The Development of Capitalism in South African Agriculture: The Restructuring of Agrarian Capitalism after 1950¶
S. E. Stavrou (1988). The Development of Capitalism in South African Agriculture: The Restructuring of Agrarian Capitalism after 1950. Rural Urban Studies Unit (RUSU) Working Paper No. 14. Rural Urban Studies Unit / Development Studies Unit, University of Natal, Durban.
| Type | working paper |
| Scope | Economics and economic history of apartheid |
| Method | mixed |
| Period studied | 1950–1985 |
| Regions | South Africa (white commercial agriculture), Natal Midlands, Western Transvaal maize region, homelands |
| Themes | agriculture land, bantustans removals influx, labour markets wages, business and state, macro fiscal finance debt, demography urbanisation |
| Citation key | stavrou1988 |
Argument¶
After 1950, white commercial agriculture was restructured through three linked processes: a changing form of farm labour exploitation, concentration and centralization of farm capital, and mechanization. Apartheid removals policy and the pass laws, backed by the homelands as labour reserves, shed tenants and squatters from white farms. Farms became fewer and larger, and company ownership grew, though it remained small by 1980. Rising debt and capital requirements drove this concentration. Mechanization (tractorization above all) raised capital intensity and changed labour demand towards fewer skilled resident workers and more casual labour. The paper reads this as a sector entering a 'nascent monopoly capitalism' stage and calls for more research on farm labour.
Evidence and method¶
Secondary literature (Nattrass, Morris, Marcus, Cooper, De Klerk, Africa, Wolpe, Legassick and Wolpe, Lipton). Official statistics (agricultural censuses 1962-1980, Abstract of Agricultural Statistics 1985/86, 1985 Population Census). The author's own Natal Midlands survey of farm employment and migration (1986, MA dissertation 1987). Tables on labour movements, farm size and numbers, ownership type and tractor numbers.
Place in the debates¶
- Cheap labour thesis / role of the Bantustans as labour reserves (Wolpe, Legassick) (see Cheap labour thesis and the function of the reserves). Largely endorses it. Quotes Legassick and Wolpe that the reserves allowed surplus farm labour to be dispersed and removed cheaply, and treats separate development as entrenching capitalist agriculture.
- Causes and employment effects of farm mechanization (conventional cost-based choice of technique vs Marxist labour-control account) (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Presents both. Leans towards the Marxist view that machinery raises capital intensity and management control over labour. Finds that mechanization has so far not caused large aggregate labour displacement, but De Klerk's maize study shows sharp declines in harvest labour.
- Role of labour bureaux versus pass laws in controlling farm labour (see Farm labour: mechanisation, labour shedding, wages and labour control). Cautions against overstating labour bureaux; the continued application of the pass laws by the white community is what mainly kept farm workers from leaving.
- Degree of monopoly/capital concentration in agriculture (Marcus) (see Agricultural policy, productivity, farm size and land reform). Accepts Marcus's fusion of agrarian and urban capital in broad terms, but admits that company ownership of farm units is only about 10 percent and the process is 'in the infant stage'.
Findings¶
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The number of commercial farms halved between 1951 and 1985. (p. 10)
from 1951 to 1985 the total number of farms decreased by 50 percent from a high of 118 097 in 1951 to 59 088 in 1985
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Average farm size rose sharply after 1951, indicating land concentration. (p. 10)
average farm sizes which had been declining up until 1951 increased by 62 percent over the following 27 years, from an average size of 736,5 hectares in 1951 to 1 193 hectares in 1978
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Large-scale removals of tenants and squatters from white farms took place from the 1960s. (p. 8)
between 1960 and 1970, 340 000 labour tenants and 656 000 squatters were removed from white farms with a further 400 000 tenant removals occuring between 1971 and 1974
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Roughly 1.5 million blacks left capitalist farming in 1950-70, most to white urban areas and the rest to the homelands (Nattrass). (p. 8)
one and a half million blacks left the capitalist farming sector, of which one million miqrated to the white urban sector and the rest to the homelands
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Black farm employment declined steadily in the 1970s. (p. 8)
between 1974 and 1980, the number of black farm labourers employed in commercial agriculture, decreased by an average of 3,02 percent per annum
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Farm debt rose steeply in the early 1980s, while farm numbers fell. (p. 12)
the overall commercial farm debt increased from R55 334 million to R184 334 million, a 333 percent increase (Cooper, 1986:19)
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Farm income was highly concentrated, tied to control of resources. (p. 13)
30 percent of all commercial farmers produce 75 percent of all farm income
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Company ownership of farm units surged between 1978 and 1979, at the expense of individual and partnership ownership. (p. 15)
Individual and partnership ownerships dropped by 4,3 percent; whilst private and public company ownerships rose by 102,6 percent.
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Tractor numbers expanded rapidly after the Second World War. (p. 23)
The biggest increase in tractor ownership took place after 1946, with the number of tractors increasing by 487,4 percent between 1946 and 1960.
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Mechanization in general did not reduce total farm employment, though mechanical harvesters cut maize-farm labour. (p. 20)
It would have been expected that farmers rationalize in terms of the size of their labour force, but in South Africa generally mechanization has not been accompanied by a reduction in the number of workers employed.
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De Klerk found large falls in seasonal and permanent harvest labour after combine harvesters were introduced. (p. 20)
following the introduction of large scale mechanical harvesters, the number of seasonal and permanent workers per farm employed in harvesting and delivery declined by 50 percent and 20 percent respectively
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Population Census, Industry by Development Region, Statistical Region and District, Report No. 02-85-03 | population census | 1985 | Gives the share (16,2%) and number (850 041) of economically active blacks in commercial agriculture and the under-1% non-white share of private and partnership land ownership. |
| Census of Agricultural and Pastoral Production Reports Nos. 06-01-01, 03, 08, 10, 12 (Census Nos. 37, 38, 44, 46, 48), 1962-63 to 1975 | agricultural census | 1960-1975 | Source for Table 3 on farm unit numbers by type of ownership (individual/partnership, companies, state, other) for 1960-1975. |
| Census of Agricultural and Pastoral Production Reports Nos. 06-01-14, 15, 16 (1978, 1979, 1980) | agricultural census | 1978-1980 | Source for 1978-80 ownership shares in Table 3, the 1978 area holding by ownership type, and the 1980 company share of expenditure (28,7%) and sales (30,5%); also used for the decline in black farm labour 1974-80. |
| Abstract of Agricultural Statistics 1985 and 1986 | official statistical series | 1918-1985 | Supplies the farm numbers, average sizes and cultivated area (Table 2), tractor numbers (Table 4), investment shares (Table 5), and the changes in lorries and harvesters. |
| South African Statistics 1986 (preliminary figures) | official statistical series | 1980-1986 | Provides preliminary 1980 figures for commercial farm numbers (Table 2) and tractor numbers (Table 4). |
| Nattrass (1981) The South African Economy – data on labour movements and farm numbers | secondary literature compilation | 1911-1980 | Source for Table 1 black and white farm labour migration flows and Table 2 farm numbers and sizes 1919-1971. |
| Morris (1976) estimates of removals of labour tenants and squatters from white farms | secondary literature compilation | 1960-1974 | Used to quantify tenant and squatter removals (340 000 tenants, 656 000 squatters 1960-70; 400 000 tenants 1971-74). |
| Laubscher and Joubert (1976) farm employment figures | secondary literature compilation | 1955-1973 | Provides the data on regular versus casual workers per farming unit and per 1000 hectares. |
| Cooper (1986) Ownership and Control of Agriculture in South Africa (incl. Hattingh/Lanvokon and Financial Mail material) | secondary literature compilation | 1975-1985 | Source for farm debt growth, the decline in net farm income, bankruptcies, and the 1985 farm number of 59 088. |
| SAAU 1983 survey of farmers (as reported by Hattingh in Cooper 1986) | secondary literature compilation | 1983 | Used to show the unequal distribution of farm income (30% of farmers produce 75% of income). |
| Marcus (1986) Restructuring in Commercial Agriculture in South Africa | secondary literature compilation | 1950-1984 | Source for the estimated contraction in the number of farm owners and the thesis of concentration and inter-sectoral fusion of capital. |
| Africa (1976) Mechanisation in South African agriculture, 1936-1974 | secondary literature compilation | 1918-1974 | Supplies tractor numbers up to 1965, capital formation shares (Table 5) and the figure for permanent worker increases 1947-69. |
| De Klerk (1983a) maize farm employment study | secondary literature compilation | 1968-1981 | Used to show falls in seasonal and permanent maize harvest employment after mechanical harvesters. |
| Stavrou (1987) Natal Midlands employment and migration survey | author survey or fieldwork | 1986 | Provides findings on labour shortages, the labourer-to-tractor ratio, dependency ratio and skill composition. |
| Native Land and Trust Act 1936, Chapter IV (1956 amendment) | legislation gazette | 1936/1956 | Establishes the legal categories of servants, labour tenants and squatters on white farms. |
| Natal Mercury, 10 November 1986 and Business Day, 1 March 1987 | newspapers periodicals | 1986-1987 | Cited for Nieuwoudt's claim on farm labour's share of the labour force and for farmer debt of R12 billion. |
Inference¶
Quantification: Descriptive tables.
Descriptive time-series tabulation of official agricultural census and abstract statistics (farm numbers, ownership type, tractors, investment shares) combined with figures from secondary studies and a Marxist political-economy interpretation of capital concentration and mechanization; no statistical testing.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Black farm labour on white farms has declined since the 1970s, with large removals of tenants and squatters in the 1960s-70s. (p. 6) | Table 1 (Nattrass), Morris and Bundy removal estimates, agricultural census 1978 and 1980; mostly secondary estimates. | Partial data |
| The number of commercial farms halved after 1951 while average farm size increased, indicating land concentration. (p. 8) | Table 2 from the Abstract of Agricultural Statistics and Nattrass 1981. | Systematic data |
| Company ownership of farm units has risen at the expense of individual and partnership ownership, indicating an emerging trend of monopoly capital. (p. 12) | Table 3 from agricultural censuses 1960-1980. | Partial data |
| Post-war mechanization, especially tractorization, expanded dramatically and rose as a share of capital formation, but did not generally displace labour in aggregate. (p. 21) | Tables 4 and 5 from Africa (1976) and the Abstract of Agricultural Statistics; De Klerk's maize study and the Natal Midlands survey for the exceptions. | Partial data |
| Mechanization and rationalization shifted labour demand toward a smaller skilled resident force and a larger casual force. (p. 17) | Laubscher and Joubert, Nattrass, Lipton and the author's Natal Midlands survey. | Partial data |
| The sector is moving toward nascent monopoly capitalism through inter-sectoral fusion of capital, although companies still own only about 10% of farm units. (p. 14) | Company shares of units, area, expenditure and sales from the 1978 and 1980 censuses, plus Marcus' assertions. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
The author's caveats¶
The author notes that Table 1's 1971-80 out-migration figure rests on assumed population growth, resident share and activity rates, and includes casual workers; that the 1984 investment share uses preliminary data; that tractorization is an imperfect measure of mechanization; that bankruptcies explain only an unmeasured portion of the decline in farm units; and that the number of owners is an assumed rate of decline.
Gaps in the evidence¶
The argument for monopoly capitalism rests on company shares of about 8-10% of units and on inferred inter-sectoral links, with no data on corporate ownership chains, company registries or cross-holdings. Farm-level micro-data on labour, machinery and debt, for instance from the agricultural census returns, would test the links between mechanization, farm size and labour displacement better; such data existed in the Department of Agriculture and Statistics archives. Removal and labour figures come from conflicting secondary estimates (Morris, Bundy, Nattrass) and could be checked against the Surplus People Project records and the labour bureau records.
Replicability: Data described but not public.