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Exploring the potential of contract farming as a solution to the growing unemployment in the mining sector

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mining bubble is over, and mining companies in South Africa are under pressure to remain viable concerns. This forces companies to cut their cost through organisational restructuring, closing down of mines and cost-saving technologies. All of these result in job losses in the mining sector. However, the companies do have a social responsibility to help uplift and create jobs in the mining areas and labour-sending regions. The study reviews examples of corporate-social-development projects of mines that relate to agriculture. Furthermore, the study looks at projects stemming from the government’s desire for land reform and rural social-economic upliftment of previously disadvantaged communities. In this context contract farming is an ideal way to tackle comprehensively the re-employment challenges.
Against that background, which combines literature review and brief summaries of case studies, the dissertation reviews contract farming as an approach towards agricultural development and job creation. The lessons from the socio-economic development projects, rural-reforms and contract-farming projects are used as inputs to evolve a framework for the local approach to contract farming, related to mining areas. This includes considerations of implementation challenges likely to be experienced.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/97310
Date04 1900
CreatorsBadenhorst, Louis
ContributorsThomas, W. H., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business.
PublisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Languageen_ZA
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatxii, 62 pages : colour maps
RightsStellenbosch University

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