There is widespread agreement across disciplines that rural societies in the Global South have experienced significant socio-economic transitions over the years. Empirical evidence suggests that rural areas have experienced shifts in livelihood strategies, agricultural production systems, demographic dynamics, and patterns of market linkages and integration.

However, while rural socio-economic transformation is widely acknowledged, there is limited consensus on how these changes should be conceptualised, theorised, and measured. Competing analytical frameworks offer differing explanations regarding the drivers, trajectories, and implications of rural changes. As debates continue to evolve, periodic stocktaking of current thinking becomes essential if research and evidence are to meaningfully inform rural development policy and practice. This Brown Bag session aims to synthesise insights from the literature to critically examine how rural socio-economic transitions are understood and analysed.

Specifically, it seeks to interrogate dominant theories and analytical frameworks explaining rural transformation; identify points of convergence and divergence across key debates; reflect on recent empirical evidence emerging from the Global South; and highlight emerging perspectives and explore their implications for rural development policy and practice, drawing on South Africa as a case situated within the broader Global South context.

Target audience: Rural development practitioners, policymakers, researchers, academics, postgraduate students, and professionals with an interest in agriculture, land reform, food security, and sustainable development.

Date: 20 March 2026

Time: 11:00 – 13:00

Venue: Online

Registration Link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/0Uv7KbKXTRefTRqlZFO-xA#/registration

Event Enquiries: FNZaca@hsrc.ac.za