abstract: 'Land-based income streams, which include the consumption and selling of

  crops, livestock and environmental products, are inherent in rural

  households'' livelihoods. However, the off-farm cash income stream -

  primarily composed of migrant labour remittances, social grants, and

  savings and loans - is increasing in importance in many regions. This

  case study of 590 households from Bushbuckridge, South Africa, analyses

  the economic value of each of these income streams at three points: what

  enters the household, what is used and what is sold. Two important

  findings emerge. First, dependence on off-farm cash incomes is far

  higher than previously suggested by case studies in the area and the

  benefits of employment accrue to those already better educated and

  wealthier. This suggests that shifts in off-farm opportunities will

  exacerbate already deep inequalities. Second, while environmental

  products and crops are important for direct use, they generate

  insignificant cash incomes from sales. This suggests a weakening of the

  direct links between the local ecosystem and this society, challenging

  traditional notions of African rurality being intrinsically land based.

  Significance:

  Off-farm incomes such as wage labour, remittances and social grants are

  almost the sole source of cash for households in the study area. Even

  when including non-monetary incomes such as harvested produce, foraged

  goods and livestock products, off-farm incomes still represent the

  overwhelmingly largest proportion of overall household income value.

  This highlights the fact that South African rural economies are not

  consistently or primarily land based, and indicates the necessity of

  rural development strategies that facilitate participation in local cash

  economies. Otherwise, such efforts will be unable to yield broad

  benefits and will, instead, simply enrich those who are already better

  off.'
affiliation: 'Olivier, DW (Corresponding Author), Univ Witwatersrand, Global Change
  Inst, Johannesburg, South Africa.

  Ragie, Fatima H.; Twine, Wayne, Univ Witwatersrand, Sch Anim Plant \& Environm Sci,
  Johannesburg, South Africa.

  Olivier, David W.; Erasmus, Barend F. N.; Vogel, Coleen, Univ Witwatersrand, Global
  Change Inst, Johannesburg, South Africa.

  Hunter, Lori M., Univ Colorado, Inst Behav Sci, CU Populat Ctr, Dept Sociol, Boulder,
  CO 80309 USA.

  Hunter, Lori M.; Collinson, Mark, Univ Witwatersrand, MRC Wits Rural Publ Hlth \&
  Hlth Transit Unit Agin, Sch Publ Hlth, Johannesburg, South Africa.

  Collinson, Mark, Univ Johannesburg, DSI MRC South African Populat Res Infrastruct
  Net, Johannesburg, South Africa.

  Erasmus, Barend F. N., Univ Pretoria, Fac Nat \& Agr Sci, Pretoria, South Africa.'
article-number: '7522'
author: Ragie, Fatima H. and Olivier, David W. and Hunter, Lori M. and Erasmus, Barend
  F. N. and Vogel, Coleen and Collinson, Mark and Twine, Wayne
author-email: david.olivier@wits.ac.za
author_list:
- family: Ragie
  given: Fatima H.
- family: Olivier
  given: David W.
- family: Hunter
  given: Lori M.
- family: Erasmus
  given: Barend F. N.
- family: Vogel
  given: Coleen
- family: Collinson
  given: Mark
- family: Twine
  given: Wayne
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.17159/sajs.2020/7522
eissn: 1996-7489
files: []
issn: 0038-2353
journal: SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE
keywords: 'land-based income; off-farm cash income; income streams; rural

  households; sustainable livelihoods'
keywords-plus: DIRECT-USE VALUES; RESOURCES; SAVANNA; PATTERNS; INCOMES
language: English
month: SEP-OCT
number: 9-10
number-of-cited-references: '32'
orcid-numbers: 'Erasmus, Barend FN/0000-0003-1869-8091

  Twine, Wayne/0000-0002-4163-198X

  HUNTER, LORI/0000-0002-3450-9791

  Collinson, Mark/0000-0002-8205-7099

  Olivier, David/0000-0002-6037-9150'
pages: 98-105
papis_id: 5c78277be0ebd60c0376ec415bbff572
ref: Ragie2020portfolioperspective
researcherid-numbers: 'Erasmus, Barend FN/G-3411-2012

  Collinson, Mark/E-1830-2016

  '
times-cited: '6'
title: A portfolio perspective of rural livelihoods in Bushbuckridge, South Africa
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000611948000021
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '9'
volume: '116'
web-of-science-categories: Multidisciplinary Sciences
year: '2020'