Professor Ben Cousins of the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at UWC has been awarded the South African Research Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (funded by the Department of Science and Technology and administered by the National Research Foundation.) This will allow him to support and supervise a number of post-doctoral fellows and masters and doctoral students, who will undertake field research in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces. Applications are invited for these positions.

The Research Chair will mount a five year research programme on agrarian change, land reform and poverty reduction, and explore the policy implications of its research findings. The design of the programme is framed by two over-arching questions: (i) what processes of socio-economic change are under way in the South African countryside that are likely to influence the outcomes and impacts of land and agrarian reform? (ii) what are the impacts of land and agrarian reform policies and programmes on agricultural productivity, agrarian structure and rural poverty?

These questions will be explored within and across three distinct but inter-related spheres within South Africa’s agrarian structure: the large scale commercial farming sector that dominates South African agriculture at present; an emerging sphere of successful small- to medium-scale black farmers, located within communal areas, on private land and in land reform projects; and rural households in commercial farming districts and communal areas who are living in chronic poverty. The broad field of study within which the research programme is located is Land and Agrarian Studies, which draws on theories, concepts and analytical frameworks from disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, geography, development studies, politics and development economics, and is thus multi-disciplinary in nature.

The overall objectives of the research programme are fivefold: (a) to conduct rigorous field-based research on agrarian change, land reform and poverty reduction that produces theoretically informed and empirically grounded insights into complex and dynamic social realities; (b) to explore the policy implications of research findings, in order to develop recommendations for policy makers and programme managers from government, civil society and the private sector; (c) to communicate the programme’s research findings and policy recommendations to relevant decision-makers, within a well-designed process of policy dialogue; (d) to publish research findings in internationally recognized and peer-reviewed publication formats, primarily academic journals and books; and (e) to contribute to international scholarship on questions of agrarian change, land reform and poverty reduction.

Provisional list of research projects:

Contexts Key framing questions	Large scale commercial agriculture and associated agro-food commodity chains	Successful’ black farming in communal areas and land reform contexts	Rural households living in poverty
What processes of socio-economic change are under way in the South African countryside that are likely to influence the outcomes of land and agrarian reform? What are the impacts of land and agrarian reform on agricultural productivity, agrarian structure and rural poverty?	What is the nature of the South African food regime – past, present, future? (PhD) Supermarkets and fresh produce in the rural areas of Limpopo (MPhil) Restitution versus security of tenure: overlapping rights in forestry land claims in KZN and Mpumalanga (MPhil/PhD) From rejection to co-operation: white farmers and land reform in Limpopo and KZN (MPhil) Evaluating area-based land reform: a comparison of pilot projects in KZN, Limpopo and the E Cape (Post-doc fellowship) From on-farm to off-farm poverty: how do ex-farm workers in Limpopo Province survive? (MPhil) The impact of Strategic Partnerships on farm workers in Limpopo (MPhil)	Evaluating ‘success’: crop and livestock farming in communal areas in Msinga, KZN (MPhil) Constraints and opportunities facing ‘successful’ farmers in Mthatheni Irrigation Scheme, Msinga, KZN (MPhil) Comparing outgrower schemes in the sugar and forestry sectors in KZN (MPhil) Land redistribution in the sub-tropical fruit sector in Limpopo (MPhil) The Massive Food Production scheme and emerging entrepreneurs in the former Transkei, E Cape (MPhil) Reallocating both land and water: irrigated agriculture on redistributed land in Limpopo and Mpumalanga (Post-doc fellowship) Contract farming on Makuleke irrigation scheme: who benefits? (MPhil)	Changing family structures and property regimes in communal areas in Msinga, KZN (MPhil) Gendered citizenship and land in a traditionalist communal area (Msinga, KZN) (MPhil) De-agrarianisation of livelihoods, rural poverty and urban-rural linkages between the E and W Cape (PhD) Why is arable land in the former Transkei so under-utilized? (MPhil) Changing family structures and property regimes in communal areas in the former Transkei, E Cape (MPhil) Commercial maize production, poverty and food security in the former Transkei, E Cape (MPhil)

Students and post-doctoral fellows will be selected with particular research topics/projects in mind, and a key criterion for selection will be good fit between their interests and abilities and the requirements of the project. Students and post-doctoral fellows will also be encouraged to contribute their own ideas to the details of research project design, including the framing of research questions and objectives, choice of research methods, and selection of particular research sites. This is essential for developing students’ capacities for independent and critical enquiry, and will enable the adaptation of initial research designs to field realities.

A key underlying premise of the proposed research programme is that interventions such as land reform occur within poorly understood social, economic and political contexts, the realities of which deeply influence the outcomes. Yet interventions are often based on simplistic understandings of social reality, on static models of social organization, and on problematic assumptions. When the assumptions and understandings that inform policy and implementation are at odds with reality, outcomes are unlikely to be the same as the desired objectives. Conversely, if appropriate understandings of complex realities can directly inform policy making and implementation, these are more likely to be effective.

Generous stipends are available for successful applicants, who will be provided with laptops and other equipment, have their field costs met, and receive intensive training in social theory and research methods.

To apply, send your cv, the names of three academic referees and a letter of motivation to Carla Henry at chenry@uwc.ac.za. The closing date is 15 December 2009. For more information, contact Professor Ben Cousins at bcousins@uwc.ac.za