POVERTY AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS IN UMZUMBE

• Published in: South African geographical journal Vol. 81; no. 1; pp. 44 - 51
• Main Authors: MAKHANYA, E. M., NGIDI, M. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.1999; Routledge; South African geographical society
• Subjects: Africa; Bgi / Prodig; Farming; Income; Peasants; Poverty; Regional studies; Rural economics; South Africa; Southern Africa; South Africa; KwaZulu-Natal; Rural area; Land tenure; Peasantry; Poverty; Living standard; Population pressure
• ISSN: 0373-6245; 2151-2418
• DOI: 10.1080/03736245.1999.9713660

Peasant agricultural activities in Umzumbe contribute only a small fraction to household income. This is associated with ecological and socio-economic constraints with which the peasants could not cope due to their weak financial position and lack of appropriate technology. The failure of agriculture to provide a livelihood for the peasants in Umzumbe has resulted in persistent poverty. The aim of this study was to examine the nature and extent of material poverty, and to ascertain the relationship between material poverty and rural livelihoods among the peasants of Umzumbe. It was found that the different Wards of Umzumbe were characterised by high population densities, low literacy rates, high unemployment rates, low per capita incomes and high dependency ratios. The peasants survived from petty cash income from diverse sources such as migrant remittances, pensions, welfare payments and petty commodity production. Although there is general poverty in the district, it has been found that the peasants in Umzumbe were not homogeneous, and that their level of well-being differed mainly according to their access to land and off-farm income.