African Land Research Articles

Broken by her Country of Broken Things: Memory, Resistance, and the Politics of Time in NoViolet Bulawayo’s Glory (2022)

This article presents a reading of NoViolet Bulawayo’s novel Glory (2022) in the light of indigenous temporality and structural and administrative violence in the transition from pre-colonial to colonial, and then to postcolonial times in an imaginary African land. The study argues that structures of neocolonial violence and active erasure create a pseudo-temporality in the people of the ex postcolonies. It seeks to explore the idea of time in the postcolony, the distortion of communal past by the colonisers, the imposition of an invented past, present and future on the subjects, and the multitude’s resistance to and rejection of this imposed time in an African society. The novel depicts the patterns of violence in the postcolony. The indigenous population in the novel seeks to build for them a just future. Historical consciousness of suffering and pain of the ancestors is the starting point of liberating self. Remembering and memorialising the ancestors who suffered is the first step towards it. The study gives us a key to understanding parallel democracy that decolonised nations should aim at, keeping in view the damage caused by the invader’s view of progress (Western concept of development with neocolonialism) and democracy (a colonial byproduct). memorialising the ancestors who suffered is the first step towards it. The study gives us a key to understanding parallel democracy that decolonised nations should aim at, keeping in view the damage caused by the invader’s view of progress (Western concept of development with neocolonialism) and democracy (a colonial byproduct).

Seasonal variation in the biochemical composition of the albumen gland of the giant African land snail Archachatina marginata in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Archachatina marginata is an African pulmonate gastropod widely reared for food. There is a lack of information on the influence of seasonal changes on the reproductive physiology of these snails, hindering optimum reproduction throughout the year. Thus, the aim of this study was to measure seasonal variation in the albumen gland of A. marginata snails in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. A total of 252 snails was purchased from the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The snails were acclimatised for three weeks in rearing cages. Twenty-one snails were dissected each month for twelve months and the albumen gland separated. Samples collected were analysed in the laboratory using standard chemical methods. Data collected were analysed using one-way analysis of variance and t-test. Glucose (P < 0.05) and protein (non-significant) were found to be higher in the dry season than in the rainy season, while cholesterol (P < 0.05) and triacylglycerol (non-significant) were higher in the rainy season than in the dry. In conclusion, this study showed that the biochemical composition of the albumen gland of A. marginata snails was influenced by seasonal variation.

Engaging with human-to-land relationships for engaged science: A complex-systems view for African land studies

Engaging with human-to-land relationships for engaged science: A complex-systems view for African land studies

Mild histological distortions in rat organs after a 14-day oral exposure to the slime extract of African giant land snails

ObjectiveSnail slime possesses various pharmacological activities that are becoming attractive for zootherapy, thereby necessitating the profiling of its safety and toxicity. Therefore, using OECD 425 guidelines, this study assessed the acute toxicity of Archachatina marginata slime extract and performed a histological analysis of the vital organs. MethodsEighteen (18) Wistar rats were assigned randomly into three groups: control, 2000 mg/kg, and 5000 mg/kg bw slime extract. The dosing of the animals with 2000 mg/kg bw and 5000 mg/kg bw was done according to the limit test procedure, after which the animals were observed for 14 days. During the observation period, clinical and behavioral changes were recorded. The rats were euthanized after 14 days of monitoring, and their essential organs were excised for gross histological examination. ResultsThere was no mortality during the observation period, and the LD50 of A. marginata slime extract was determined to be greater than 5000 mg/kg bw. Although there were no behavioral alterations in the rats after oral exposure to the slime extract, the histological examination revealed mild cellular distortions in the rat organs. Furthermore, a preliminary chemical analysis of the slime extract revealed the presence of flavonoids and phenolics. ConclusionA. marginata slime extracts may be grouped as low toxic substance based on the results obtained (LD50 > 2000 – 5000 mg/kg). However, the histological distortions in rat organs following acute oral exposure to the snail slime extract not only warrant further, in-depth toxicological investigations but also caution in its use for traditional medicinal purposes.

The Political Economy of Land Reparations in South Africa

ABSTRACTThis article examines white settler colonialism and racial capitalism as the primary mechanisms for the historical and ongoing land dispossession of Afrikan people in South Africa. It argues that by addressing land dispossession through land restitution, South Africa could begin to meaningfully address the ongoing impacts of settler colonial displacement of Afrikan people. It contends that land reparations are central not only to restorative physical and spatial justice but also to physical healing. The aim of this contribution is to historicize and herstoricize the South African land question; situate this within the context of racial capitalism and settler colonialism; provide a framing of the racialization and feminization of the land economy; and expound on the particularities of misogynoir and critical feminist theory in theorizing the acute land dispossession of Afrikan women. Situated within the Azanian School of thought, its essential contribution is the suggestion that land restoration is a necessary and meaningful reparative measure for South Africans.

High resolution stable isotope ratios in modern African land snails: Testing inferred environmental conditions

High-resolution sub-annual stable oxygen isotope data were measured in modern land snail shells collected from different climatic zones in Africa to search for patterns in seasonal δ18O cycles associated with specific hydroclimates, keyed to flora/biozones. Thirty-three recently dead shells were collected between 1995 and 2012, and collection localities were divided into five climate types: tropical forest, woodland savannah, bushland savannah, woodland monsoon, and arid/semi-arid. Thirteen genera are represented in the collection. Sampling covered at least one year in the life of the land snails, often multiple years. A comparison of measured data to predicted δ18O values, using local temperature and rain δ18O value, shows that predictions tend to be lower than measured values, suggesting that surface waters or snail body waters have undergone some evaporation. Predictions based on night-time temperatures (average monthly minimum T) are closer to, but still underestimate, measured values compared to day-time (maximum) temperatures in a majority of cases. The largest range in δ18O values for individual shells occurs in the bushland savannah and woodland monsoon biomes. Longer seasonal intervals of dry conditions lead to greater δ18O ranges in shells, although if the dry interval approaches 10 months in the year the amplitude is again reduced. This is in agreement with other oxygen isotope studies of high-resolution land snail shell samples, which show very high δ18O variance in strong monsoon climates.

The Land and its People: The South African ‘Land Question’ and the Post-Apartheid Political Order

Why is it that South Africa’s ‘land question’ is so stubbornly resistant to resolution? This think piece re-examines 30 years of debate, concentrating on the disjuncture between the discourses of policy deliberation and those of contentious politics in debates about land in South Africa. It argues that the South African land debate as it unfolds in the public realm is best understood as a displaced discourse indirectly addressing the terms of political belonging and the nature of the post-apartheid political order. Far from being a distraction, this is a challenge that urgently needs to be confronted in its own terms. Drawing on the work of Ivor Chipkin, the paper argues that confronting the crisis of the post-apartheid political order requires a rethinking of the terms in which national identity is conceived. The paper explores the possibilities and challenges facing a politics of belonging centred on the Constitutional invocation of a political community ‘for all who live in it’ and what this might imply for a more constructive and productive engagement with land struggles in urban and rural South Africa.

Trade and socioeconomic importance of an invasive giant snail in the endemic-rich island of São Tomé, Central Africa.

Managing invasive species is crucial to mitigate their negative impacts on ecosystems, yet conflicts may arise when their social benefits are disregarded. Human pressure on the endemic-rich forests of São Tomé has been high since the island was discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century, and numerous species have been introduced. These include the invasive West African giant land snail (Archachatina marginata), which was introduced in the mid-20th century, is now widespread on the island, and is a potential threat to native flora and fauna. We assessed the frequency of consumption of this species and its socioeconomic importance to people across the island with household questionnaires, focus group discussions, and semistructured interviews. We explored the prevalence and potential drivers of use (e.g., wealth, household composition, and diversity of occupations) and characterized the commodity chain to identify demographic groups linked to the snail trade. We interviewed 672 people (1 person per household), conducted 6 focus groups, and interviewed 80 key actors belonging to 5 subcategories. The snail was the most widely consumed bushmeat and an important source of income, particularly for women and unemployed youth. Insecure and scarce livelihood alternatives, mostly in rural areas, were reported as drivers for trade involvement. Snail harvesting was more frequent in poorer households with low occupational diversity. Selling tended to occur in households that were well-established in the community and had a higher proportion of children. Both were stimulated by the proximity of communities to the native forest. Buying snails was common in all demographic groups, but it was linked to wealth and occupational diversity. Interventions to manage the impact of this introduced species on the valuable ecosystems of the island should involve multiple sectors of society to ensure societal support. This requires robust consideration of the welfare of vulnerable demographic groups that benefit from the species.

Nematodes of concern to public and animal health associated with the invasive snail Achatina fulica, in Sergipe, Northeastern Brazil

The giant African land snail Achatina fulica is known to be the intermediate host of a number of nematode species that are prejudicial to human and veterinary health, being also an agricultural and urban pest. The present study investigated the presence of nematodes in A. fulica and other terrestrial mollusks in 24 municipalities of Sergipe State, northeastern of Brazil, in the dry and rainy seasons. In 2019 and 2020, the specimens were collected in standard 20 m × 10 m plots (10 min/01 collector), while in 2021, they were collected by convenience sampling. The nematode species were identified based on sequencing of the mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI) gene and the ribosomal nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS 2). Specimens of A. fulica infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a nematode that causes eosinophilic meningitis (EM) in humans and animals, were collected in four municipalities. Two nematodes of veterinary importance were also identified, Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Cruzia tentaculata in seven municipalities. This is the first record of Cruzia tentaculata in Sergipe. Free-living nematodes were also found in 18 municipalities. One of these species – Caenorhabditis briggsae – was identified in the municipality of Itabaiana. Specimens of other mollusks species were also collected. Only one of these mollusks, C. fasciata from Japaratuba, was found infected with free-living nematodes. A. fulica showed greater positivity for nematodes in the dry season, especially in the regions of Lower São Francisco River, Greater Aracaju and South Central Sergipe. The probability of infection increased when mollusks were larger and more recurrent in plots. Given that A. cantonensis is the etiological agent of EM and was found associated to A. fulica in four municipalities, it will be important to implement programs of continuous monitoring of the mollusk's fauna, combined with educational programs that provide information necessary to control A. fulica.

Comparative reproduction performance of Giant African Land Snail (Archachatina marginata) fed with the leguminous plant Leucaena leucocephala

The study was carried out between July and October 2022 at the sub–station of the Faculty of Agriculture Research and Teaching farm to assess the reproductive performance of Archachatina marginata fed the leguminous Leucaena leucocephala leaf meal as feed additive. 208 adult snails were randomly partitioned into 4 treatments and 4 repetitions of 13 comparable snails (weight and size). The treatment T0 (control) received only the experimental diet as described while three other treatments received not only diet but, L. leucocephala leaf meal at 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75% for a period of 12 weeks. In each treatment, every morning, the substrate of each breeding bucket was stirred entirely and minutely to collect the eggs to determine the laying and morphometric characteristics of the eggs. The eggs were then placed 10 cm deep in loose soil substrates until hatching to evaluate the characteristics of the fecundity. The unhatched eggs were opened, and the state of embryonic development observed to determine early embryonic mortality rate and late embryonic mortality. At the end of the experiment, animals of each replicate were sacrificed; the hemolymph was collected determine the total cholesterol and protein. The results showed that the characteristics of reproduction were affected with graded level of L. leucocephala. The highest number of eggs laid (17.29 ± 13.44) and the number of clutches (268.91) was recorded in animals receiving 0.5% and 0.75% L. leucocephala in the diet respectively while the highest value of fecundation rate (95.50 ± 8.80), hatch rate (94.55 ± 9.36), and hatchability (98.99 ± 3.15) was registered in the treatment that received 0.75%. The highest value of total protein and cholesterol was recorded in the same treatment. In conclusion 0.75% of L. leucocephala can be added in the diet of adult snail to increase its reproductive performance.

Land Policies and Institutions for Equitable and Resilient Growth in Africa

AbstractIn coming decades, Africa's urban populations will expand, and the effects of climate change be more keenly felt. Land policies and institutions will be key for urban dwellers to be able access productive jobs, breathe clean air, and live in decent housing; for entrepreneurs, especially women, to leverage land for productive investment; and for farmers to diversify, insure against shocks, and accumulate capital. Yet, many African land registries perform poorly, command little trust, and have failed to capitalize on opportunities to improve quality, relevance, and outreach via digital interoperability, use of earth observation, and connectivity. Literature highlights scope for regulatory and institutional reforms to (a) expand property taxation and land value capture and to improve urban service delivery, planning, and land use regulations; (b) increase quality and affordability of land services and access to land price and ownership data; (c) guide issuance of rural land use rights to reduce barriers to rural factor markets, including by spatially enabling farmer registries to improve subsidy targeting and effectiveness; and (d) demarcation and transparent decentralized management of public land to attract investment, including in climate finance, without fueling corruption, and to manage disputes before they escalate into ethnic violence.

GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND LIPID PROFILE OF ARCHACHATINA MARGINATA (GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAIL) FED VARYING LEVELS OF RIPE EGGPLANT FRUITS BASED DIETS

The performance of African giant land snails (Archachatina marginata) fed ripe eggplant fruits was studied using eighty-four (84) juvenile (four months old) Archachatina marginata for eight (8) weeks. The study evaluated the snails' growth performance and lipid profile (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides). The snails were divided into four treatment groups, with twenty-one (21) snails per group in a completely randomized design (CRD). Treatments 1, 2, 3 and 4 had varying levels of ripe eggplant fruits at 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% inclusion levels respectively. Isocaloric and isonitrogenous feeds and water were provided ad libitum, while other management practices were strictly adhered to. The results showed no significant differences (P&gt;0.05) in growth performance across treatments. The results also revealed that total cholesterol decreased (P&lt;0.05) significantly as the levels of ripe eggplant fruits increased across treatments. There were no significant differences (P&gt;0.05) in low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides, while high-density lipoprotein differed (P&lt;0.05) significantly across treatments. The result also showed a linear increase in high-density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol) as the levels of ripe eggplant fruits increased across treatments. Therefore, a 15% inclusion level of ripe eggplant fruits in the diet of Archachatina marginata reduces total cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein without any adverse effect on growth. The study recommends using ripe eggplant fruits to formulate diets for animals with high cholesterol content and high levels of low-density lipoprotein in their meat.

Enhancing Giant African Land Snail (Archachatina marginata) production with Thymus vulgaris (Lamiaceae) in the south-west region of Cameroon

The study was designed to determine the effect of Thymus vulgaris leaf meal on the production of Archachatina marginata. Two hundred and twenty-four adults’ snails were divided into four treatments of 14 snails and four replicates. Treatment T0 received only the experimental diet while three other treatments received diet with different inclusion level of T. vulgaris leaf meal at 0.25%, 0.50%, and 0.75%. Feed and leave were quantified using an electronic weighing scale daily. The results obtained show that, feed intake was significantly higher (P &lt; 0.05) in animals receiving 0.75% T. vulgaris compared to other treatments. Likewise, the values of heart, pedal mass were higher in animals receiving 0.25% inclusions of T. vulgaris in the diet. Low relative weight variations in the internal organs across treatments were observed but significant differences occurred regarding only the shell weight and ovotestis. The proximate analysis of snail flesh results obtains shows that dry matter was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) highest in animals receiving 0.25% T. vulgaris in the diet. Minerals analyzed were also significantly (P &lt; 0.05) affected by the inclusion of T. vulgaris in the diet. In conclusion, incorporation of T. vulgaris leaf powder at 0.25% can be recommended in the diet of snails.

Archives in Stone: Cemeteries, Burial, and Urban Ownership in Late Colonial Ghana

While many scholars have examined the influence of European law, writing, and record-keeping on African land rights and property, few have analyzed semi-textual records such as cemetery gravestones. This essay argues that urban cemeteries, introduced by the British colonial state to the Gold Coast Colony (southern Ghana) in the nineteenth century, became archives in stone. As one of the few public records forums available inside Gold Coast towns, cemeteries offered basic, but crucial, information. They indirectly dated immigration history and reflected ancestral political status. Over the course of colonial rule, Gold Coast citizens petitioned the state to have their elders buried in particular cemeteries to augment their claims to land and authority. This essay demonstrates that urban ownership—the status of belonging to a town as an authochthon—came to depend partly upon cemetery burial. Like any archive, cemeteries were highly curated collections, shaping legal contestations over residency, leadership, and land ownership.

(In)Security Theater

Spectacle is central to protest efficacy, yet the term performance has a history of being used pejoratively to discredit both protestors and their causes. This deflects analysis from the ubiquitous tactical performances enacted by institutional representatives themselves. Following Cape Town mayor Dan Plato's 2020 dismissal of an eviction resistance on the grounds that it was a “staged act,” this article identifies various repertoires of performative intimidation enacted by local authorities against South African land occupiers during 2019–22. These staged acts were strategically performed with a dual audience in mind: one direct and the other, necessarily, oblique. In recasting such repertoires as rational actions in response to radical acts, municipal officials control the means of identifying and critiquing cynical public performance.

Water and History in Southern Africa

AbstractHow has water shaped the history of a region that is bordered by ocean, brimming with ephemeral rivers, and yet prone to drought? This article explores water histories in Southern Africa over the past two hundred years. Using oral traditions, epic poetry, archival sources, and secondary anthropological and archaeological literature, I examine how Africans and Europeans related to, claimed, and used different bodies of water. In the first section I discuss how water was central to isiNguni conceptions of social and political life. In the second section I discuss how European empires used water to enclose and dispossess African land and to build hydropolitical colonial orders over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I conclude by reflecting on afterlives of these water histories in the present.

Parasitic Fauna of Achatina Achatina in Otuoke Community, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State

The Giant African land snail, Achatina achatina, is an invasive species recognized for being a serious agricultural pest and vector for diverse parasites that cause diseases in humans. This study assessed the prevalence of parasites harboured by the snails collected from bushes in the Otuoke community of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The snail samples were collected and transported to the laboratory for examination using wet mouth preparation and teasing methods. Subsequently, they were classified by size into small, medium and large. The body organs were individually teased and examined under the microscope. 122 snail samples (32 small, 54 medium, 36 large) were randomly collected for this study and examined for the presence of eggs or larvae of parasites, out of which 108 (88.5%) were infected. The larvae of only two species of parasites, Angiostrongylus cantonensis (90.1%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (9.9%)) were recovered from the infected snails, with A. cantonensis being most prevalent, 737 (90.1%). The parasites were most prevalent in the medium snails (42.6%), followed by the small size (23.8%) and then, the large size snails with the least prevalence of infection. The slime, intestine and stomach were infected, with the parasites being more in the slime (88.5%) than any other body parts. Since the Giant African land snail serves as an intermediate host for several parasites, a thorough understanding of the snail parasites' lifecycles and modes of transmission to humans is important, for human health and welfare, sustainable snail farming, and for maintenance of snail biodiversity.

South African Land Reforms Under the Auspices of the “Radical Economic Transformation”

Abstract The land question is an emotive issue across the world. At independence, erstwhile colonies adopted land reforms to address colonial imbalances in landholding. South Africa is one such country that has embarked on land reforms with the view to correcting economic imbalances created by the apartheid past. However, land reform in South Africa has not only been slow but has failed to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. Using qualitative research design and neoclassical theory, this paper investigates South Africa’s land reforms under the auspices of radical economic transformation. The paper argues that the wholesale expropriation of land without compensation does not fit into the obtaining (neoliberal) economic blueprint that has dominated the country over the years. The call for a radical transformation of landholding rights in the country without structural changes in macroeconomic management remains political rhetoric.

An An Ideological Land Reform Policy Shift of State Custodianship and ‘Transforming the Rural Land Economy’

In customary landholding practices land is regarded as more than an asset of economic value to be owned. African people’s rights in land and other natural resources exceed the idea of mere possession. To African rural land holders, land is not only a material resource for agricultural production, nor is the commercialisation and commoditisation of land the primary driving force for most customary landholding communities’ even though the land is productively used. This broader conceptualisation of the social function of land beyond the economic, aligns with modern property law on the proprietary function of property. However, excessive state limitations imposed on customary land tenure can hinder economically valuable property rights, but also other rights to social, cultural, and ontological resources embodied in the spirituality of African communities.&#x0D; Security of tenure for land reform beneficiaries cannot be secondary to commercialisation and commoditisation of the rural land economy in the national interest. Commercialisation and commoditisation are the by-products of recognised, protected, and enforceable property rights and not the “pre-requisites” or “qualifiers” for secure land tenure. Thus, the state custodial approach reflected in land reform law and policy that places an overemphasis on private property capitalism, above the constitutional mandate of security of land tenure is critically discussed. It is argued that if not carefully formulated transformative land reform law and policy can be conduits for a state custodianship approach that inadvertently reproduces apartheid-like ideology and preoccupations.&#x0D; Key words: Secure tenure, state custodianship, National Development Plan 2030, transformative land reform law and policy.

Understanding urban growth modeling in Africa: Dynamics, drivers, and challenges

Africa has been a hotspot of rapid urban growth since 2000, yet no review exists that describes the current state of urban growth modeling. This review aims to fill this gap by synthesizing urban growth modeling approaches, input variables and challenges across Africa. Using Web of Science, Google Scholar, Geobase, and Compendex databases, we selected 49 studies that projected urban land use and cover change or modeled probabilities of future urban change associated with a variety of input variables. We found increasing trends in the numbers of studies employing cellular automata, statistical regression, agent-based, video prediction, and integrated approaches. The modeling approaches used and their corresponding increases differed across Africa. The input variables used to project urban growth also varied across subregions. Studies were biased towards populous countries rather than the most urbanized. 78 % of the studies focused on primary cities, while secondary cities were less frequently studied. Comparison of urban growth modeling across multiple regions and for different types of cities is currently difficult due to inconsistent definitions and limited availability of data and computational resources. We recommend that the scientific community develop consistent definitions of African city types and urban land use and land cover classifications, create regional urban land cover products for Africa, and build repositories of models and their input data.