A critical analysis of agricultural innovation platforms among small-scale farmers in Hwedza communal area, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mahiya, Innocent Tonderai
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/596 , vital:19973
- Description: Agricultural research has existed for many decades at national and global levels and research-based agricultural interventions, often driven by the state, have taken place across Africa over an extended period. But, overall, these interventions have not generated the high potential and kinds of outcomes expected of them in terms of enhancing agricultural productivity amongst small-scale farmers and improving the quality of their agrarian lives. In the context of neoliberal restructuring globally, new forms of agricultural interventions have arisen which highlight the significance of more participatory methodologies in which non-governmental organisations become central. One such methodology rests on the notion of an agricultural innovation platform which involves bringing on board a diverse range of actors (or stakeholders) which function together to generate agricultural knowledge and practices suitable to the needs of a particular small-scale farming community, with the small-scale farmers expected to be key actors in the platform. Such platforms are now being implemented in specific rural sites in Zimbabwe, including in communal areas in the district of Hwedza where farming activities have for many years now being in large survivalist in character. The objective of this thesis is to critically analyse the agricultural innovation platforms in Hwedza, but not in the sense of assessing the impact of the platforms on agricultural productivity. Rather, the thesis examines the multi-faceted social interactions and relationships embodied in the innovation platform process. In pursuing this, I rely heavily – but in a critical manner – on interface analysis as set out by Norman Long. The fieldwork for the Hwedza involved an interpretative-qualitative methodology based on methods such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires and observations. The major finding of the thesis is that the agricultural innovation platforms, at least as implemented in Hwedza, do challenge top-down approaches to agricultural interventions by unlocking the possibility of multiple pathways of inclusion and particularly for small-scale farmers but that, simultaneously, they also involve processes marked by divergences, exclusions, tensions and conflicts which may undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of the platforms.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mahiya, Innocent Tonderai
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/596 , vital:19973
- Description: Agricultural research has existed for many decades at national and global levels and research-based agricultural interventions, often driven by the state, have taken place across Africa over an extended period. But, overall, these interventions have not generated the high potential and kinds of outcomes expected of them in terms of enhancing agricultural productivity amongst small-scale farmers and improving the quality of their agrarian lives. In the context of neoliberal restructuring globally, new forms of agricultural interventions have arisen which highlight the significance of more participatory methodologies in which non-governmental organisations become central. One such methodology rests on the notion of an agricultural innovation platform which involves bringing on board a diverse range of actors (or stakeholders) which function together to generate agricultural knowledge and practices suitable to the needs of a particular small-scale farming community, with the small-scale farmers expected to be key actors in the platform. Such platforms are now being implemented in specific rural sites in Zimbabwe, including in communal areas in the district of Hwedza where farming activities have for many years now being in large survivalist in character. The objective of this thesis is to critically analyse the agricultural innovation platforms in Hwedza, but not in the sense of assessing the impact of the platforms on agricultural productivity. Rather, the thesis examines the multi-faceted social interactions and relationships embodied in the innovation platform process. In pursuing this, I rely heavily – but in a critical manner – on interface analysis as set out by Norman Long. The fieldwork for the Hwedza involved an interpretative-qualitative methodology based on methods such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires and observations. The major finding of the thesis is that the agricultural innovation platforms, at least as implemented in Hwedza, do challenge top-down approaches to agricultural interventions by unlocking the possibility of multiple pathways of inclusion and particularly for small-scale farmers but that, simultaneously, they also involve processes marked by divergences, exclusions, tensions and conflicts which may undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of the platforms.
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A critical analysis of community participation at the primary level of the health system in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Gondo, Rachel
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1454 , vital:20059
- Description: The adoption of the primary health care approach by Zimbabwe in 1980 signalled the government’s intention to consolidate the gains of the liberation struggle by providing equitable health for all citizens regardless of race and class. This approach frames community participation as central to the design and implementation of responsive health systems. Having earned international recognition for its pro-poor policies in the social sectors after independence in 1980, the Zimbabwean government over the last three decades has overseen a progressive decline in the provision of health services and near collapse of the health sector. Participation of communities, whether in the form of organised groups or as unorganised members of the public, is argued to be an important pillar in the effective performance of a health system. There has been extensive research conducted on Zimbabwe’s implementation of primary health care in light of health status, accessibility and health services uptake. A few studies have been undertaken to demonstrate that the participation of communities in the health system is an important factor in improving the effectiveness of the health system in Zimbabwe. This thesis analyses the existing mechanisms for community participation in the health system in Zimbabwe and brings out multiple perspectives on the underlying contradictions, tensions and processes at play between policy and practice. This thesis makes a contribution to the growing number of studies on participation in health by offering an empirically rich critical analysis of community participation in the health system in one ward located in Goromonzi District in Zimbabwe. In examining the structural and procedural forms of the health system, insights concerning the nature and form of community participation in primary health care are brought to the fore. The thesis concludes that the ways in which community participation takes place in the health system in Zimbabwe is influenced by a number of socio-economic, political and societal factors and this in turn has a bearing on how health policy expresses itself in practice.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Gondo, Rachel
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1454 , vital:20059
- Description: The adoption of the primary health care approach by Zimbabwe in 1980 signalled the government’s intention to consolidate the gains of the liberation struggle by providing equitable health for all citizens regardless of race and class. This approach frames community participation as central to the design and implementation of responsive health systems. Having earned international recognition for its pro-poor policies in the social sectors after independence in 1980, the Zimbabwean government over the last three decades has overseen a progressive decline in the provision of health services and near collapse of the health sector. Participation of communities, whether in the form of organised groups or as unorganised members of the public, is argued to be an important pillar in the effective performance of a health system. There has been extensive research conducted on Zimbabwe’s implementation of primary health care in light of health status, accessibility and health services uptake. A few studies have been undertaken to demonstrate that the participation of communities in the health system is an important factor in improving the effectiveness of the health system in Zimbabwe. This thesis analyses the existing mechanisms for community participation in the health system in Zimbabwe and brings out multiple perspectives on the underlying contradictions, tensions and processes at play between policy and practice. This thesis makes a contribution to the growing number of studies on participation in health by offering an empirically rich critical analysis of community participation in the health system in one ward located in Goromonzi District in Zimbabwe. In examining the structural and procedural forms of the health system, insights concerning the nature and form of community participation in primary health care are brought to the fore. The thesis concludes that the ways in which community participation takes place in the health system in Zimbabwe is influenced by a number of socio-economic, political and societal factors and this in turn has a bearing on how health policy expresses itself in practice.
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An investigation into the survival strategies of the rural elderly in Zimbabwe: a case study of Hobodo ward in Mangwe District in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Marazi, Tafara
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Rural elderly -- Zimbabwe , Elderly poor -- Zimbabwe , Ophans -- Services for -- Zimbabwe , AIDS (Disease) -- Zimbabwe , Child welfare -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3407 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020605
- Description: The thesis focuses on the survival mechanisms of the rural poor elderly in Zimbabwe. The situation of the rural elderly is looked at in the context of the ravaging HIV/AIDS pandemic. The focus is specifically directed on the increasing numbers of orphans who are generated following the rampant deaths of their parents (sexually active individuals). With Africa failing to effectively withstand the forcefulness of the pandemic, the community structures in Zimbabwe are being heavily shaken to the detriment of all social groups. It is within this continuum that the research is laid out to investigate the situation on the ground. In this case, a fieldwork exercise was carried out in the Hobodo ward of Mangwe district in Zimbabwe. An intensive and in-depth examination of the critical situation was pursued under the case study model. To make the study more focused, the elderly were placed under investigation with regards to their new role of providing familial care for the orphans. The manner in which they face such a towering task under strained resources and limited knowhow was explored. The well-being of the orphans was also investigated in close relation to the welfare efforts of the elderly guardians. The investigations were made in respect of the contribution of the local resources towards the innovativeness of the elderly guardians. The adaptivity of the elderly and the versatility of the orphans were examined within the confines of the social and the economic capitals of the Hobodo ward. It is within the natural, social and economic capital dimensions of the Hobodo rural locality that the applicability of the sustainable livelihoods framework in explaining the dire social situation of the elderly and the orphans was brought under spotlight. The study was pursued through the qualitative research paradigm. This was done to capture the social perceptions, beliefs and the innovative capabilities of the elderly in their natural environment; and under the fieldwork setting. Several data collection techniques were employed to unveil the subject under study. These included interviews, questionnaires, participant observations, focus group discussions. Sampling was used to produce the research framework. Participants in the research were largely identified through random sampling. In special circumstances, purposive sampling was used. Tape recording and note taking were largely used to capture the responses of the research participants.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Marazi, Tafara
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Rural elderly -- Zimbabwe , Elderly poor -- Zimbabwe , Ophans -- Services for -- Zimbabwe , AIDS (Disease) -- Zimbabwe , Child welfare -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3407 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020605
- Description: The thesis focuses on the survival mechanisms of the rural poor elderly in Zimbabwe. The situation of the rural elderly is looked at in the context of the ravaging HIV/AIDS pandemic. The focus is specifically directed on the increasing numbers of orphans who are generated following the rampant deaths of their parents (sexually active individuals). With Africa failing to effectively withstand the forcefulness of the pandemic, the community structures in Zimbabwe are being heavily shaken to the detriment of all social groups. It is within this continuum that the research is laid out to investigate the situation on the ground. In this case, a fieldwork exercise was carried out in the Hobodo ward of Mangwe district in Zimbabwe. An intensive and in-depth examination of the critical situation was pursued under the case study model. To make the study more focused, the elderly were placed under investigation with regards to their new role of providing familial care for the orphans. The manner in which they face such a towering task under strained resources and limited knowhow was explored. The well-being of the orphans was also investigated in close relation to the welfare efforts of the elderly guardians. The investigations were made in respect of the contribution of the local resources towards the innovativeness of the elderly guardians. The adaptivity of the elderly and the versatility of the orphans were examined within the confines of the social and the economic capitals of the Hobodo ward. It is within the natural, social and economic capital dimensions of the Hobodo rural locality that the applicability of the sustainable livelihoods framework in explaining the dire social situation of the elderly and the orphans was brought under spotlight. The study was pursued through the qualitative research paradigm. This was done to capture the social perceptions, beliefs and the innovative capabilities of the elderly in their natural environment; and under the fieldwork setting. Several data collection techniques were employed to unveil the subject under study. These included interviews, questionnaires, participant observations, focus group discussions. Sampling was used to produce the research framework. Participants in the research were largely identified through random sampling. In special circumstances, purposive sampling was used. Tape recording and note taking were largely used to capture the responses of the research participants.
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Being a black mine worker in South Africa: the case of Anglo Platinum Mine
- Authors: Maseko, Robert
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/651 , vital:19978
- Description: This thesis presents a decolonial perspective on the experience of being a black mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa with specific reference to the Platinum Belt. It seeks to understand what it means to be a black mineworker by unmasking and analysing the existence and prevalence of coloniality in contemporary South Africa despite the end of formal colonialism (i.e. apartheid). As a world-wide system, coloniality has different dimensions which all speak to and highlight continuities between the period of colonialism and the post-colonial period. These dimensions are coloniality of power, coloniality of being and coloniality of knowledge. The power structure of coloniality produces and reproduces the identity of the black mineworker in present-day South Africa as a sub-ontological being devoid of an authentic humanity such that the mineworker is depicted as incapable of rational thought and knowledge. The existential condition of the black mineworker is symptomatic of the generic experience of being a racialised subject of colour in the current global power structure predicated on the dominance and hegemony of Western-centred modernity. The black mineworker exists on the darker side of Western-centred modernity, living a life of wretchedness and continuing to suffer the colonial wound in the absence of formal colonialism and apartheid. The mineworker is disposable and dispensable and lives and works in the shadow of death. In pursuing this course of reasoning, I deploy the epistemic method of ‘shifting the geography of reason’ in order to read the experience of mineworkers in South Africa from the locus of enunciation of the oppressed subject within the scheme of a colonial power differential based on a hierarchy of humanity. This method allows me to speak with and from the perspective of the black mineworkers in the Platinum Belt as opposed to speaking for and about them. I reach the conclusion that being a platinum mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa is a racial and market determined identity of colonialised subjectivity that relegates the dominated subject (the black mineworker) to the realm of the subhuman. In setting the context for this claim, I trace the origins and development of the black mineworker in South Africa with reference to historical processes such as dispossession and proletarianisation. Empirically, the thesis is rooted in a contemporary case study of mainly Anglo Platinum Mine, which involved comprehensive fieldwork focusing on the present lived realities of platinum mineworkers. The dignity and humanity of these black mineworkers has still not returned despite twenty years of democratic rule in South Africa, such that race remains a crucial organising principle in postapartheid South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Maseko, Robert
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/651 , vital:19978
- Description: This thesis presents a decolonial perspective on the experience of being a black mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa with specific reference to the Platinum Belt. It seeks to understand what it means to be a black mineworker by unmasking and analysing the existence and prevalence of coloniality in contemporary South Africa despite the end of formal colonialism (i.e. apartheid). As a world-wide system, coloniality has different dimensions which all speak to and highlight continuities between the period of colonialism and the post-colonial period. These dimensions are coloniality of power, coloniality of being and coloniality of knowledge. The power structure of coloniality produces and reproduces the identity of the black mineworker in present-day South Africa as a sub-ontological being devoid of an authentic humanity such that the mineworker is depicted as incapable of rational thought and knowledge. The existential condition of the black mineworker is symptomatic of the generic experience of being a racialised subject of colour in the current global power structure predicated on the dominance and hegemony of Western-centred modernity. The black mineworker exists on the darker side of Western-centred modernity, living a life of wretchedness and continuing to suffer the colonial wound in the absence of formal colonialism and apartheid. The mineworker is disposable and dispensable and lives and works in the shadow of death. In pursuing this course of reasoning, I deploy the epistemic method of ‘shifting the geography of reason’ in order to read the experience of mineworkers in South Africa from the locus of enunciation of the oppressed subject within the scheme of a colonial power differential based on a hierarchy of humanity. This method allows me to speak with and from the perspective of the black mineworkers in the Platinum Belt as opposed to speaking for and about them. I reach the conclusion that being a platinum mineworker in post-apartheid South Africa is a racial and market determined identity of colonialised subjectivity that relegates the dominated subject (the black mineworker) to the realm of the subhuman. In setting the context for this claim, I trace the origins and development of the black mineworker in South Africa with reference to historical processes such as dispossession and proletarianisation. Empirically, the thesis is rooted in a contemporary case study of mainly Anglo Platinum Mine, which involved comprehensive fieldwork focusing on the present lived realities of platinum mineworkers. The dignity and humanity of these black mineworkers has still not returned despite twenty years of democratic rule in South Africa, such that race remains a crucial organising principle in postapartheid South Africa.
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Rural livelihood strategies of female headed households in former Bantustans of post-apartheid South Africa: The case of Cala, Eastern Cape Province.
- Authors: Chirau, Takunda John
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3410 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021301
- Description: Communal areas in contemporary South Africa (that is, the former Bantustans of apartheid South Africa) continue to bear and endure, albeit in new forms, socio-economic and political vulnerabilities which are negatively affecting household livelihoods. Current studies on rural livelihoods have failed to keep pace in exploring and analysing the lived experiences and ever-changing challenges faced by these rural households. This thesis provides an understanding and explanation of the livelihood activities of specifically de facto and de jure female-headed households in the former Transkei Bantustan, with a specific focus on villages in Cala. This is framed analytically by feminist theories with their emphasis on systems of patriarchy and by a rural livelihoods framework. It uses a multiplicity of research methods, including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, life histories and survey questionnaires. The major findings of the thesis show that the female-headed households in Cala depend upon agricultural-based activities and non-agriculturally-based activities and income (including social grants) but that they exist under conditions of extreme vulnerability which are subject to fluctuation. In the end, the livelihoods of female-headed households are precarious and unstable as they live under circumstances of poverty. However, the female heads are not mere passive victims of the rural crisis in post-apartheid South Africa, as they demonstrate qualities of ingenuity and resourcefulness including through a range of coping mechanisms. At the same time, rural communities continue to be marked by patriarchal norms and practices, including systems of chieftainship, which disempower women (including female heads), though this affects de jure heads and de facto heads differently. The thesis contributes to an understanding of rural livelihoods in communal areas (or former Bantustans) of present-day South Africa by way of ‘thick descriptions’ of the everyday lives of female heads in Cala. Further, in examining rural livelihoods, it highlights the importance of bringing to bear on the livelihoods framework a feminist perspective in pinpointing the additional livelihood burdens carried by rural women.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Chirau, Takunda John
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3410 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021301
- Description: Communal areas in contemporary South Africa (that is, the former Bantustans of apartheid South Africa) continue to bear and endure, albeit in new forms, socio-economic and political vulnerabilities which are negatively affecting household livelihoods. Current studies on rural livelihoods have failed to keep pace in exploring and analysing the lived experiences and ever-changing challenges faced by these rural households. This thesis provides an understanding and explanation of the livelihood activities of specifically de facto and de jure female-headed households in the former Transkei Bantustan, with a specific focus on villages in Cala. This is framed analytically by feminist theories with their emphasis on systems of patriarchy and by a rural livelihoods framework. It uses a multiplicity of research methods, including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, life histories and survey questionnaires. The major findings of the thesis show that the female-headed households in Cala depend upon agricultural-based activities and non-agriculturally-based activities and income (including social grants) but that they exist under conditions of extreme vulnerability which are subject to fluctuation. In the end, the livelihoods of female-headed households are precarious and unstable as they live under circumstances of poverty. However, the female heads are not mere passive victims of the rural crisis in post-apartheid South Africa, as they demonstrate qualities of ingenuity and resourcefulness including through a range of coping mechanisms. At the same time, rural communities continue to be marked by patriarchal norms and practices, including systems of chieftainship, which disempower women (including female heads), though this affects de jure heads and de facto heads differently. The thesis contributes to an understanding of rural livelihoods in communal areas (or former Bantustans) of present-day South Africa by way of ‘thick descriptions’ of the everyday lives of female heads in Cala. Further, in examining rural livelihoods, it highlights the importance of bringing to bear on the livelihoods framework a feminist perspective in pinpointing the additional livelihood burdens carried by rural women.
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Sex work as a livelihood strategy in the border town of Beitbridge, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Takawira, Wadzanai Michelle
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3801 , vital:20544
- Description: Zimbabwe is experiencing an ongoing downward spiral in its national economy, dating back to the early 1990s. The demise of the country’s formal economy has led to unprecedented growth in informal economic activities including illegal forms such as sex work. The thesis seeks to understand and explain sex work as a livelihood strategy in Zimbabwe with particular reference to the border town of Beitbridge. In understanding sex work as a livelihood strategy in Beitbridge, the thesis adopts a livelihoods framework in providing key insights into the daily lives of sex workers including the context of vulnerability in which they live and work as well as the challenges they face constantly. In addition, because of the significance of patriarchy in shaping the lives of women and specifically sex workers in Zimbabwe, the feminist theory is used as a secondary theoretical framework. The fieldwork for the study is based on informal interviews and focus group discussions with sex workers as well as observation. Diverse and interrelated themes are covered in examining the livelihoods of sex workers in Beitbridge, and these include sex worker income and expenditure, the motivations underpinning entry into sex work, the home origins of sex workers and their ongoing linkages with their areas of origin, occupational hazards such as client violence and health risks, stigma and discrimination of sex workers, and sex worker solidarity. Though the lives of the sex workers in Beitbridge are marked by precariousness and uncertainty, it is concluded that sex workers are not mere victims of their historical and social circumstances as they are actively engaged in constructing their livelihoods.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Takawira, Wadzanai Michelle
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3801 , vital:20544
- Description: Zimbabwe is experiencing an ongoing downward spiral in its national economy, dating back to the early 1990s. The demise of the country’s formal economy has led to unprecedented growth in informal economic activities including illegal forms such as sex work. The thesis seeks to understand and explain sex work as a livelihood strategy in Zimbabwe with particular reference to the border town of Beitbridge. In understanding sex work as a livelihood strategy in Beitbridge, the thesis adopts a livelihoods framework in providing key insights into the daily lives of sex workers including the context of vulnerability in which they live and work as well as the challenges they face constantly. In addition, because of the significance of patriarchy in shaping the lives of women and specifically sex workers in Zimbabwe, the feminist theory is used as a secondary theoretical framework. The fieldwork for the study is based on informal interviews and focus group discussions with sex workers as well as observation. Diverse and interrelated themes are covered in examining the livelihoods of sex workers in Beitbridge, and these include sex worker income and expenditure, the motivations underpinning entry into sex work, the home origins of sex workers and their ongoing linkages with their areas of origin, occupational hazards such as client violence and health risks, stigma and discrimination of sex workers, and sex worker solidarity. Though the lives of the sex workers in Beitbridge are marked by precariousness and uncertainty, it is concluded that sex workers are not mere victims of their historical and social circumstances as they are actively engaged in constructing their livelihoods.
- Full Text:
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