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Another Countryside

jvandieman@plaas.org.za
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PLAAS mourns the passing of activist icon and MPhil candidate, Constance Mogale (1971-2023)

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jvandieman@plaas.org.za
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PLAAS welcomes African visiting professor back from the diaspora

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jvandieman@plaas.org.za
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Agrarian scholars tackle climate politics in new (free) book

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Brian Levy: Combat fire not with fire, but non-violent resistance

How to fight back against toxic populism? In the spirit of standing up against bullies, a natural tendency is to fight fire with fire. But is this the right response? A few years ago, this question might have seemed to be largely of historical interest—an exploration of, say, whether different tactics by Germany’s left and centre-left might have slowed the…
PLAAS
January 31, 2020
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Brian Levy: Learning from populism–four moral struggles

While I’ve not become a born-again populist, a sea change in the tenor of political discourse has led me to explore some uncomfortable terrain: What might be usefully be learned for the task of democratic renewal from the resurgence of populism in country after country? I have come to understand that the health of societies and polities depends on modes…
PLAAS
January 31, 2020
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Euclides Gonçalves: Corridors Miniseries–Agricultural Commercialisation along Mozambique’s Growth Corridors

People cannot eat gas, oil or coal Since he took office in 2015, president Filipe Nyusi has sought to redirect the attention of Mozambicans, from the prospect of wealth associated with the exploration of natural resources, to increasing agricultural production and productivity. In his words: “the people do not eat gas, oil or eat coal.” Along the Beira and Nacala…
PLAAS
January 21, 2020
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Emmanuel Sulle: Corridors Miniseries: Accumulation and Contested Commercialisation in Tanzania

Tanzania, like many other African countries, needs significant investment in agriculture to achieve key development goals—poverty alleviation, economic growth and industrialisation, food security and improved nutrition. Since the late 2000s, the Tanzanian government, in partnership with donor agencies and the private sector, launched several initiatives, including the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). This is a public-private partnership aimed…
PLAAS
January 21, 2020
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Ngala Chome: Corridors Miniseries–Anticipating Lamu’s New Corridor on Kenya’s Coast

The day starts early in Lamu, an ancient archipelago on Kenya’s northern coast. Fishermen, sailors and boat makers can be seen striding towards the sea, where moon-powered tides and sea waves are the undisputed masters. Hours later, their skiffs return from the shallow waters surrounding the mouth of the archipelago on Manda and Pate islands. They approach the main island,…
PLAAS
January 21, 2020
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Ngala Chome et al.: Corridors Miniseries –The Political Economy of Agricultural Growth Corridors in Eastern Africa

Words by Ngala Chome, Euclides Gonsalves, Ian Scoones and Emmanuel Sulle A new wave of agricultural commercialisation is being promoted across Africa’s eastern seaboard, by a broad range of influential actors—from international corporations to domestic political and business elites. Growth corridors, linking infrastructure development, mining and agriculture for export, are central to this, and are generating a new spatial politics as…
Esté Beerwinkel
January 21, 2020
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Ian Scoones: Rural support for authoritarian populism is strong—but another way is possible

The rise of authoritarian populism continues. Now the UK has a fully signed-up version in its new right-wing government, with allies in Trump, Modi, Bolsarano, Orban and others. It is a dangerous, but perhaps inevitable, trend. The soul-searching on the Left after the UK election rather belatedly diagnosed the problem. It has been long in the making—the result of sustained…
Esté Beerwinkel
January 15, 2020
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Farai Mtero: Elite capture in land redistribution: Winners and losers

It has become widely accepted across different sectors of society that South Africa’s land reform has fallen short of expectations.  There is growing public impatience with the slow pace of land reform—government has fallen woefully short of the targets it has set itself for land transfer. In response, activists and politicians have made proposals to amend the constitution and allow…
Andries du Toit
December 3, 2019
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Andries du Toit: Who owns the land question?

In my most recent article, published as a Working Paper earlier this week on the PLAAS website, I approach the South African land question from a somewhat different angle to that usually taken in our research reports. Instead of looking at the realities of South Africa's agrarian structure and the dynamics of rural livelihoods, and using that as the basis…
Esté Beerwinkel
November 15, 2019
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Moenieba Isaacs: Blue Justice for small-scale fisheries

Words by Moenieba Isaacs The Blue Economy development agenda raises a myriad of red flags relating to the issues small-scale fisheries face. Small-scale fisheries contribute to food security, poverty eradication, sustaining ecosystems, supporting local communities and livelihoods, and promoting cultural inheritance. The Blue Economy development agenda for coastal, lakes, and marine protected zones looks to protect and restore the ocean’s…
Esté Beerwinkel
July 23, 2019