Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty

Over the past ten years, Malawian peasant farming households have endured a number of material and life-threatening setbacks. The absence of subsidised fertiliser loans to farmers continues to trouble villagers a decade after their removal. Yields of both food and cash crops have been declining. Far...

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Main Author: Bryceson, D
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2006
Subjects:
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author Bryceson, D
author_facet Bryceson, D
author_sort Bryceson, D
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description Over the past ten years, Malawian peasant farming households have endured a number of material and life-threatening setbacks. The absence of subsidised fertiliser loans to farmers continues to trouble villagers a decade after their removal. Yields of both food and cash crops have been declining. Farming households' earnings from agricultural exports and remittances have decreased. The creeping and then intensified incidence of HIV/AIDS infection has led to widespread debility and death, compounded by a serious famine in 2001-03. During the famine and its aftermath, <em>ganyu</em> casual labour gained in importance as a source of income, especially for women and youth from poor rural households. Field evidence suggests that the highly explotative contractual terms that employers offered widened the gap between the haves and have-nots, and fuelled the risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. <em>Ganyu</em>, representing an established form of labour based on mutual economic benefit between exchange agents stretching back over a century, has become synonymous with degradation and despair for the working poor.
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spelling oxford-uuid:29892af0-1e65-4841-90b7-d3afa756bf032022-03-26T12:19:45ZGanyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualtyJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:29892af0-1e65-4841-90b7-d3afa756bf03Development and Refugees (see also Sociology)AfricaHIV/AIDSEnglishOxford University Research Archive - ValetCambridge University Press2006Bryceson, DOver the past ten years, Malawian peasant farming households have endured a number of material and life-threatening setbacks. The absence of subsidised fertiliser loans to farmers continues to trouble villagers a decade after their removal. Yields of both food and cash crops have been declining. Farming households' earnings from agricultural exports and remittances have decreased. The creeping and then intensified incidence of HIV/AIDS infection has led to widespread debility and death, compounded by a serious famine in 2001-03. During the famine and its aftermath, <em>ganyu</em> casual labour gained in importance as a source of income, especially for women and youth from poor rural households. Field evidence suggests that the highly explotative contractual terms that employers offered widened the gap between the haves and have-nots, and fuelled the risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. <em>Ganyu</em>, representing an established form of labour based on mutual economic benefit between exchange agents stretching back over a century, has become synonymous with degradation and despair for the working poor.
spellingShingle Development and Refugees (see also Sociology)
Africa
HIV/AIDS
Bryceson, D
Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty
title Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty
title_full Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty
title_fullStr Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty
title_full_unstemmed Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty
title_short Ganyu casual labour, famine and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi: causality and casualty
title_sort ganyu casual labour famine and hiv aids in rural malawi causality and casualty
topic Development and Refugees (see also Sociology)
Africa
HIV/AIDS
work_keys_str_mv AT brycesond ganyucasuallabourfamineandhivaidsinruralmalawicausalityandcasualty