Naude Malan

Urban farmers and urban agriculture in Johannesburg: Responding to the food resilience strategy

ABSTRACT The city of Johannesburg is implementing an urban agriculture policy, as part of a “food resilience” strategy. This article draws on participatory and social science methods of research in articulating farmers’ perspectives on issues critical to this policy and to urban agriculture in the city. The fieldwork forms part of a social science and action research project, Izindaba Zokudla, that aims to build the capacity of a farmers’ organisation in Johannesburg, and to develop programmes for implementation. Farmers, through a series of facilitated participatory workshops, have developed a strategy for organisational development that identified Land and Water (soil), External Stakeholders, Training, Tools and Technology, Marketing, Organisational Development, Permaculture and Security as themes relevant for the development of the organisation and urban agriculture. The ways farmers articulate these priorities afford us a perspective on urban agricultural development in Johannesburg that is crucial for the implementation of policy. The article discusses these themes in the context of the newly formulated policy and explains their significance vis-à-vis the broader assessment of urban agriculture and smallholder agriculture in the literature. The article concludes with comprehensive recommendations for the implementation of urban agriculture programmes in Johannesburg.

Participation in Research and Development at the Tshikonelo Agricultural Project, Northern Province

This article takes to task certain assumptions about participation in research and development, and criticises them for being decontextualised and ethnographically uninformed. Results of social scientific research at an existing agricultural project in the Northern Province of South Africa are brought to bear on the theory and assumptions of participatory research and development. The study starts with a theoretical account of participatory research. The point is made that there is not necessarily any connection between participatory research and participatory development. It is concluded from the subsequent case study that participation in research and development could be negatively influenced by local power dynamics, by institutional reluctance to experiment with participation, and by policy decisions and circumstances that do not lend themselves to social change. The significance of participation cannot be deduced in isolation from its context of implementation. It is concluded that participation by itself would not necessarily lead to these changes.

Rights, the public and the South African Constitution: civil society and the performance of rights

The concept of rights holds considerable dominion over the discourses of the state and the public. This situation has left us unable to comprehend, police, and support forms of ‘non-state public action’ as relevant to rights. This article discusses the relevance of rights for non-state public action by civil society, and develops a framework within which the right to have access to social security may be made justiciable for civil society actors. This article proposes a performative model of rights that places a duty on the state to respect social action that upholds rights. It interprets the South African Constitution to clarify this model of rights by drawing on the legal tradition of ‘transformative constitutionalism’ (Klare 1998), the notion of a constitutional dialogue, and an interpretation of amongst others the horizontal application of rights, the justiciability of socioeconomic rights, the ‘rules of standing’ in the South African Constitution (s 38) and the phrase ‘access to…’ This enables us to incorporate autochthonous action, development and welfare in constructing the meaning of rights. The article concludes with a discussion of the normative requirements such a project would imply, and the questions that need to be addressed by social and legal scholarship in this conception of rights.

Driving responsible research and innovation: Science, society and the energy movement

South Africa faces the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, as well as looming problems regarding water, energy and food. Science, technology and engineering are able to address some of these challenges but are often inaccessible and unfamiliar to the general public. Research and innovation in these fields needs to be increased, and undertaken in partnership with multidisciplinary stakeholders. This article uses the example of an engineering education initiative, the African Solar Drive, to illustrate how this may be achieved. It discusses recent developments in the philosophy of science that have emphasised responsibility in research and development, the similarities of these with action research methodologies and the relevance of these for the concerns South Africa faces at the moment. It presents a general methodology for science-society engagement and locates the African Solar Drive as a prelude to such engagement between higher education and the general public.

Understanding the Impact of Engineering Through Appropriate Technology Development

This research describes a pilot project which aimed to introduce CDIO-type (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate), project-based learning through a community-based project in a third year Material Science module. The project formed part of an agriculture research initiative, and relied on interdisciplinary research collaboration between engineering, social sciences, management, entrepreneurship, and industrial arts. The initiative seeks to develop an agribusiness solution that will create an open-market, growth-oriented food economy. As part of the initiative, engineering students, participating in teams, worked alongside a community of urban farmers, most of whom are working poor, so as to develop appropriate, intermediate technology/ies that could support the farmers. This was informed by the need to have students demonstrate high level understanding of disciplinary content, but also to engage in human-centered design thinking and practice.Copyright

Caveats for Land Reform in South Africa: Lessons From Zimbabwe

The failure of land reform in Zimbabwe, and the current unrest there, have implications for countries with similar histories. The current situation in Zimbabwe highlights the need for a more just distribution of land, not only in Zimbabwe but also in South Africa. This forces us to re-evaluate the land reform programmes in the two countries, in order to assert caveats for land reform in South Africa.