the even that either or both fail, the next generation will justifiably be in a
position to condemn both. The majority of members of the audience emanate from
backgrounds where consciousness about the environment should be reasonably well
developed. It should be possible for those of us with sufficient knowledge to
educate all those who take advantage of our natural resources so that they, too,
can work towards rehabilitation and maintenance of the environment.
Ref ID : 591
850. Erskine, J. Ecology and land usage in southern Africa: a survey of present
day ties, problems and opportunities. Communications of Africa Institute
no.48.Anonymous Anonymous Pretoria:Africa Institute of South Africa. (48):1-57,
1987. 0-7983-0099.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : LAND USE; PRODUCTION POTENTIAL
Ref ID : 1703
851. Erskine, J.M. Economic interaction in Southern Africa.Anonymous
Durban:Institute of Natural Resources. :1-74, 1919.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : SOUTHERN AFRICA; POVERTY; RESTORATION; SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECTS;
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
Notes : The solution to Southern Africa's problems of unemployment, poverty and
starvation; of rising cost of living and combating inflation; even of
restlessness, riot and loss of dignity and moral strength, lies at the point of
interaction between land and people. There are obvious barriers within
individual countries that can be eliminated in making land available to people,
and releasing people from restrictions and restraints, thereby allowing men to
produce to their full potential. This would certainly bring about a significant
change in the standard of living and a restoration of dignity and trust. But
this is only part of the solution. The main solution to the problems lies in
co-operation between governments and peoples in Southern Africa, the pooling of
resources to tackle problems that are common to all countries in the region.
Ref ID : 693
852. Erskine, J.M. Agriculture in Natal/KwaZulu: development potential.
Monograph 1. Rural Studies Series.Anonymous Anonymous Pietermaritzburg:Institute
of Natural Resources, University of Natal. :i-34, 1982. 0-86980-320-4.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; PRODUCTION POTENTIAL; KWAZULU NATAL;
KWAZULU; LAND USE; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; POPULATION; CARRYING CAPACITY; LAND
TENURE; AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION; RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Notes : An account is given of the current status of agriculture in Natal and
KwaZulu, with reference to demography, land-use, crop and stock production.
Some of the more important constraints on agricultural production are described
and the potential for the two areas is evaluated, given that some or all of the
problems can be overcome. Comparing Natal and KwaZulu, the most striking
feature governing agricultural activity in the two areas is population pressure
on the land. The 3,3 million hectares of land in KwaZulu are occupied by
approximately 2,5 million people grouped into 40 000 households. No more than
20% of these families are commercial farmers in any sense, with the remaining
80% practising subsistence farming or not engaged in agriculture at all. The
average land holding per family in KwaZulu is approximately 8,25 ha with the
majority occupying much smaller plots (1 - 2 ha, or less). In contrast, White
owned farmland in Natal, 5 million ha in extent, is split into roughly 8 600
farming units. The mean size of the small farms, occupying only 10% of the
total area, is 118 ha whilst the mean for the area as a whole is 576 ha. In
terms of production from the land, yields per hectare in KwaZulu for all crops
except sugarcane have remained at extremely low levels. For example, the
increase in the average yield of the staple crop, maize, over the past 15 years
has been from 256 kg/ha to 304 kg/ha. In Natal, maize production over most of
the area has doubled since 1972 and in some areas has increased four-fold; an
average yield is now 3 500 kg/ha. Two-thirds of the land in both areas is used
for grazing purposes. Stocking levels in Natal are not, in general, in excess
of the carrying capacity but in KwaZulu the veld is overstocked to an alarming
degree with the inevitable serious impact on the environment. There are many
constraints holding back agricultural development in KwaZulu, including the
communal land tenure system and poor access to factors needed in production such
as water, credit, fertilizer, good seed, market outlets, etc., but one of the
most important needs is farmer enlightenment through improved agricultural
extension. By the same token, a low level of general enlightenment and
managerial expertise on the part of the farming community has been identified as
the factor most seriously limiting the progressive attainment of optimum land-
use in Natal. A cost/benefit analysis suggests that agriculture in
Natal/KwaZulu would benefit from interaction and co-opeartion between the two
farming communities, particularly if priority attention were to be given to the
introduction of a positive agricultural development programme which placed
emphasis on a basic needs/integrated rural development approach linked to needed
reform in both the rural and urban sectors.
Ref ID : 750
853. Erskine, J.M. Impact of the drought in Natal/KwaZulu. South African Journal
of Science 79:439-440, 1983.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : DROUGHT; KWAZULU; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
Notes : Water is indispensible for life but, quite apart from its crucial
importance in this respect, it has numerous other uses in homes, municipalities,
agriculture, industry, power generation, effluent disposal, transport, food
supply and recreation. Much has been published in recent months in newspapers,
magazines, journals and elsewhere concerning the present water shortage in SA.
There is little doubt that this most important of our natural resources has been
abused over the years but there does appear to be some confusion and
misunderstanding about the nature of a drought and its impact on both the
environment and the people.
Ref ID : 751
854. Erskine, J.M. Ecology and land usage. In: Economic Interactions in Southern
Africa,Anonymous Pretoria:Africa Institute, 1984,p. 1-74.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : ECONOMIC ASPECTS; LAND USE; POVERTY; RESTORATION; SOUTHERN AFRICA
Notes : The solution to southern Africa's problems of unemployment, poverty and
starvation; of rising cost of living and combating inflation; even of
restlessness, riot and loss of dignity and moral strenth; lies at the point of
interaction between land and people. There are obvious barriers within
individual countries that can be eliminated in making land available to people
and releasing people from restrictions and restraints, thereby allowing men to
produce to their full potential. This would certainly bring about a signficant
change in the standard of living and a restoration of dignity and trust. But
this is only part of the solution. The main solution to the problem lies in co-
operation between governments and peoples in southern Africa and the pooling of
resources to tackle problems that are common to all countries in the region.
Ref ID : 752
855. Erskine, J.M. Traditional attitudes to agriculture and conservation in
South Africa. In: Ecoculture and a Strategy for Survival,Anonymous Gland:IUCN,
1984,
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; CONSERVATION; POPULATION
Notes : This account of traditional attitudes to agriculture and conservation in
SA attempts to chronicle the history of change in the rural areas of SA. It
deals with the transformation of the bulk of the rural African population from
their precolonial existence as pastoralists - cultivators, through the emergence
of an African peasantry -a class of petty agricultural producers who sought to
sell a portion of what they raised in order to meet the demands of a cash
economy and a colonial state and who enjoyed a period of relative prosperity -
in the 19th century, to their present existence as sub-subsistence inhabitants
on eroded and overcrowded lands, dependent for survival upon wages earned in
white industrial areas and on white farms. It will be observed in particular
that the early traditional conservation systems have broken down because of the
conflict between alien, superimposed capitalist culture and the diverse African
rural traditions which had supported civilisation over a long period of time
without destroying the environment. Finally reference is made to the integrated
rural development approach now being initiated in the African rural areas of SA
in an attempt (i) to provide the means for the local people to maintain
ecologically sound practices, and (ii) to shape and implement conservation
strategies, programmes and plans, consistent with their needs and values, that
will establish a viable relationship between population, land management and
conservation.
Ref ID : 753
856. Erskine, J.M. Ecology and development. Development Southern Africa 2(1):62-
76, 1985.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; RURAL DEVELOPMENT; SOUTHERN AFRICA;
CONSERVATION; FOREST; LAND USE; POPULATION; CARRYING CAPACITY
Notes : There is an increasing realization, world-wide and in Southern Africa,
that conservation and development are compatible. Because human communities in
the less developed rural areas are dependent on a renewable group of resources,
including soil, water and forests, it is imperative that land use systems that
protect these resources are introduced. The predominance of subsistence
agriculture in these areas is the most difficult syndrome of under-development.
An overall rural development strategy is required that integrates human
development with resources management. Where the population carrying capacity
of the land has already been exeeded, a process of rapid
villgazation/urganization is required. Village/urban growth and agricultural
development require a careully co-ordinated programme of land capability
analysis and planning, as well as active investment in infrastructure and the
introduction of appropriate technologies and institutions.
Ref ID : 696
857. Erskine, J.M. Designing research, training and extension programmes to meet
farmers needs in Natal/KwaZulu. Monograph 7. Rural Development Series.Anonymous
Anonymous Pietermaritzburg:Institute of Natural Resources, University of Natal.
:1-30, 1985. 0-86980-432-4.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION; POPULATION
Notes : A description is given of the state of agriculture and the need for a
knowledge-generation and delivery system for farmers, commerical and
subsistence, in SA in general and Natal/KwaZulu in particular. After
identifying priority knowledge needs in relation to the critical factors,
population, land and employment, an attempt is made to evaluate whether farmers
know and get what they need, and whether the nation meets its agricultural
objectives in respect of the farming sector overall. In concluding that there
are important deficiencies in the generation and delivery of appropriate
knowledge to the small farmer in SA, some proposals as to how the situation may
be improved, with reference to basic education, training, research and
extension, are put forward. Finally, it is suggested that co-ordination of the
various components of the agricultural knowledge system should be tackled as a
matter of urgency so that a more effective, integrated system results that can
meet the needs of the small farmer and increase his productivity.
Ref ID : 754
858. Erskine, J.M. Rural development. Putting theory into practice. Development
Southern Africa 2(2):368-382, 1985.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : RURAL DEVELOPMENT; LAND USE; MODELS
Notes : In this article the whole question of rural development, what it means
and who it benefits, is critically examined and special emphasis is placed on
the type of research that is required in respect of designing appropriate
development systems. Attention is drawn to the value of action research and to
the importance of involving the local people in the preparation of any land use
plans. Reference is made to a model for the modernization of tranditional
agriculture that has been tested and proven to be successful in Israel.
Finally, it is concluded that action reserach conducted amongst rural
communities is the only realistic means of generating practically relevant
theory.
Ref ID : 757
859. Erskine, J.M. Agricultural development through technological change: a case
study from South Africa. XIX International Conference of Agricultural
Economists, Malaga, Spain, Aug-Sept, 1985.Anonymous Anonymous
Pietermaritzburg:Institute of Natural Resources, University of Natal. :1-5,
1986. A case study conducted in SA in a less developed rural area, typical of
many such areas in the region in terms of the resource base and population
pressure, revealed that the existing system of land use was not able to provide
for the subsistence needs of the people, let alone generate a marketable
surplus, and that it was leading to irreversible environmental breakdown. More
important, however, was the subsequent revelation that even with the input of
significant financial capital (well above an acceptable level of investment for
creating jobs in agriculture) and modern technology, it was still not possible
to provide a satisfactory standard of living (food plus income) for all the
people on the land. Development proposals are described that provide for maximum
involvement of the people in the area in various agricultural enterprises, both
commercially and community development orientated, and that place emphasis on
the sustained, optimal utilisation of the area's natural resources. At the same
time, it is suggested that there is an urgent need to provide opportunities and
incentives for many of the people living in the area to move elsewhere.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; POPULATION; LAND USE
Ref ID : 713
860. Erskine, J.M. Peasant food crops on steep land. Paper presented at the
Symposium of the Natal Branch of the South African Society for Agricultural
Extension at the Cedara College of Agriculture, Cedara, 16 September 1986.
Occasional Paper 11.Anonymous Anonymous Pietermaritzburg:Institute of Natural
Resources, University of Natal. :1-12, 1986.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : CULTIVATION; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; SOIL EROSION; SOIL
CONSERVATION; KWAZULU; LAND USE
Notes : As an agricultural scientist concerned with the productive but
sustainable use of natural resources, the author should, in normal
circumstances, state emphatically that "steep land (with slopes of greater than
15%) should not be used for growing peasant food crops". However, this would be
negative and ignore the reality of the situation that there are some 2,5 million
people living in rural KwaZulu, many of whom rely on the cultivation of steep
land (roughly two thirds of KwaZulu consists of land with slopes greater than
15%) to provide their subsistence food needs. This being the case, the author's
task is one of attempting to identify the problems of African farming on steep
land and to evaluate appropriate land use management systems that will permit
farmers to produce food from steep land without irreversibly damaging the
environment. Hence this paper.
Ref ID : 714
861. Erskine, J.M. State and agriculture in the African rural areas: overcoming
development inertia. Paper presented at the Biennial Conference, Development
Society of Southern Africa, Cape Town, September 1986. Occasional Paper
12.Anonymous Anonymous Pietermaritzburg:Institute of Natural Resources,
University of Natal. :1-11, 1986.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : COMMUNAL AREA; RURAL DEVELOPMENT; GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES; POLICY;
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Notes : It is contended in this paper that, whilst the introduction of a
positive development policy with realistic goals and objectives is essential,
needed change can only take place if debilitating institutional weakness in
government and quasi-government agencies and amonst local communities can be
overcome. This weakness relates in large measure to petty bureaucracy and
negative attitudes on the part of some officials in those organisations carrying
the main responsiblity for development of the agricultural sector in the
national states. It is also due, in part, to pontification by development
theorists. In this paper, agricultural development objectives are defined and
some suggestions are made concerning ways and means of overcoming the
development inertia so characteristic of African agriculture at present.
Ref ID : 756
862. Erskine, J.M. Growing population, misuse of natural resources and
agricultural production in the African rural areas of South Africa,
Scottsville:Institute of Natural Resources, 1986.pp. 1-6.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : POPULATION; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; LAND DEGRADATION
Abstract : A description is given of the most important of the many interacting
fators that account for the present under-utilization and deterioration of
natural resources in the less developed rural areas of SA. The threat to the
natural resource base and the uncertain future facing the African farming
community can only be resolved through lifting the various institutional and
socio-economic constraints, and by a radical change of existing agricultural
production systems involving the re-allocation of human financial and natural
resources. It is suggested that given the right approach, economic growth and
ecological stability can both be realizedc at the same time. It is concluded
that what is required in SA is the design of more realistic development
strategies at the macro level, as well as for the generation of more appropriate
production technologies at the micro level so that provision is made for the
coexistence of a conservation-conscious, commercial small farm sector with an
expanding industrial sector.
Ref ID : 715
863. Erskine, J.M. The human carrying capacity of South Africa's less developed
areas. A case study from KwaZulu. Paper presented at the Biennial Conference of
the Development Society of Southern Africa, University of Durban-Westville.
Occasional Paper 17.Anonymous Anonymous Pietermaritzburg:Institute of Natural
Resources, University of Natal. , 1988. A case study conducted in a less
developed rural area of Natal/KwaZulu revealed that the existing system of land
use was not able to provide for the subsistence needs of the people, let alone
generate a marketable surplus, and that it was leading to irreversible
environmental breakdown. More important, however, was the subsequent revelation
that whilst the input of significant capital (well above an acceptable level of
investment for creating jobs in agriculture) and modern technology could slow
down and possibly halt the destruction of the natural resource base, it was
still not possible to provide a satisfactory standard of living (food plus
income) for all the people on the land. It was concluded that in this and other
similar rural areas (most of the less developed areas of southern Africa) where
there is a land/people relationship of the same order (approximately 1,6 ha per
person), the human carrying capacity of the land has already been exceeded to a
significant degree (only about 22 % of the people in these areas who want to be
employed could under optimal economic conditions earn a worthwhile living).
Quite clearly, agricultural development alone cannot solve the land pressure
problem. It is suggested that a realistic solution of the problem of
overcrowding is the establishment of rural service centres, that is, large
villages or small towns situated in the rural areas, each acting as a focal
point for the process of villagisation and in which a composite range of
essential services and inputs are provided for both farming and non-farming
entrepreneurs.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : COMMUNAL AREA; POPULATION; KWAZULU; CARRYING CAPACITY; LAND USE;
SOUTHERN AFRICA; AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Ref ID : 717
864. Erskine, J.M. Putting South Africa's natural resources to productive use.
Occasional Paper 26.Anonymous Anonymous Scottsville:Institute of Natural
Resources. , 1989.
Reprint : Not in File,
Keywords : AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; PRODUCTION POTENTIAL
Ref ID : 718
865. Erskine, J.M. Towards profitable and sustainable agriculture in southern
Africa. Occasional Paper 31.Anonymous Anonymous Pietermaritzburg:Institute of
Natural Resources, University of Natal. :27-29, 1989.
Reprint : In File,
Keywords : SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; SOUTHERN AFRICA;
FOREST; SOIL EROSION; EROSION; SOIL CONSERVATION; CONSERVATION; FARMING SYSTEMS
Notes : Many farmers in southern Africa, particularly the smaller producers in
both the developed and less developed areas of the region, share a common
problem, that of making agriculture both economically viable and sustainable in
the long term. The goal of making agriculture pay now and in the future will
only be achieved through innovative thinking and actions, adaptation, effective
management of technological change and formulation of new strategies. Two other
major problems are declining forest and tree cover, and environmental
degradation in the form of soil erosion. The answers to the problems outlined
in this article will certainly be multifaceted and will include development of
appropriate technology, improved soil conservation practices, and more
efficient, diversified farming systems.
Ref ID : 980
866. Erskine, J.M. Small scale water resources development in southern Africa:
effective planning, delivery and management through an integrated rural
development approach. Paper presented at the International Symposium on
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