Exploring The Efficacy of Customary Tenure as A Tool for Rural Development and Food Security in Vhembe District of South Africa: An Indigenous Knowledge System Perspective

Abstract

In South Africa, numerous interested parties have expansively debated the relevance and place of customary tenure as a mechanism of land reform and a tool for rural development and food security. At the core of the debate is the notion predicated on the supposition that customary tenure is insufficient a tool to realise any meaningful rural development, thus a threat to food security. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the South African customary tenure as a tool for rural development and food security. The study thus challenged the inherited colonial legacies which continue to militate against African Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The key concepts grounding the study were deeply entrenched on modernisation, adaptation and renaissance framework. These frameworks underpinned the reasoning of the thesis in a bid to address the thorny issue of customary tenure in Vhembe district of South Africa. An exploratory qualitative design and a doctrinal approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews, case, overt observation, and focus groups were used to obtain the data. The information was gathered from traditional leaders, municipal managers, and other knowledge holders using a non-probability sampling method. Thematic data analysis was used to analyse the data. The data collected envisaged that customary tenure can be formerly developed to promote rural development and food security for rural communities.