Political Economy of sugar production in southern Africa
- Submitting institution
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The University of Manchester
: A - Development Studies
- Unit of assessment
- 22 - Anthropology and Development Studies : A - Development Studies
- Output identifier
- 185904124
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
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- Location
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- Brief description of type
- A collection of critical work
- Open access status
- -
- Month
- September
- Year
- 2016
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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B - SEED
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- The two components of this submission were generated from a DFID-ESRC funded project (ES/1034242/1), that Woodhouse led as PI. The project sought to understand the potential for ‘black empowerment’ offered by re-structuring taking place in the sugar-producing areas of South Africa. It involved a detailed study of a variety of land reform modalities within the ‘lowveldt’ of Mpumalanga province, with the findings synthesised in component 1 (Woodhouse provided the conceptual basis and quantitative data analysis, designed the paper and shared the writing). During the project, considerable interest was generated with the project’s research partner institution (PLAAS – University of the Western Cape). The project’s budgeted conference funding was used to convene a meeting in Johannesburg to bring together researchers working on sugar production developments in seven different countries across southern Africa. The resulting papers, together with an overview of sugar production in the region (component 2, with Woodhouse as corresponding author) were accepted as a special issue in the Journal of Southern African Studies that Woodhouse negotiated. The two components highlight the concentration of South African corporate control of sugar-cane production in the southern African region, specifically the role that the industry plays as a model of successful modern agriculture. This is significant for governments in southern Africa seeking to modernise agricultural sectors dominated by small-scale farmers, but also in the South African context where land reform has seldom delivered success in terms of maintaining the productivity of commercial farms. The two papers unpack the dynamics of sugar-cane production at the level of a South African case study (component 1) and at the level of the region (component 2). Collectively, the components highlight the state-corporate relationships underpinning the competitive advantages of the sugar industry and identify the key recurrent political role of ‘outgrower’ schemes in resolving conflicts in context-specific ways.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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