Unpacking the ‘Emergent Farmer’ Concept in Agrarian Reform: Evidence from Livestock Farmers in South Africa

South Africa has historically perpetuated a dual system of freehold commercial and communal subsistence farming. To bridge these extremes, agrarian reform policies have encouraged the creation of a class of ‘emergent’, commercially oriented farmers. However, these policies consider ‘emergent’ farmers as a homogeneous group of land reform beneficiaries, with limited appreciation of the class differences between them, and do little to support the rise of a ‘middle’ group of producers able to bridge that gap. This article uses a case study of livestock farmers in Eastern Cape Province to critique the ‘emergent farmer’ concept. The authors identify three broad categories of farmers within the emergent livestock sector: a large group who, despite having accessed private farms, remain effectively subsistence farmers; a smaller group of small/medium‐scale commercial producers who have communal farming origins and most closely approximate to ‘emergent’ farmers; and an elite group of large‐scale, fully commercialized farmers, whose emergence has been facilitated primarily by access to capital and a desire to invest in alternative business ventures. On this basis the authors suggest that current agrarian reform policies need considerable refocusing if they are to effectively facilitate the emergence of a ‘middle’ group of smallholder commercial farmers from communal systems.     

Regional Differences in High and Technical School Demand in Melbourne, 1951–1985

Over half of all young people in Australian government schools do not complete secondary education and leave school without any formal qualification. This paper uses a regional framework to examine long-term trends in retention rates in different areas of Melbourne and concludes that in both older established and newly urbanized parts of the city the post-war transformation of government high schools into a mass system has failed to break down barriers based on social area. Marked regional differences were found in demand for high school, as well as a long downward trend during the 1970s (despite recession). Technical schools have displayed comparatively minor regional differences and retention rates grew during the 1970s. This suggests that the academic curriculum of high schools continues to be culturally selective. In addition to residential differentiation, important structural features, such as the relative over-supply of technical school places, were identified as contributing to regional trends.     

The International Air Linkages of Australian Cities, 1985–1996

International air linkages are one of the important features differentiating the development of metropolitan areas, as the location of many activities now requires frequent and diverse international contacts. This paper explores the consequences of this for Australia by tracing the changes in international airline linkages over the past decade. In that time, the geography of the nation's air linkages have shifted in favour of the Asian nations to our north, reflecting the shifts in trade and immigration. Some cities have felt more of that change, with Cairns and Brisbane especially prominent due to their roles as gateways for the tourist industry. However, these shifts have yet to weaken the diversity of contacts in Melbourne and Sydney, indicating that the underlying geography of business still has a strong influence on the international contacts made from each city.