By Ian Scoones and William Wolmer IDS Bulletin Vol 34 No 3 2003

Southern Africa is in the midst of a major food crisis. Fourteen million people are reported to be at risk. Most commentators agree that since around 1990, livelihoods have collapsed in many areas, with an increasing number of people, particularly in rural areas, vulnerable. But this is 2003, following decades of post-independence development assistance and once-great hopes for the region as both the food basket and economic motor for the continent. What has gone wrong? Has “development” failed? Do we need to radically rethink the paradigms for development in the region? This Bulletin explores some of these questions, drawing on a large body of detailed empirical material from research conducted under the auspices of a three-year collaborative project: the Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa (SLSA) programme, carried out by research partners in Mozambique, South Africa, UK and Zimbabwe, in a series of case study sites.