South African Agriculture at the Crossroads

Book excerpt: This book examines the state of South African agriculture at the end of the 20th century and makes attempts at reform in context by looking at the past. It begins by explaining the historical process, which led to a dualistic agricultural sector, and the policy process, bought in after the reforms, that attempts to resolve the inequalities and distortions. The policy discussion draws on the main part of the book, which is an empirical investigation of the measurement and explanation of efficiency and productivity change, which depend on technologies developed by R&D.