Abstract
Prior to colonialism and apartheid, most rural communities in South Africa were selfsufficient with agriculture as the main driver for economic growth and local economic development (LED). This self-reliance diminished with the advent of systemic and discriminatory economic policies (i.e. apartheid) that sought to exclude black South Africans from economic prosperity and deprived them of the right to own land. The introduction of discriminatory policies such as the Glen Grey Act (Act 25 of 1894 of the Cape parliament) (Bouch, 1993) and the Native Land Act (No.27 of 1913) (Feinberg, 2006), resulted in the majority of the black population in South Africa being proletarianised with limited engagement in the agricultural sector or utilisation of their available land for agricultural purposes. Since the advent of democracy in 1994, the South African government has sought to encourage black people to re-engage actively in the agricultural sector, which is dominated by white commercial farmers, but without success. Despite a plethora of government policies that emphasise the essential role of agriculture in economic growth and LED, empirical evidence suggests this has not been successful. The number of households engaged in agricultural activities decreases each year, and the amount of land that remains fallow, particularly in rural areas, continues to increase despite the high levels of unemployment, poverty and food insecurity...
M.Com. (Local Economic Development)