The widely
practiced division of estates causes farms to become so small that the security basis for
relatives and through relatives is no longer given. Pressure to find off-farm sources of
income which can usually only be obtained in distant places arises. If these sources of
income prove to be uncertain, then the dependants and the weak that stayed behind rapidly
find themselves in serious difficulty. This leads to their dependence on welfare (if it
exists), religious foundations or permanent food
aid (e.g. for pastoralists in the Sudan).
The widespread right of every member of a particular lineage or ethnic
group to receive a land allotment in Africa if they truly farm the land is weakened by
dissolution of traditional social fabric of the ethnics. Population growth up to the point
where no more land is available for allotment also weakens the system.
In the former centrally planned economies, the large collective and
state farms were the basis for social security of the old and
sick members of the collective, including their family members. The more land is separated
from the large farm for small family farms or agricultural enterprises, the weaker the
material foundation is for the support of the elderly and sick, for education, for
pre-schools, for stipends, etc.. Here, as well, not enough alternative social security
systems exist yet.
