Wheat Growing and Changing Farming Systems in South African Dryland Margins: The Case of the Sneeuberg, South Africa. (2nd June 2016)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Wheat Growing and Changing Farming Systems in South African Dryland Margins: The Case of the Sneeuberg, South Africa. (2nd June 2016)
- Main Title:
- Wheat Growing and Changing Farming Systems in South African Dryland Margins: The Case of the Sneeuberg, South Africa
- Authors:
- Suich, Helen
Boardman, John - Abstract:
- Abstract: The contribution of stock keeping to land degradation in the Karoo has been extensively studied, but other causes have been rarely examined. The paper uses a combination of key informant interviews and a review of published and unpublished documentary sources to describe the history of wheat growing in the Sneeuberg area of the Karoo since European settlement, until the 1970s when annual crop cultivation collapsed. Early cultivation was primarily for subsistence purposes, although the development of infrastructure and growth in markets in the 19th century encouraged commercial crop production. Some farmers continued growing wheat partly to sustain the tradition into the mid‐20th century, although by that time, most growers relied on the wheat as a winter stockfeed. Several factors were found to have contributed to the collapse, with land degradation only rarely playing a part in contemporary decisions to stop wheat farming. Far more important were the comparative advantages of other stockfeeds such as lucerne, changes in state regulations governing crops and prices, and the perceptions of farmers regarding changes in rainfall patterns. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Is Part Of:
- Land degradation & development. Volume 28:Number 1(2017)
- Journal:
- Land degradation & development
- Issue:
- Volume 28:Number 1(2017)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 28, Issue 1 (2017)
- Year:
- 2017
- Volume:
- 28
- Issue:
- 1
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2017-0028-0001-0000
- Page Start:
- 57
- Page End:
- 64
- Publication Date:
- 2016-06-02
- Subjects:
- South Africa -- the Karoo -- land degradation -- wheat growing -- climate change
Land degradation -- Periodicals
Soil conservation -- Periodicals
Reclamation of land -- Periodicals
Land use -- Periodicals
Economic development -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals
333.7315 - Journal URLs:
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗
- DOI:
- 10.1002/ldr.2543 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1085-3278
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 5146.796790
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library STI - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 14166.xml