More land, better life? South African farming study asks if that’s the road to rural development

By Neo Mathinya, Lecturer, University of the Free State
Linus Franke, Professor Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, University of the Free State

South Africa’s rural development debate often starts with a familiar idea: if rural households have more land, they can produce more food, earn more money and become “emerging farmers” who eventually develop into commercial farmers.

This idea appears in several government policy documents, such as the National Development Plan 2030, the Comprehensive Rural Development…

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