total with access 
to retirement land own shared 
% % % 
Non-cane migrants 79 69 10 
5. Security of landholding in the foreseeable future 
land is 
secure 
% 
Durban Zulus 71 
Durban Transkeians 71 
Urbanising migrants 65 
Typical migrants 59 
Cane-industry migrants 35 
Non-cane migrants 45 
no land/no 
land is expectations of land/ 
insecure garden only 
% % 
20 9 
15 14 
7 28 
rr or 
D OU 
19 46 
34 21 
6. Prospects for subsistence farming 
Could 1ive by farming: 
yes possibly no-qual• if ied no 
Durban Zulus 
% 
19 
% 
4 
% 
77 
1 
Durban Transkeians 14 5 81 
Cane industry migrants 41 10 14 35 
Non-cane migrants 29 13 21 37 
Young Transkei ex-migrants 54* 18 10 18 
* As noted earlier possibly the high proportion of young Transkei 
ex-migrants indicating good farming prospects is a reflection 
of youthful exaggeration. 
Regional conditions as well as differences in personal assessments 
of these may account for some of the variation in the distribution 
above. 
7. 
7. Agricultural production 
7.1 Maize yields 
Average maize yield for family use every season (rough estimate): 
Cane industry migrants 
(producers only N = 448) 20,1 bags 
self-sufficient purchase no plough 
maize land 
Urbanising migrants 
(Split sample N = 239) 13 28 59 
Typical migrants 
(Split sample N = 100) 11 28 61 
7.2 Total agricultural value per annum of produce and animal sales 
(rough estimates): 
unqualified 
no relief relief - R50 R50-100 R101 + 
1976 estimates: 
Durban Zulus and 
Transkeians 
(N = 325) 11 20 29 15 25 
1977 estimates: 
Durban Zulus and 
Transkeians 
(N = 261) 20 16 26 16 22 
R101— R201- R301- R501- R701 -
-R100 R200 R300 R500 R700 R1000 R1000+ 
Cane industry 
migrants with 
land and/or 
cattle (N = 508) 26 21 12 17 9 7 
As proportion of 
total sample 59%= 15 12 7 10 6 4 
8. 
7.3 Type of crops produced 
Durban Zulus 
Durban Transkeians 
Cane industry 
migrants 
ni no information 
Cattle 
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% % % % % % % % % % % 
83 57 14 43 15 n i 7 3 2 2 
72 50 17 23 25 ni 0 2 2 0 
52 29 5 11 16 13 7 ni ni ni ni 
cattle number cattle owned 
ownership 1-2 3-5 6-10 11 + 
Durban Zulus 
% 
52 
% 
9 
% 
16 
% 
15 
% 
12 
Durban Transkeians 61 14 1 c 1 u 16 15 
Ciskei Xhosas 52 
Witwatersrand Zulus 48 
Cane industry migrants 25 
Young Transkei ex-migrants 23 
10 (6+ owned) 
4 (6+ owned) 
9. Grazing land 
adequate inadequate no cattle 
(not appl icable) 
% % % 
Durban Zulus* 60 21 19 
Durban Transkeians* 78 9 13 
Cane industry migrants 22 3 75 
Young Transkei ex-migrants 22 1 77 
* Respondents were assessing the situation in their area and 
were not necessarily cattle owners themselves. 
11. House in the rural area 
% 
Ciskei Xhosas 61 
Witwatersrand Zulus 71 
Urbanising migrants 56 
Typical migrants 61 
9. 
12. Dependents (rough estimates) 
average number dependents: at the homestead 
total adults children 
away from the homestead 
total 
Durban Zulus 
Durban Transkeians 
Urbanising migrants 
Typical migrants 
Cane industry migrants 
Non-cane migrants 
Young Transkei ex-migrants 
6,8 
3,9 
5,7 
5,4 
2,6 
3,2 3,4 
2,6 3,4 
2,2 
2,9 3,9 
1,1 
0,5 
1,0 
£0W1ENTS: 
In our concluding comments ws make allowance for variations between samples 
which affect the comparability of the data. Nevertheless, we attempt to 
indicate trends and broad characteristics in the rural resources of 
migrants. 
Access to land: Access to arable land varies considerably and between forty 
to sixty percent of the surveyed migrants have access to land. However, 
in all categories of migrants approximately one-fourth to under one-third 
have rights to fields of their own. Sharing land is a fairly common 
practice, particularly among younger men. As might be expected the 
urbanising and the youngest groups are least likely to have use of land 
for cultivation. The landless situation of the young Transkeian return 
migrants disturbs the general pattern in the profile. However, other 
data indicate that this situation is merely temporary and a reflection 
of their immature social status as adults in the rural community. 
ascertain whether limited access to land is merely of a temporary nature 
and dependent on the life cycle - the situation of the young Transkeian 
return migrants is a case in point, or whether the migrant will be forced 
to sell his labour throughout his life^due to the few rural resources 
at his disposal. Therefore, any source of information concerning access 
to land and security of tenure in later 1'ife is of considerable interest. 
A tentative estimate based on the available data is that some two-thirds 
to three-quarters of migrant workers will achieve access to land in late 
life, whilst only half of this proportion will be able to feed themselves 
In the case of migrant workers it will be important to 
10. 
and their families from this land. Furthermore, up to one-third 
of migrants with land feel their rights as users are insecure. It 
would therefore appear that rural resources are not necessarily 
forthcoming in old age contrary to the popular assumptions on which 
the migrant labour system is based. 
In this connection one might mention that kitchen gardens 
may afford some relief in cases of landlessness (mentioned by 5-10% 
of surveyed migrants). These and other studies indicate that 
vegetable gardening is widely regarded as a useful means of 
supplementing retirement income from sources such as pensions, 
life savings, insurances and children's earnings. 
Agricultural output: Land holdings where available are relatively 
small, a rough estimate is an average of 2-3 hectares. Agricultural 
productivity also varies, but is generally low. Survey results 
confirm that maize is a staple crop. Typical yields reported by 
migrant workers in the cane-growing industry are 20 bags of maize 
per annum. However, two of three migrant households with access to 
land may have to purchase maize for domestic consumption. Other 
crops grown include beans and various types of potatoes, and sorghum. 
Popular vegetables are pumpkins and cabbages in some regions. Rough 
estimates of agricultural outputs indicate that overall only one-fourth 
of migrants were producing products in the value of over R100 per annum 
during the period 1976/77 and over R300 per annum in 1982. Among 
migrants with rural assets only forty percent of migrants in the cane-
growing industry reported achieving outputs of over R300 per annum in 
1982. 
Cattle ownership: Between one-fourth to one half of the migrants 
surveyed are cattle owners. Cattle ownership is widely regarded 
as a sign of social standing among migrant workers and therefore 
the incidence of cattle ownership can be expected to increase with 
age. This explains some of the variation in the number of cattle 
owned. The data also suggests that cattle ownership is less wide-
spread in regions with poor or insufficient grazing land. 
1 1 . 
Domestic responsibilities: Survey data show that some 60 to 70 
percent of migrants have a house in the rural areas. Dependency 
rates are on average 5 to 7 persons of which approximately 2 to 3 
may be adult dependents. 
To sum up: Whilst it is frequently assumed that migrant workers are 
well provided with social security in the form of their rural resources 
the profile presented here points to the contrary. The data suggests 
that assets such as land and livestock are limited whilst dependency 
rates are comparatively high. It is telling that the majority of 
the surveyed migrants cannot live by farming at present. Whilst it 
can be assumed that access to land is increasingly .granted to migrants 
as they move through the life course, the data indicate that retirement 
plots tend mainly to provide a domicile and only a small proportion 
of the income required to support the migrant and his family upon 
his return from contract labour. Thus, dependency on non-locally 
produced incpmemay be unavoidable throughout a migrant lifetime. 
V. M011er 
L. Schlemmer 
October 29, 1982 
This work is licensed under a 
Creative Commons 
Attribution - Noncommercial - NoDerivs 3.0 Licence. 
To view a copy of the licence please see: 
http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ 


Migrant workers: a profile of their rural resources

UNIVERSITY 
OF N A TA L
C A S S
DURBAN
MIGRANT WORKERS:
A PROFILE OF THEIR RURAL RESOURCES
Valerie M011er 
Lawrence Schlemmer
COMMUNICATIONS OF THE
CENTRE FOR APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES 
SENTRUM VIR TOEGEPASTE M AATSKAPLIKE WETENSKAPPE
UNIVERSITY OF NATAL DO NOT
C A S S . 9 / 8 3
MIGRANT WORKERS:
A PROFILE OF THEIR RURAL RESOURCES
Valerie M011er 
Lawrence Schlemmer
Centre for Applied Social Sciences 
University of Natal 
Durban
October 1982
Fact Paper No. 5
It is typically assumed that migrant workers command over 
substantial rural resources which will supplement their wage earnings 
and provide social security in times of unemployment and in retire­
ment. In order to investigate this proposition a profile of rural 
resources is compiled here. The following studies conducted by 
the Centre in recent years have provided the data base. Not all 
data were comparable and hence not all studies are referred to in 
the tabulations below.
STUDIES
(in chronological order)
An ih-depth inquiry into the 
situation of Durban-based male 
contract workers was sponsored 
by the Chamber of Mines in the 
late 1970's. A quota sample 
design was employed in which 
all major employers of contract 
workers in the area were 
represented. A total of 625 
interviews was obtained during 
the period 1976-1979. Two 
subsamples emerged:
MIGRANT SAMPLES 
(number, in sample)
Durban Zulus (N = 510)
Durban Transkeians (N = 115)
An attitude survey was conducted 
in 1979 as part of the 
investigations undertaken for 
the Ciskei Commission. A 
subsample of male migrants of 
Xhosa descent residing mainly in 
the Witwatersrand area was
included in the study. Ciskei Xhosas (N = 86)
2.
■ A socio-political survey was 
conducted during 1981 as part 
of the investigations undertaken 
for the Buthelezi Commission.
The scope of the study was wide 
and included a subsample of 
Zulu male migrants residing in 
hostels in the Witwatersrand
area. Witwatersrand Zulus
A nation-wide study of stress in 
the lives of migrant contract 
workers was commissioned by the 
Rural-urban Project of the Unit 
for Futures Research, University 
of Stellenbosch, in 1982. A 
total of 678 interviews was 
obtained. The quota-controlled 
sample design yielded two sub­
samples defined as follows:
Male migrants residing in atypical 
circumstances in the major urban 
areas of the country as squatters, 
illegal lodgers in black town­
ships, or temporarily and
unwillingly in hostels. Urbanising migrants
The control sample consisting of
randomly selected male migrants
residing in the Witwatersrand
area. Typical migrants
(N = 105)
(N = 478)
(N = 198)
3.
• A large-scale investigation into 
the attitudes and circumstances 
of contract workers employed in 
the cane-growing industry in 
Natal was undertaken during 1982. 
The quota control sample design 
yielded the following subsamples:
Mainly male and some few female 
contract workers currently 
employed on sugar estates/farms 
originating from Natal/KwaZulu 
and the Transkei.
The first control sample 
consisting of randomly selected 
male hostel dwellers in Durban 
who were not employed in the 
sugar industry, half of whom 
were Zulus, the other half 
Transkei Xhosas.
The second control sample 
consisting of male past 
migratory workers, currently 
residing in the Transkei, half 
of whom had been employed in 
the sugar industry. The 
remainder had been previously 
employed elsewhere away from 
their home area. The majority 
of the men were very young in 
their late teens and early 
twenties.
Cane-industry migrants (N = 856)
Non-cane migrants (N = 100)
Young Transkei ex-migrants (N = 200)
RESOURCE PROFILE:
1. Access to arable land
access
%
Ciskei Xhosas 58
Witwatersrand Zulus 57
Urbanising migrants 39
Typical migrants 43
Cane industry migrants 53
Young Transkei ex-migrants* 9
* Due to their youthful ness the young Transkei ex-migrants have 
not yet gained access to land for cultivation.
2. Details of accessible arable land
2.1 Tenure total
access 'own' shared leasedl
% 1 1 1
Witwatersrand Zulus 57 22 35
Urbanising migrants 39 23 11 5
Typical migrants 43 27 10 6
Cane industry migrants 53 30 21 2
Young Transkei ex-migrants 9 6 3 1
2.2 Mean size of arable land (rough estimate)
Durban Zulus 2,1 h
Durban Transkeians 2,2 h
Cane industry migrants 3,1 h
3. Details of no access to arable land
3.1 Access to garden land tota) ^  garden
no access land only
%  1 1  
Cane industry migrants 47 39 8
Young Transkei ex-migrants 91 86 5
5.
4. Access to arable land after retirement from contract labour
4.1 Quantity and quality of retirement land
no land/no
definite access 
to land
probable/uncertain
access
expectations 
of land
% % %—
Durban Zulus 67 21 12
Durban Transkeians 65
have or expect 
access to land
19 16
no land/no 
expectations 
of land
%
Urbanising migrants 72* 
Typical migrants 64
%
28
36
no land/no
enough land insufficient garden expectations
to subsist for subsistence only of land
% % % %
Cane industry migrants 45 32 13 10
Zulu non-cane migrants 30 44 8 18
Xhosa non-cane migrants 32 
Young Transkei ex-
52 8 8
migrants 77** 12 1 10
* The higher proportion of urbanising migrants with access or 
anticipated access to land is unexpected. Urbanising 
migrants differed from typicall migrants mainly in terms of 
their expectations of land, in particular the temporary 
hostel residents in the subsample. It was observed that 
the category of temporary hostel migrants was occupationally 
and educationally more successful and might therefore hold 
relatively higher expectations than other urbanising migrants 
regarding land. A conjecture was that the temporary 
hostel migrants might anticipate purchasing land as a 
resolution to their current landless state.
** As a typical expression of youthful optimism young Transkei 
ex-migrants may have overestimated their opportunities for 
gaining access to plentiful land of good quality to meet 
their subsistence needs.
4.2 Tenure of retirement land
total with access
to retirement land own shared
% 1 1
Non-cane migrants 79 69 10
5. Security of landholding in the foreseeable future
no land/no
land is land is expectations of land/ 
secure________insecure________ garden only
1 1 1
Durban Zulus 71 20 9
Durban Transkeians 71 15 14
Urbanising migrants 65 7 28
Typical migrants 59 5 36
Cane-industry migrants 35 19 46
Non-cane migrants 45 34 21
6. Prospects for subsistence farming 
Could live by farming:
yes possibly no-qualified no
1 1 1  1
Durban Zulus 19 4 77
Durban Transkeians 14 5 81
Cane industry migrants 41 10 14 35
Non-cane migrants 29 13 21 37
Young Transkei ex-migrants 54* 18 10 18
* As noted earlier possibly the high proportion of young Transkei 
ex-migrants indicating good farming prospects is a reflection 
of youthful exaggeration.
Regional conditions as well as differences in personal assessments 
of these may account for some of the variation in the distribution 
above.
Agricultural production 
1 Maize yields
Average maize yield for family use every season (rough estimate):
Cane industry migrants 
(producers only N = 448) 20,1 bags
self-sufficient purchase no plough 
maize land
% % %
Urbanising migrants 
(Split sample N = 239) 13 28 59
Typical migrants 
(Split sample N = 100) 11 28 61
Total agricultural value per annum of produce and animal sales
(rough estimates):
unqualified 
no relief relief - R50 R50-100 R101-
% % % % %
1976 estimates:
Durban Zulus and
Transkeians
(N = 325) 11 20 29 15 25
1977 estimates:
Durban Zulus and
Transkeians
(N = 261) 20 16 26 16 22
R101 —  
-R100 R200
R201—  
R300
R301 —  
R500
R501—  
R700
R701 - 
R1000
% % % % 1 %
Cane industry 
migrants with 
land and/or
cattle (N = 508) 26 21 12 17 9 7
As proportion of
total sample 59%= 15 12 7 10 6 4
R1000+
%
8
5
7.3 Type of crops produced
% % % % % % % % % %
Durban Zulus 83 57 14 43 15 ni 7 3 2
Durban Transkeians 72 50 17 23 25 ni 0 2 2
Cane industry
migrants 52 29 5 11 16 13 7 ni ni ni
ni no information
Cattle
cattle number cattle owned
ownership 1-2 3-5 6-10 11 +
% % % % %
Durban Zulus 52 9 16 15 12
Durban Transkeians 61 14 16 16 15
Ciskei Xhosas 52 - - _ _
Witwatersrand Zulus 48 - - _
Cane industry migrants 25 7 8 10 (6+ owned)
Young Transkei ex-migrants 23 10 9 4 (6+'owned)
9. Grazing land
adequate inadequate no cattle 
 ___________________  (not applicable)
% % %
Durban Zulus* 60 21 19
Durban Transkeians* 78 9 13
Cane industry migrants 22 3 75
Young Transkei ex-migrants 22 1 77
* Respondents were assessing the situation in their area and 
were not necessarily cattle owners themselves.
11. House in the rural area
%
Ciskei Xhosas 61
Witwatersrand Zulus 71
Urbanising migrants 56
Typical migrants 61
Fr
ui
t
Su
ga
r 
Ca
ne 12. Dependents (rough estimates)
9.
2
0
ni
average number dependents: at the homestead away from the
total adults children total
Durban Zulus 5,7 0,5
Durban Transkeians 5,4 1.0
Urbanising migrants 3,2 3,4
Typical migrants 2,6 3,4
Cane industry migrants 3,9 2,2
Non-cane migrants 6,8 2,9 3,9
Young Transkei ex-migrants 2,6 1,1
COMMENTS:
In our concluding comments we make allowance for variations between samples 
which affect the comparability of the data. Nevertheless, we attempt to 
indicate trends and broad characteristics in the rural resources of 
migrants.
Access to land: Access to arable land varies considerably and between forty 
to sixty percent of the surveyed migrants have access to land. However, 
in all categories of migrants approximately one-fourth to under one-third 
have rights to fields of their own. Sharing land is a fairly common 
practice, particularly among younger men. As might be expected the 
urbanising and the youngest groups are least likely to have use of land 
for cultivation. The landless situation of the young Transkeian return 
migrants disturbs the general pattern in the profile. However, other 
data indicate that this situation is merely temporary and a reflection 
of their immature social status as adults in the rural community.
In the case of migrant workers it will be important to 
ascertain whether limited access to land is merely of a temporary nature 
and dependent on the life cycle - the situation of the young Transkeian 
return migrants is a case in point, or whether the migrant will be forced 
to sell his labour throughout his life due to the few rural resources 
at his disposal. Therefore, any source of information concerning access 
to land and security of tenure in later I’ife is of considerable interest.
A tentative estimate based on the available data is that some two-thirds 
to three-quarters of migrant workers will achieve access to land in late 
life, whilst only half of this proportion will be able tg feed themselves
and their families from this land. Furthermore, up to one-third 
of migrants with land feel their rights as users are insecure. It 
would therefore appear that rural resources are not necessarily 
forthcoming in old age contrary to the popular assumptions on which 
the migrant labour system is based.
In this connection one might mention that kitchen gardens 
may afford some relief in cases of landlessness (mentioned by 5-10% 
of surveyed migrants). These and other studies indicate that 
vegetable gardening is widely regarded as a useful means of 
supplementing retirement income from sources such as pensions, 
life savings, insurances and children's earnings.
Agricultural output: Land holdings where available are relatively
small, a rough estimate is an average of 2-3 hectares. Agricultural 
productivity also varies, but is generally low. Survey results 
confirm that maize is a staple crop. Typical yields reported by 
migrant workers in the cane-growing industry are 20 bags of maize 
per annum. However, two of three migrant households with access to 
land may have to purchase maize for domestic consumption. Other 
crops grown include beans and various types of potatoes, and sorghum. 
Popular vegetables are pumpkins and cabbages in some regions. Rough 
estimates of agricultural outputs indicate that overall only one-fourth 
of migrants were producing products in the value of over R100 per annum 
during the period 1976/77 and over R300 per annum in 1982. Among 
migrants with rural assets oply forty percent of migrants in the cane- 
growing industry reported achieving outputs of over R300 per annum in 
1982.
Cattle ownership: Between one-fourth to one half of the migrants
surveyed are cattle owners. Cattle ownership is widely regarded 
as a sign of social standing among migrant workers and therefore 
the incidence of cattle ownership can be expected to increase with 
age. This explains some of the variation in the number of cattle 
owned. The data also suggests that cattle ownership is less wide­
spread in regions with poor or insufficient grazing land.
Domestic responsibilities: Survey data show that some 60 to 70
percent of migrants have a house in the rural areas. Dependency 
rates are on average 5 to 7 persons of which approximately 2 to 3 
may be adult dependents.
To sum up: Whilst it is frequently assumed that migrant workers are
well provided with social security in the form of their rural resources 
the profile presented here points to the contrary. The data suggests 
that assets such as land and livestock are limited whilst dependency 
rates are comparatively high. It is telling that the majority of 
the surveyed migrants cannot live by farming at present. Whilst it 
can be assumed that access to land is increasingly .granted to migrants 
as they move through the life course, the data indicate that retirement 
plots tend mainly to provide a domicile and only a small proportion 
of the income required to support the migrant and his family upon 
his return from contract labour. Thus, dependency on non-locally 
produced incomemay be unavoidable throughout a migrant lifetime.
V. Mdller 
L. Schlemmer
October 29, 1982
This work is licensed under a 
Creative Commons
Attribution -  Noncommercial - NoDerivs 3.0 License.
To view a copy of the license please see: 
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Development Studies


Migrant workers:  a profile of their rural resources.

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Migrant workers: a profile of their rural resources

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