This book highlights the most important attributes of farm labour in Africa and places them within a context of historical change. International trade, colonialism, transport and the growth of towns have all exerted a powerful influence on rural Africa. More recently post-colonial states have attempted to reshape agriculture and transform rural societies. Yet agriculture is still dominated by small commodity producers who have retained control over their means of production, and it has not lost its labour-intensive character. Many small farmers now produce for local or international markets and this has been achieved by new patterns of work and labour organisation. Domestic production and family labour have been expanded or reduced by the spread of hired labour, as workers are redistributed between richer and poorer farmers and developed and underdeveloped regions. In addition, women have become more important as field labourers, as off-farm work for men becomes part of household reproduction.
