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There are many misconceptions about farming in southern Africa;and one of the most insidious is the notion of ‘viability’. A narrow economistic version has predominated that is based on a normative vision of farming based on full-time;large-scale commercial production. But taking a wider view;what is viable can take different forms more appreciative of the diverse ways farming is intertwined with wider livelihoods;and across different scales. Too often the dominant framing has been allied to strong normative;racially-inflected;colonial assumptions;supported today by well-articulated political and commercial interests;hooked into a long history of the assumed benefits of a dualistic agrarian system where modern;large-scale agriculture is seen as the ideal. Shedding these blinkered perspectives can be tough;but is certainly necessary.
