Building integrated and inclusive rural economy in South Africa: critical perspectives from the Morebene community in Limpopo province

Abstract

This is a mixed-method research that examined the prospects of building integrated and inclusive rural economies in South Africa. The study has taken an Afrocentric perspective to defining processes of building integrated and inclusive rural economies in South Africa. In this study, a decolonial epistemic paradigm which is a means of democratizing knowledge and revitalizing old epistemologies to better align with current postcolonial realities was preferred. The paradigm also serves as a creative epistemological process of ‘problematization and radicalization’. In this study, care has been taken to avoid contamination of the research with what decolonization scholars call ‘epistemicides’ which refers to the extermination of knowledge and ways of knowing through the exclusion of knowledge that originates from those outside Westernized philosophical terrains or traditions. In this study, the concepts of integrated and inclusive rural economies are defined as Eurocentric policy initiatives and viewpoints not solely driven by the desire to restore land rights or any economic advancement of the post-colonial developmental agenda. The aforementioned perspectives are considered detrimental to South Africa's developmental goals. They are believed to promote colonialism and reinforce the continent's reliance on Western ways of thinking. This study found that although South Africa's post-apartheid democratic government aimed to integrate and include marginalized rural communities in agricultural value chains, it failed to create thriving and equitable rural economies as envisioned in the National Development Plan Vision 2023. The key finding of this study is that the methods and models used to create inclusive and integrated rural economies generally continue the traditions of colonialism, and mainly benefit the interests of commercial farmers and capitalist organizations. The rise of quasi-landlords who have strong connections with the ruling elite and operate within a capitalist system is becoming more evident. The study also found that the government’s focus on redistributive projects rather than restorative processes has created a deceptive impression of inclusive and integrated rural economies, as exemplified by the Morebene community. The above is primarily because the study found that the government does not have suitable models for building integrated and inclusive rural economies. Some of the other findings of the study are that prospects of farming from the restituted portions of land to communities are only suitable for domestic consumption and are preferably applicable for small-scale farming projects. The respondents say that there are no prospects of them graduating into commercial farmers, and only privately owned farms are suitable for developing commercial farmers in South Africa. The respondents also say that they are not able and afforded opportunities to make decisions about the land and that government departments do not consult them properly regarding issues related to land restituted. This is because the government departments themselves are not acting in an integrated manner. This study proposed a Five-Stage Multi-Process Rural Development Model. It aims to encourage the government to consult with the relevant beneficiaries of land reform in an integrated manner. It also suggests including their views and aspirations when developing policy interventions aimed at assisting themAccording to this study, the discussions regarding land reform in South Africa are predominantly shaped by political considerations and do not possess a solid grounding in the restitution or redistribution of land. Instead, they rest on some misconceptions and inaccuracies regarding historical events, which ultimately fail to serve the interests of those they are meant to aid.