Community banking initiatives are defined in this paper as membership based decentralized and self-help financial institutions. Under this broad definition we discuss the informal variants of community banks, the rotating savings and credit association (or in South Africa better known as the...

This paper highlights the plight of black rural areas in South Africa, in which deep poverty and weak subsistence agriculture are embedded. The apartheid policy and its numerous measures are the first causes of such a situation. Besides, the existence of a relatively well-developed...

The restructuring process of the food markets in South Africa is at an advanced stages of consolidation and the emergence dominance of few supermarket chains expanding into non-traditional areas, through franchise format stores and forecourt stores overtaking informal wet markets and green...

The rise of supermarkets, together with large-scale food manufacturers, has deeply transformed agri-food markets in many countries. This expansion has been evident in South Africa as well. Increasing attention has been and is being paid to the growth of supermarkets in countries outside of North...

The paper gives an overview of the socio-economic profile of access to resources and social behaviour of rural households of the Northern Province of South Africa. It is based on the survey conducted in 24 villages covering 586 households. The preliminary results reflect a number of disparities...