Presentation for the United Nations Regional Inter- …, 2003
In order to understand the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming systems and food security in Southern Af... more In order to understand the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming systems and food security in Southern Africa, there are several parameters that are critical to attaining a realistic and relevant notion of the trends that are taking place. First, since I do not believe it is useful to separate ...
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
Zimbabwe’s ninety-year colonial experience is one of a journey down the path of linguistically — ... more Zimbabwe’s ninety-year colonial experience is one of a journey down the path of linguistically — and hence socially — transmitted prejudices of which Hans-Georg Gadamer writes. But this path, I shall argue, must be understood as the result not primarily of racial prejudices per se, but rather of the prejudiced belief of the new settlers in the superiority of their western material and technical culture. This chapter explains the importance of this distinction.
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
This book examines the impact government policy has had on agrarian change in Zimbabwe’s peasant ... more This book examines the impact government policy has had on agrarian change in Zimbabwe’s peasant farming areas over the course of this century. My intention is to find a means of linking an analysis of past and present change with a practical interest in the future. Since such a task accords with the telos of critical theory, that of Jurgen Habermas has been used to inform the theory and method used in this study.1
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
In the previous two chapters, the production systems and economic situations of the poor, middle ... more In the previous two chapters, the production systems and economic situations of the poor, middle and leading case-study households have been examined, as have the social contexts in which the households are embedded. I have sought to show in these accounts how the resilience of both household economies and rural social organisation is under severe strain, in the face of environmental fluctuation and the policy pressures exerted by the state. For many poor households, most of their income comes from non-agricultural sources; for many middle and even leading farmers, agricultural production is subsidised by wage-income remittances; and for even leading farmers, the struggle to keep their production activities viable is perilous.
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
It has been argued that an analysis of social change ideally requires a theoretical framework whi... more It has been argued that an analysis of social change ideally requires a theoretical framework which can be used to analyse the scope that people, as individuals or part of social collectivities, have to make their own world, within the context of the structural constraints they face. The unit of analysis in the previous chapter was the household. It was shown that even leading farmers are constrained in their ability to enhance the viability of their production by the resource limitations they experience. If individual households by themselves cannot significantly improve their positions, then the onus falls upon the organisations that structure communal area societies. Accordingly, my concern in the empirical component of this chapter is to analyse the capacity of the two societies I worked in for effective, coordinated action at this supra-household level.
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
If misunderstanding and misrepresentation underlies official attitudes towards peasant livestock ... more If misunderstanding and misrepresentation underlies official attitudes towards peasant livestock management strategies, much the same can be said of the government attitude towards the communal area economy as a whole. The subject of this chapter moves from land use to household production activities, and whereas in the previous chapter I juxtaposed the conflicting interpretations of state and peasantry, here my concern is solely to use the field research to examine how households survive.
It is now accepted that HIV/AIDS is a long-wave event with accumulative and systemic impacts. It ... more It is now accepted that HIV/AIDS is a long-wave event with accumulative and systemic impacts. It follows from this that longitudinal studies are needed to establish the effects on individuals households and communities and their complex interactions over time. But what kinds of longitudinal studies illuminate these issues the best? This Briefing Paper provides one kind of answer. It draws on longitudinal research carried out in Zambia in 1993 and 2005 using methods derived from the anthropological and ethnographic tradition. This is one of relatively few longitudinal studies that have explored the impacts of HIV/AIDS on livelihoods anywhere in the world. Its aim was to investigate what had happened over a dozen years to peoples adaptability and resilience to HIV/AIDS. The method of the study was both qualitative and rigorous. It provided a short-cut means of obtaining the richness of detail associated with anthropological analysis. The findings were not expected to be statistically representative but to generate understandings based on detailed case studies. (excerpt)
In September 1991 a workshop on participatory methods of working with farmers was held for the on... more In September 1991 a workshop on participatory methods of working with farmers was held for the one national and eight provincial teams which comprise the Adaptive Research Planning Team (ARPT) in Zambia. As a training exercise ARPT members were split up into three ...
"In many southern African countries the role of national agricultural extension systems over... more "In many southern African countries the role of national agricultural extension systems over the last two to three decades has been mainly to promote the hybrid maize and fertiliser packages of the Green Revolution. The assumption has always been that this would prove the saving of southern African smallholder agriculture and food security. Over the last eight or nine years another revolution has, however, swept the region: that of economic structural adjustment and reform programmes. Inefficient parastatal institutions have been a particular target for economic liberalisation programmes, and this has led to the demise of many former state-supported smallholder agricultural systems. Zambia is a case in point. A series of droughts in the early 1990s, and the disappearance of parastatals which had been supplying subsidised hybrid maize and fertiliser inputs to more remote parts of the country, have left large numbers of smallholder farmers facing a significant crisis. They are be...
1 . Knowledge is needed about the situation of and strategies adopted by poor households, in rela... more 1 . Knowledge is needed about the situation of and strategies adopted by poor households, in relation to both their characteristics and external opportunities and constraints. The methodological approach in such data collection and analysis is first, contextual and, second participatory. Methods that are contextual are those that attempt to capture a social phenomenon within its social, economic and cultural context (Booth et al, 1998). They are likely to generate qualitative and in-depth data. Rather than being purely extractive, such methods aim to link into better programme and project design by ensuring that respondents are (at least joint) owners of the knowledge and data generated, enabling them to participate in policy debate and project planning. However, such methods need to be complemented by larger scale data collection and quantitative analysis, in order to reveal the characteristics of the context, the overall dimensions of and trends in poverty, and the extent to which...
Because agriculture is the livelihood base for the majority of people affected by AIDS in sub-Sah... more Because agriculture is the livelihood base for the majority of people affected by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, the interactions between AIDS and agriculture, and their implications for policy and programming, are of fundamental importance. This paper summarizes evidence from three RENEWAL (Regional Network on AIDS, Livelihoods, and Food Security) research studies and one policy review on the interactions between AIDS and agriculture in Zambia and their implications for future policy and programming. The unit of analysis adopted for each study varies, spanning the individual, household, cluster, and community levels, drawing attention to the wider socioeconomic landscape within which households operate. Results. This paper identifies the ways in which livelihood activities, within the prevailing norms of gender, sexuality, and perceptions of risk in rural Zambia, can influence susceptibility to HIV and how the nature and severity of the subsequent impacts of AIDS are modified by the s...
... In 1993, Mpongwe was part of Ndola Rural, in the Copperbelt Province, and at that time was co... more ... In 1993, Mpongwe was part of Ndola Rural, in the Copperbelt Province, and at that time was considered a nodal point for contact between ... Box 3 below provides an account of Philemon's Mano's cluster between 1993 to 2005; it shows that despite being the most AIDS affected ...
Critical Hermeneutics in an Actor-oriented Perspective ... Within social theory there has long be... more Critical Hermeneutics in an Actor-oriented Perspective ... Within social theory there has long been a divide between structuralist perspectives, which emphasize the role of structure, system and class in shaping people's lives, and human agency perspectives, which empha-size ...
The year 1961 was one of crisis for the colonial government in Southern Rhodesia. In this year oc... more The year 1961 was one of crisis for the colonial government in Southern Rhodesia. In this year occurred the most violent outbreaks of rural opposition to colonial rule since the First Chimurenga of 1896/97. To exacerbate matters, this opposition was against the most comprehensive ...
Presentation for the United Nations Regional Inter- …, 2003
In order to understand the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming systems and food security in Southern Af... more In order to understand the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming systems and food security in Southern Africa, there are several parameters that are critical to attaining a realistic and relevant notion of the trends that are taking place. First, since I do not believe it is useful to separate ...
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
Zimbabwe’s ninety-year colonial experience is one of a journey down the path of linguistically — ... more Zimbabwe’s ninety-year colonial experience is one of a journey down the path of linguistically — and hence socially — transmitted prejudices of which Hans-Georg Gadamer writes. But this path, I shall argue, must be understood as the result not primarily of racial prejudices per se, but rather of the prejudiced belief of the new settlers in the superiority of their western material and technical culture. This chapter explains the importance of this distinction.
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
This book examines the impact government policy has had on agrarian change in Zimbabwe’s peasant ... more This book examines the impact government policy has had on agrarian change in Zimbabwe’s peasant farming areas over the course of this century. My intention is to find a means of linking an analysis of past and present change with a practical interest in the future. Since such a task accords with the telos of critical theory, that of Jurgen Habermas has been used to inform the theory and method used in this study.1
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
In the previous two chapters, the production systems and economic situations of the poor, middle ... more In the previous two chapters, the production systems and economic situations of the poor, middle and leading case-study households have been examined, as have the social contexts in which the households are embedded. I have sought to show in these accounts how the resilience of both household economies and rural social organisation is under severe strain, in the face of environmental fluctuation and the policy pressures exerted by the state. For many poor households, most of their income comes from non-agricultural sources; for many middle and even leading farmers, agricultural production is subsidised by wage-income remittances; and for even leading farmers, the struggle to keep their production activities viable is perilous.
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
It has been argued that an analysis of social change ideally requires a theoretical framework whi... more It has been argued that an analysis of social change ideally requires a theoretical framework which can be used to analyse the scope that people, as individuals or part of social collectivities, have to make their own world, within the context of the structural constraints they face. The unit of analysis in the previous chapter was the household. It was shown that even leading farmers are constrained in their ability to enhance the viability of their production by the resource limitations they experience. If individual households by themselves cannot significantly improve their positions, then the onus falls upon the organisations that structure communal area societies. Accordingly, my concern in the empirical component of this chapter is to analyse the capacity of the two societies I worked in for effective, coordinated action at this supra-household level.
The State and Agrarian Change in Zimbabwe’s Communal Areas, 1991
If misunderstanding and misrepresentation underlies official attitudes towards peasant livestock ... more If misunderstanding and misrepresentation underlies official attitudes towards peasant livestock management strategies, much the same can be said of the government attitude towards the communal area economy as a whole. The subject of this chapter moves from land use to household production activities, and whereas in the previous chapter I juxtaposed the conflicting interpretations of state and peasantry, here my concern is solely to use the field research to examine how households survive.
It is now accepted that HIV/AIDS is a long-wave event with accumulative and systemic impacts. It ... more It is now accepted that HIV/AIDS is a long-wave event with accumulative and systemic impacts. It follows from this that longitudinal studies are needed to establish the effects on individuals households and communities and their complex interactions over time. But what kinds of longitudinal studies illuminate these issues the best? This Briefing Paper provides one kind of answer. It draws on longitudinal research carried out in Zambia in 1993 and 2005 using methods derived from the anthropological and ethnographic tradition. This is one of relatively few longitudinal studies that have explored the impacts of HIV/AIDS on livelihoods anywhere in the world. Its aim was to investigate what had happened over a dozen years to peoples adaptability and resilience to HIV/AIDS. The method of the study was both qualitative and rigorous. It provided a short-cut means of obtaining the richness of detail associated with anthropological analysis. The findings were not expected to be statistically representative but to generate understandings based on detailed case studies. (excerpt)
In September 1991 a workshop on participatory methods of working with farmers was held for the on... more In September 1991 a workshop on participatory methods of working with farmers was held for the one national and eight provincial teams which comprise the Adaptive Research Planning Team (ARPT) in Zambia. As a training exercise ARPT members were split up into three ...
"In many southern African countries the role of national agricultural extension systems over... more "In many southern African countries the role of national agricultural extension systems over the last two to three decades has been mainly to promote the hybrid maize and fertiliser packages of the Green Revolution. The assumption has always been that this would prove the saving of southern African smallholder agriculture and food security. Over the last eight or nine years another revolution has, however, swept the region: that of economic structural adjustment and reform programmes. Inefficient parastatal institutions have been a particular target for economic liberalisation programmes, and this has led to the demise of many former state-supported smallholder agricultural systems. Zambia is a case in point. A series of droughts in the early 1990s, and the disappearance of parastatals which had been supplying subsidised hybrid maize and fertiliser inputs to more remote parts of the country, have left large numbers of smallholder farmers facing a significant crisis. They are be...
1 . Knowledge is needed about the situation of and strategies adopted by poor households, in rela... more 1 . Knowledge is needed about the situation of and strategies adopted by poor households, in relation to both their characteristics and external opportunities and constraints. The methodological approach in such data collection and analysis is first, contextual and, second participatory. Methods that are contextual are those that attempt to capture a social phenomenon within its social, economic and cultural context (Booth et al, 1998). They are likely to generate qualitative and in-depth data. Rather than being purely extractive, such methods aim to link into better programme and project design by ensuring that respondents are (at least joint) owners of the knowledge and data generated, enabling them to participate in policy debate and project planning. However, such methods need to be complemented by larger scale data collection and quantitative analysis, in order to reveal the characteristics of the context, the overall dimensions of and trends in poverty, and the extent to which...
Because agriculture is the livelihood base for the majority of people affected by AIDS in sub-Sah... more Because agriculture is the livelihood base for the majority of people affected by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, the interactions between AIDS and agriculture, and their implications for policy and programming, are of fundamental importance. This paper summarizes evidence from three RENEWAL (Regional Network on AIDS, Livelihoods, and Food Security) research studies and one policy review on the interactions between AIDS and agriculture in Zambia and their implications for future policy and programming. The unit of analysis adopted for each study varies, spanning the individual, household, cluster, and community levels, drawing attention to the wider socioeconomic landscape within which households operate. Results. This paper identifies the ways in which livelihood activities, within the prevailing norms of gender, sexuality, and perceptions of risk in rural Zambia, can influence susceptibility to HIV and how the nature and severity of the subsequent impacts of AIDS are modified by the s...
... In 1993, Mpongwe was part of Ndola Rural, in the Copperbelt Province, and at that time was co... more ... In 1993, Mpongwe was part of Ndola Rural, in the Copperbelt Province, and at that time was considered a nodal point for contact between ... Box 3 below provides an account of Philemon's Mano's cluster between 1993 to 2005; it shows that despite being the most AIDS affected ...
Critical Hermeneutics in an Actor-oriented Perspective ... Within social theory there has long be... more Critical Hermeneutics in an Actor-oriented Perspective ... Within social theory there has long been a divide between structuralist perspectives, which emphasize the role of structure, system and class in shaping people's lives, and human agency perspectives, which empha-size ...
The year 1961 was one of crisis for the colonial government in Southern Rhodesia. In this year oc... more The year 1961 was one of crisis for the colonial government in Southern Rhodesia. In this year occurred the most violent outbreaks of rural opposition to colonial rule since the First Chimurenga of 1896/97. To exacerbate matters, this opposition was against the most comprehensive ...
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