Abstract
Chapter 7 revisits the development of the South African agricultural sector during the early mineral revolution (1886–1948) and contributes to the recent extension of the structural transformation literature that stresses the importance of taking underlying country fundamentals into account with development policy formation. This case illustrates the complexity of the political tensions created during the transformation process and their long-term impact, since these played a significant role in putting the country on the path to grand apartheid. In addition, a newly compiled long-term dataset on agricultural prices, output and public spending is provided, to add a quantitative perspective to the ability of either party to capture the state and a more precise estimate of the timing of the disintegration of the alliance.
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Notes
- 1.
The market competition between black and white farmers and the land challenges faced by black farmers have received relatively little attention within the context of the maize and gold debate, so this will be expanded upon in Sect. 4.
- 2.
Prior to 1910, agricultural policy was managed by each of the four provinces separately.
- 3.
Still in existence today, the institution is now governed by the Land and Agricultural Development Bank Act 15 of 2002, with land redistribution, food security and agricultural growth as its primary objectives.
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Greyling, J.C., Vink, N., van der Merwe, E. (2018). Maize and Gold: South African Agriculture’s Transition from Suppression to Support, 1886–1948. In: Pinilla, V., Willebald, H. (eds) Agricultural Development in the World Periphery. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66020-2_7
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