Establishing viable and sustainable rural economic development programmes in a competitive global economy : analysis of marula commercialisation in South Africa

The historical significance of the socio-political changes in South Africa since 1994 cannot be disputed.The challenge is to place the redress agenda within a macro-framework geared to promote competitiveness that positions South Africa as a credible and valued player within the continent and globally.Of concern here is the plight of the rural poor and the neglect of rural space, viewed as central in redressing imbalances and competitiveness.This study posits that the marginalisation of the rural poor results from the deliberate, structural and systemic exclusion evident in previous regimes and perpetuated by the reigning neoliberal policies and the rural development paradigm.It provides an indepth analysis of the rural poor's spiral of deprivation.The spiral is viewed to perpetuate "dependent survivalism" with reliance on unsustainable hand-outs and oppressive paternalistic relationships between those with, and those without resources.The argument is that the emergence of the poverty eradication agenda has not focused attention and effort on the treatment of the causes of poverty.The study objective is to offer alternative approaches for addressing these structural constraints, enabling rural household participation in viable and sustainable rural economic development programmes.To this end transdisciplinary methods premised on the view of the household as the nucleus of sustainable development are used.The study challenges the general economic theory that limits a household to only a source of labour and capital, with emphasis on household consumption.It shifts focus from the consumptive "dependent survivalism" mode to households as owners of productive assets, producers and suppliers, termed the "productive perspective".To achieve this, an inclusive and sustainable development conceptual framework is proposed with an alternative rural development policy perspective.The framework emphasises the deployment of capital assets and rural economic development strategies based on the theory of value chains.The comparative analysis of marula commercialisation case studies is used to conceptualise the framework and formulate alternative approaches.Primary research focused on the Distell/Mirma Amarula Cream processing plant in Phalaborwa and the Marula Natural Products initiative at Thulamahashe, Bushbuckridge, South Africa.The findings demonstrated that marula supplying households are value chain actors with an objective function to maximise benefits and participate in the mainstream economy, but are structurally constrained.The profiles of the marula suppliers indicate that the majority are women who as heads of households bear the brunt of unpaid labour and the burden of care.The case study exposed the failure of the local and global economic systems to afford them their deserved opportunities and benefits as value chain actors.The study thus proposes a sustainable benefit-maximising system that is rooted in the value chain-based re-organisation of production, emphasising mainstreaming through institutional and systems change.The role of the state is Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.zaIV emphasised as central in creating an enabling environment with regulatory frameworks that ensure sustainable resource use and sharing in value created.The study calls for the courage to turn the 2008/9 global financial crisis into an inclusive and sustainable development agenda.