Going for broke: The fate of farm workers in arid South Africa¶
Doreen Atkinson (2007). Going for broke: The fate of farm workers in arid South Africa. HSRC Press.
| Type | book |
| Scope | Wider apartheid literature |
| Method | mixed |
| Period studied | 1800–2005 |
| Regions | Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Natal/KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (national), United States (comparative) |
| Themes | agriculture land, labour markets wages, origins segregation, bantustans removals influx, demography urbanisation, transition post apartheid, inequality poverty unemployment, education human capital, comparative theory |
| Citation key | atkinson2007 |
Argument¶
Atkinson argues that black and coloured farm workers were deliberately created as a marginalised, super-exploitable labour force, a process that predates 1948 and rests on a long unfree labour system. She holds that this system was tempered by paternalism, which acted as a 'micro-welfare system', and that mechanisation, subsidies and urbanisation eroded it from about 1970. After 1994, land tenure and labour legislation (ESTA, minimum wages), trade liberalisation and urban-biased municipalities accelerated job shedding and evictions. These left farm workers redundant and without services. The book is explicitly normative and policy-oriented. It combines historical synthesis with HSRC surveys of 64 farmers and 64 farm workers in the arid Free State and Northern Cape, and it proposes incentive-based, locally tailored policies.
Evidence and method¶
Secondary historical literature (Greenberg, Keegan, Bradford, Nattrass, Grosskopf, Gordon, Robertson, Roberts), StatsSA/NDA employment series, Bhorat's census tabulations, Hansard debates, the Nkuzi eviction survey, and provincial and municipal strategy documents (PGDS, 16 IDPs). Primary material is the 2003 HSRC survey (64 farmers, 64 farm workers, 32 ex-farm workers, nine localities), a participatory action research project near Philippolis, studies of civil society organisations, and a US study tour. Newspaper sources and interviews with Rural Foundation informants are also used.
Place in the debates¶
- Revisionist/materialist vs total-institution vs structuration vs hermeneutic accounts of farm labour (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Draws on all four. Accepts the revisionist account of how a cheap, unfree labour force was created (1860-1980). Criticises it for neglecting paternalism and the psychological dimension, and holds that farms were never fully 'total institutions'.
- Why farm employment declined after 1970: mechanisation vs push/pull factors vs legislation (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Attributes the decline to several causes: subsidised capital, consolidation, abolition of labour tenancy, and tenure and minimum-wage laws after 1994. Warns against attributing it to mechanisation alone and treats the relative weight of push and pull factors as unresolved.
- Minimum wages and ESTA: protective or job-destroying? (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Argues that minimum wages and ESTA had perverse effects, raising transaction costs, cutting in-kind benefits and prompting pre-emptive evictions. She prefers incentives to rights-based compulsion.
- Paternalism: oppressive or social capital? (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Sees it as a deeply unequal but real source of social capital and a 'micro-welfare system'. Argues that ESTA misread its voluntary, normative basis, while recognising its coercive and disempowering side.
- Capitalism and racial order (Greenberg's thesis) (see Liberal vs revisionist: was apartheid functional or dysfunctional for capitalist growth?). Endorses Greenberg's argument that capitalist development eventually outgrew the need for the racial labour apparatus. Applies it to the shift from labour shortage to surplus after about 1970.
Findings¶
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Farm employment fell sharply even in the late apartheid and early democratic period. (p. 13)
During the period from 1988 to 1998, the commercial farm sector shed a staggering 140 000 regular jobs, a decline of roughly 20%.
-
Mass forced removals of labour tenants and squatters destroyed labour tenancy between 1960 and 1974. (p. 53)
It is possible that around 1.4 million labour tenants and squatters were removed between 1960 and 1974 (Stavrou 1987: 45). The system of labour tenancy was virtually destroyed.
-
The African share of the black population on commercial farms fell sharply before 1970 despite influx control. (p. 74)
The percentage of the black population residing on commercial farms had dropped from 33 per cent in 1936 to 14 per cent in 1970.
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The capital-to-labour ratio in white agriculture grew slowly until the 1970s, when capital deepening accelerated. (p. 65)
The ratio of capital to labour in commercial agriculture grew at only 1.9 per cent per annum between 1946 and 1971 (Nattrass 1977: 54).
-
African agricultural employment more than halved between 1970 and 1995, while coloured employment rose. (p. 74)
African 2 259 895 930 227 – 58.8 Coloured 116 835 220 111 + 88.4
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Estimated post-1994 evictions exceeded all land reform gains. (p. 96)
More than 942 000 farm workers were evicted between 1994 and 2004 (Nkuzi 2005).
-
Farm households had gained less tenure security than they lost to eviction. (p. 97)
Total households that gained land or tenure security from land reform, up to July 2005 164 185 Farm dweller households evicted 1994–2004 199 611
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Minimum wages (2001-03) were set against low pre-existing cash wages and a history of heavy in-kind payment. (p. 134)
The minimum wage varied from R400 per month to R750 per month.
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The state-supported Rural Foundation reached large numbers of workers at low cost but was closed after subsidy cuts in the post-1994 period. (p. 153)
The Rural Foundation was liquidated in May 1998 because of repeated cuts in its annual subsidy from the Department of Social Development.
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After 2000 municipal amalgamation produced an urban bias that stripped farm workers of political representation and services. (p. 172)
The links between the farming community and local government have effectively been broken. Farmers and farm workers have largely been disenfranchised at local level.
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSRC 2003 survey of 64 farmers and 64 farm workers in nine localities, Free State and Northern Cape (Atkinson 2003, 'Life on the farm') | author survey or fieldwork | 2002-2003 | Provides evidence on paternalism, residence preferences, training, wages, services and farm ownership ambitions of farmers and workers. |
| Participatory action research on five/18 farms near Philippolis (du Plessis & van Schalkwyk) | interviews oral history | 2001-2003 | Establishes the 'development gap' (low self-identity, illiteracy, alcohol abuse) among farm workers. |
| Interviews with 32 ex-farm workers, HSRC 2003 survey | interviews oral history | 2003 | Documents living conditions, unemployment and farming aspirations of ex-farm workers in towns. |
| Interviews with rural councillors, Free State and Northern Cape | interviews oral history | 2002 | Basis for account of TRC representation and urban bias in amalgamated municipalities. |
| Free State civil society organisation study (Anja Benseler) | author survey or fieldwork | 2002 | Assesses the scale and capacity of NGOs serving farm workers after the Rural Foundation closed. |
| Review of 16 municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) downloaded from DPLG IDP website | commission or official report | c. 2002-2004 | Content-coded to show how little rural service delivery to farm workers appears in municipal plans. |
| Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (eight provinces) | commission or official report | 2003-2004 | Counts mentions of farm worker issues to show policy neglect outside the Western Cape. |
| StatsSA/NDA (2000) Employment trends in agriculture in South Africa; StatsSA 2000 Employment trends in agriculture | official statistical series | 1960-2001 | Supplies farm employment totals, wage distributions, skills and permanent/casual shares. |
| Bhorat (2000) tables on racial profile, occupation and education in agricultural employment 1970-1995 (1970 census, 1995 October Household Survey) | secondary literature compilation | 1970-1995 | Shows halving of agricultural employment, rise of coloured share and professionalisation of the workforce. |
| 1996 Population Census (as cited via CRLS 2001 and StatsSA/NDA) | population census | 1996 | Used for farm worker education levels and electricity access. |
| Union Office of Census and Statistics (1937) Official Year Book, no. 18 | official statistical series | 1923-1936 | Source for Table 2.1 showing decline of black livestock and crop production on white farms. |
| Census of 1856, Orange Free State (cited) | population census | 1856 | Illustrates the large number of coloured dependants on white farms in the nineteenth century. |
| Demarcation Board population figures for Colesberg 1996-2001; Chase (1842/1967) Cape of Good Hope | official statistical series | 1842, 1996-2001 | Illustrates the long-run shift from rural to urban population in a small Karoo town. |
| Marais (2004) Free State urban population by settlement category 1991-2001 | secondary literature compilation | 1991-2001 | Shows faster growth of small towns, consistent with farm-to-town migration. |
| Robertson (1988) MSc thesis survey of farm labour, Lions River, Lower Tugela, Elliot (1987) | author survey or fieldwork | 1987 | Data on reasons for staying/leaving, wage variation, and farmer responses to minimum wages. |
| Roberts (1959) Labour in the farm economy (SAIRR) survey of 63 Eastern Cape farmers | author survey or fieldwork | 1959 | Evidence on labour shortage/surplus, paternalism and worker turnover. |
| Heunis (1993) Bloemfontein-area farm labour survey (24 farms) | author survey or fieldwork | 1993 | Data on contracts, wages, workers' councils and anticipated minimum-wage retrenchments. |
| Gordon (1991) study of farm schools and peri-urban Johannesburg farms (1990) | secondary literature compilation | 1990-1991 | Source for wages by gender, child labour, farm school provision and education/migration. |
| Simbi & Aliber (2000) Agricultural employment crisis in South Africa, TIPS Working Paper 13 (incl. Limpopo survey) | secondary literature compilation | 1988-2000 | Source for 140 000 job losses 1988-98 and farmer responses to ESTA and minimum wages. |
| StatsSA/NDA 2000 survey of 4 100 commercial farms | official statistical series | 1994-1999 | Shows declines in regular, seasonal and family-based workers after 1994. |
| Nkuzi Development Association and Social Surveys (2005) National Evictions Survey | author survey or fieldwork | 1994-2004 | Estimates of evictions versus land reform beneficiaries (Table 4.1). |
| Hansard debates on ESTA, 28 August 1997, and other Hansard references (1950, 1959, 1998, 1999) | parliamentary debates | 1950-1999 | Documents the political arguments for and against ESTA and apartheid-era statements on farm labour. |
| Department of Labour (2001) Determination of Employment Conditions in South African Agriculture | commission or official report | 2001 | Used to analyse the minimum wage rationale and anticipated job losses. |
| Rural development policy documents: Rural Development Strategy (1995), Rural Development Framework (DLA 1997), ISRDS (DPLG 2000), White Paper on Population Policy (1998), NDA strategic documents | commission or official report | 1995-2004 | Show a policy void on farm labour in post-1994 rural strategies. |
| Legislation and gazettes: ESTA 1997, Natives Land Act 1913, Masters and Servants Acts, Native Trust and Land Act 1936, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Municipal Property Rates Act 2004, SA Schools Act 1996, etc. | legislation gazette | 1854-2004 | Establishes the legal framework of unfree labour and post-1994 rights and their stated provisions. |
| Report of the Commission of Inquiry into European Occupancy of the Rural Areas (1959) and Second Report of the Commission of Enquiry into Agriculture (1970), as cited in Greenberg 1980 | commission or official report | 1959, 1970 | Source for black residents on farms and 438 000 workers leaving agriculture 1960-1971. |
| Marais-Du Plessis Commission (1971), De Lange Commission (1981), Farm Labour Committee 1937-9 and Farm Labour Commission 1939 (via Gordon/Greenberg) | commission or official report | 1937-1981 | Shows official recognition of poor farm worker education and training needs. |
| Grosskopf (1932) Carnegie Commission report, Plattelandsverarming en plaasverlating | commission or official report | 1932 | Evidence on poor whites and the disappearance of white farm workers. |
| Keegan (1986) Rural transformations in industrializing South Africa; Greenberg (1980); Bradford (1987); Plaatje (1982) | secondary literature compilation | 1850-1936 | Principal basis for the historical narrative of squatting, sharecropping and coercion. |
| Nattrass (1977), Stavrou (1987), Hobart Houghton (1967) data on farm labour, migration and removals | secondary literature compilation | 1918-1974 | Figures on farm worker numbers, removals of labour tenants and urban migration. |
| Rural Foundation reports and press coverage (Landbouweekblad, Die Burger, Rapport etc.) | newspapers periodicals | 1984-1998 | Source of data on Foundation affiliated farms, funding, creches and impact. |
| Setplan/MXA (2002) evaluation of farm worker sanitation projects in Northern Cape (Mvula Trust) | commission or official report | 1999-2001 | Provides equitable share and sanitation funder tables for TRCs. |
| Free State Department of Education figures (2005) and 1996 Free State Department of Agriculture commission report | commission or official report | 1996, 2005 | Counts farm schools lacking water, sanitation, electricity and records farmers' concerns. |
| AgriSA survey of 288 farmers (2003) | employer association records | 2003 | Shows labour as largest farm cost and the value of in-kind payments. |
| Du Toit & Ally (2003, 2004) Western Cape surveys of farm labour casualisation | secondary literature compilation | 2003-2004 | Evidence of casualisation and farmers leaving houses empty due to ESTA. |
| Centre for Rural Legal Studies (2001) survey of farm dwellers (CRLS 2001) | secondary literature compilation | 2001 | Data on rent paid by on-farm residents and housing/services levels. |
| Bhorat (2000) poverty analysis using 1995 data; Gildenhuys (2003) municipal services paper; Kok et al. (2003) migration study; Cross et al. (1998) | secondary literature compilation | 1995-2003 | Evidence on farm worker poverty rates, municipal service options and migration determinants. |
New data¶
HSRC 2003 survey of 64 farmers and 64 farm workers in nine Free State/Northern Cape localities, 32 interviews with ex-farm workers, a year-long participatory action research project near Philippolis, a content-coded review of 16 municipal IDPs, and Free State NGO and councillor interviews; small, localised and unstructured samples.
Inference¶
Quantification: Descriptive tables.
Historical narrative synthesised from secondary literature (revisionist, total-institution, structuration, hermeneutic perspectives) combined with descriptive tabulation of official employment statistics, a small purposive survey and interviews, document analysis of policy and municipal plans, and normative policy argument including comparison with the US; no formal statistical testing or causal identification.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Black and coloured farm workers were deliberately created as a marginalised, unfree labour force through land dispossession, pass laws and master-servant legislation, a process pre-dating 1948. (p. 8) | Secondary historical literature (Keegan, Greenberg, Bradford, Plaatje) plus legislation, Hansard and Union census figures (Table 2.1). | Partial data |
| Farm employment has fallen sharply since 1970, driven by mechanisation, subsidies and, after 1994, labour and tenure legislation and globalisation. (p. 66) | StatsSA/NDA employment series, Bhorat tables, Simbi & Aliber, plus the 64-farm sample showing a 36% fall in workers 2001-2003. | Partial data |
| ESTA and minimum wage legislation have accelerated evictions and job shedding, with evictions outpacing land reform gains. (p. 84) | Nkuzi (2005) eviction figures, Simbi & Aliber, Robertson and Heunis farmer-intention surveys, HSRC farmer comments. | Partial data |
| Paternalism persists as a form of social capital or 'micro-welfare system' but is eroding under modernisation and legislation. (p. 92) | 2003 HSRC survey (41 of 64 farmers see a community; workers turn mainly to farmers for help), Du Toit and Ewert & Hamman literature. | Partial data |
| Government services to farm workers deteriorated after 2000 as amalgamated municipalities displaced the TRC/district council system, creating an urban bias and service vacuum. (p. 150) | Councillor interviews, Setplan/MXA funding tables, IDP review, provincial department closures of clinics and schools. | Partial data |
| Farm workers have a large 'development gap' (low education, weak self-identity, alcohol abuse) that constrains migration and advancement. (p. 101) | Philippolis participatory research, StatsSA/NDA and 1996 Census education data, HSRC survey literacy findings. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| Many farm workers and ex-farm workers wish to farm independently, and peri-urban commonage and smallholdings could provide a stepping stone for livelihoods. (p. 254) | HSRC survey (42 of 55 workers want farms), interviews with 32 ex-farm workers, secondary literature on smallholder agriculture. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
The author's caveats¶
The author stresses that findings rest on small, localised samples in the arid Free State and Northern Cape and cannot be regarded as definitive; agricultural statistics are sensitive to seasonality and definitions of 'casual', 'wages' and 'migration'; national data on evictions are unreliable; and the survey used open-ended questions with farmer opinions volunteered rather than systematically requested.
Gaps in the evidence¶
The argument on causes of job loss (ESTA, minimum wages versus mechanisation, globalisation) lacks panel or farm-level microdata with controls; the Agricultural Census series, October Household Surveys, Labour Force Surveys and Land Affairs/court eviction records would allow testing, and mostly existed then. Evidence on how farm workers themselves view their situation rests on tiny, farmer-mediated samples; larger independent worker surveys and longitudinal tracking of evicted households were possible but not collected. Historical claims rely on secondary works rather than archival files, which exist in state archives and could be examined directly.
Replicability: Data described but not public.