Land, Labour and Entrustment: West African Female Farmers and the Politics of Difference

238 Pages·2010·1.49 MB·English

by  Pamela Kea

Land, Labour and Entrustment
African Social Studies Series
Editorial Board
Martin R. Doornbos, Institute of Social Studies the Hague
Carola Lentz, University of Mainz
John Lonsdale, University of Cambridge
VOLUME 21
Land, Labour and Entrustment
West African Female Farmers and the Politics of Difference
By
Pamela J. Kea
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
Cover illustration: Title: “3.2 Mile Trek to Unhealthy Water” © Copyright: Gil
Garcetti 2006
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kea, Pamela.
Land, labour and entrustment : West African female farmers and the politics of
difference / by Pamela Kea.
p. cm. — (African social studies series ; v. 21)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18232-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Land reform—Gambia—Brikama.
2. Women farmers—Gambia—Brikama. 3. Contract labor—Gambia—Brikama.
I. Title. II. Series: African social studies series ; v. 21.
HD1333.K43 2010
338.1082’096651—dc22
2010006583
ISSN 1568-1203
ISBN 978 90 04 18232 5
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by
Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910,
Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
In loving memory of my brother Robin (1971–1988)

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ............................................................................ xi
List of Figures ..................................................................................... xiii
List of Tables ...................................................................................... xv
Glossary of Main Mandinka Terms ............................................... xvii
Chronology of Political Events ........................................................ xix
Chapter One Introduction ............................................................ 1
Introduction ................................................................................... 1
Entrustment: Hosts and Strangers ............................................. 4
Agrarian Labour ............................................................................ 7
Agrarian Clientelism ..................................................................... 11
Political Clientelism ...................................................................... 14
Gender, Power and the Politics of Difference .......................... 17
Some Reflections on Methodology and Methods .................... 21
Organisation of the Book ............................................................. 26
PART I
HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVES
Chapter Two Processes of Agrarian Transformation: Strange
Farmers, Groundnuts and the Search for New Modes of
Accumulation ................................................................................. 31
The Context .................................................................................... 31
The Expansion of Groundnut Production ................................ 35
– A New Labour Regime ........................................................ 36
– Defining the Sama Manila and the Samalaa .................. 38
– The Samalaa as Gendered Male ......................................... 44
Groundnuts and the Demise of Cereal Production ................ 46
– The Rise and Fall of the Groundnut Industry ................. 48
Strange Farmers and the Political Economy of Groundnut
Production ................................................................................. 50
– Patrimonialism ...................................................................... 51
New Modes of Accumulation ..................................................... 52
viii contents
The Expansion of Horticultural Production ............................. 55
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 57
Chapter Three Narratives of the Founding of Brikama:
Hosts and The Affirmation of Social Identities ........................ 59
The Mandinka ................................................................................ 62
The Founding of Brikama ............................................................ 66
The Supposition of Priority in Settlement ................................ 71
The Setting ...................................................................................... 74
The Old Quarter: Placing Host-Stranger Distinctions ............ 77
– Suma Kunda .......................................................................... 80
The Kunleyo .................................................................................... 84
The Old Quarter: Local Politics and Patrimonial
Networks .................................................................................... 87
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 90
PART II
ACCESSING LAND AND LABOUR: ENTRUSTMENT AND
AGRARIAN CLIENTELIST RELATIONS
Chapter Four The Practice of Daily Life: Greetings and the
Social Relations of Agrarian Production ................................... 95
Greeting and the Practice of Daily Life ..................................... 96
– Kundalu .................................................................................. 98
The Social Relations of Agrarian Production ........................... 102
– Male Farmers: The Rainy Season ....................................... 106
– Female Farmers: The Dry Season ...................................... 108
– Female Farmers: The Rainy Season ................................... 111
The Provision of Labour: Sinkiro, Children and Kafolu ......... 113
– Sinkiro ..................................................................................... 113
– Children ................................................................................. 115
– Kafolu ...................................................................................... 119
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 124
Chapter Five Hosts and the Acquisition of Land ..................... 125
Introduction ................................................................................... 125
‘Badjie versus Bojang’: Competing Interpretations of
Customary Law ......................................................................... 126
contents ix
– Customary Land Law ........................................................... 131
– Ownership and Usufructuary Rights ................................ 133
Female Farmers and the Acquisition of Land .......................... 137
– Affinal Ties ............................................................................. 137
– Inheritance ............................................................................. 140
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 143
Chapter Six Female Agrarian Clientelist Relations and
Entrustment .................................................................................... 145
Introduction ................................................................................... 145
Clients’ Strategies for Acquiring Land ...................................... 145
– Concerted Attempts to Access Land ................................... 152
Why Hosts Lend Clients Land .................................................... 153
– Increased Diversification of Production ............................. 158
Female Agrarian Clientelist Relations and Sama Manila ...... 161
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 163
PART III
THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE
Chapter Seven The Changing Relations of Agrarian
Production and the Politics of Difference ................................ 167
Introduction ................................................................................... 167
Communal Gardens and the Maintenance of Host-Stranger
Distinctions ............................................................................... 167
Youth, Education and Intergenerational Relations ................. 177
Conclusion ...................................................................................... 185
Chapter Eight Conclusions ........................................................... 187
Karafoo and Agrarian Clientelism ............................................. 188
Political Clientelism ...................................................................... 192
Youth and the Changing Relations of Agrarian
Production ...................................................................................... 194
Appendix A ......................................................................................... 199
Appendix B ......................................................................................... 203
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 205
Index .................................................................................................... 217