Women farmers in South Africa pay the cost of broken irrigation systems – the story of one cooperative

Women farmers in KwaZulu-Natal have had to abandon their fields because the government has failed to maintain irrigation systems built in the apartheid era.

By: Elizabeth Hull, SOAS, University of London, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 10, 2026

Words: 1,430

Last Updated: 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Body Text Preview

By Elizabeth Hull, SOAS, University of London

The South African government makes a great deal of the fact that it supports women’s empowerment in agriculture.

But does it?

As an anthropologist, I’ve been engaged in long-term ethnographic research in KwaZulu-Natal since 2007, focusing mostly on rural food systems and food-based livelihoods and before that on health care.

We conducted research into the Isibonelo Cooperative, a small-scale women-led farming cooperative in KwaZulu-Natal. We …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

About

FAQ

Email Us