Bibliography: Land Degradation in South Africa project

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