Marie Michael Library

The agrarian question, access to land, and peasant responses in sub-Saharan Africa

Mafeje, Archie

This paper deals with five major issues. First, the author interrogates Eurocentric concepts and notions about land tenure in sub-Saharan Africa. Second, he seeks to reinstate the authenticity of African systems of land tenure and social organization for production by looking at them from inside. Third, he describes how African producers have adapted to changing economic conditions. Fourth, he attempts to clarify some of the conceptual issues involved, and finally he evaluates the prospects for a genuine agrarian transformation in sub-Saharan Africa.