Private game farms and the tenure security of workers and dwellers in Cradock - implications for tenure reform in South Africa

Abstract

This study situates itself within the broader field of agrarian and land reform scholarship. It investigates the consequences that farm conversions to game farming have had for the tenure security of farm workers and -dwellers in Cradock, Eastern Cape. At the heart of the thesis is the extreme land question of the semi-arid areas. At the empirical level, the thesis situates the Cradock farm conversion trend within the land conquest and labour histories of the semi-arid areas. It argues that land and labour histories of different regions will inform the manner in which farm workers and -dwellers are affected by, and respond to, farm conversions. The thesis contends that in context of an extreme land question in the semi-arid areas that renders farm workers and -dwellers structurally tenure insecure, game farms cannot be 'blamed' for associated displacements. Indeed, it suggests that the link between game farms and tenure insecurity should be seen as correlative rather than casual.