Accumulation by Intermediation: The Contestation of Agro‐Food Capital in the South African Maize Industry

Andrew Bowman; Nishal Robb

doi:10.1111/joac.12616

journal article Open Access Jan 16, 2025

Accumulation by Intermediation: The Contestation of Agro‐Food Capital in the South African Maize Industry

Andrew Bowman

Nishal Robb

Journal of Agrarian Change Vol. 25 No. 2 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/joac.12616

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe power of agro‐food capital is frequently highlighted, but its internal dynamics are under‐researched. This paper contributes to the understanding of agro‐food capital in agrarian political economy through an analysis of milling and storage activities that intermediate grain production and consumption in South Africa. The paper shows that these activities can provide important sources of income and optionality supporting diverse accumulation strategies by a range of big business interests. Our analysis highlights that agro‐food capital may not always be a coherent set of interests that is distinct from, and acts upon, other fractions of capital in the agrarian political economy. Instead, it may come to be a contested space, used to support differing accumulation strategies pursued by actors with varying interests. Such contestation may produce complex amalgamations of agricultural, industrial, financial and trading capital and contribute to variegation in trajectories of agrarian change.

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References

Details

Published: Jan 16, 2025
Vol/Issue: 25(2)
License: View

Authors

A

Andrew Bowman

School of Social & Political Science, Centre of African Studies University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK; Department of Sociology Rhodes University Makhanda South Africa

N

Nishal Robb

Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa

Funding

Economic and Social Research Council

Cite This Article

Andrew Bowman, Nishal Robb (2025). Accumulation by Intermediation: The Contestation of Agro‐Food Capital in the South African Maize Industry. Journal of Agrarian Change, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12616

Accumulation by Intermediation: The Contestation of Agro‐Food Capital in the South African Maize Industry

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