Africentric Historical Study of Farming Cooperatives in Strengthening the Livelihoods of Rural Communities: The Case Study of Matangari Village, Limpopo: C. 1990-2020

Abstract

The study sought to examine the role of African-centered historical research in understanding the impact of Farming Cooperatives on the livelihoods of the rural communities in Matangari village. A review of the historical context for the establishment of Farming Cooperatives and the extent to which indigenous knowledge was incorporated was done. As such, the literature surveyed for this study reveals a gap in academia regarding studies on the Africentric approach to rural Farming Cooperatives in strengthening the livelihoods of communities. Thus, this study was undertaken to investigate the African strategies the Farming Cooperatives of Matangari used to strengthen the livelihood of communities from 1990-2020. The study was qualitative, and a case study was conducted, using semi-structured interviews involving 21 participants, amongst them important stakeholders such as local leaders and Farming Cooperative members. The data were analysed thematically because the strategy helps in coding and reducing information to the required and relevant data aligned to the phenomenon. Preliminary study findings demonstrated how crucial Farming Cooperatives are to maintaining the livelihoods of rural communities and how Africentric historical research can help us comprehend the effects more comprehensively and contribute to fighting epistemic violence against rural and African indigenous knowledge, using the case study of Matangari Village Farming Cooperatives in Limpopo. As such, the findings of the study indicated that the Farming Cooperatives, during the period under study, employed both Africentric and Western farming techniques to strengthen the livelihood of the rural community of the Matangari Village. The results of this study will contribute to the existing literature on decolonisation of history in general. Specifically, this transcends to cultural history, economic history, and other disciplines like anthropology, Indigenous knowledge, politics, sociology, and community development. Such transformation is attained through ensuring rural community development, and the capacitation of sustainable Farming Cooperatives, indigenously. I was highly recommended by the study that Cooperatives need to continue integrating traditional practices such as the davha system of collective farming, using Indigenous fertilisers, and water management techniques into their farming methods