83). In Cry, the Beloved Country, the farms surrounding the black character Reverend Kumalo's parish are poor, small, and heavily affected by droughts because they don't have the means for necessary irrigation. In contrast, the white character Jarvis's plantation continues to flourish during difficult situations primarily because of its favorable location, though also because of its advanced irrigation and production techniques.
In the 1930s the government tried to reshape agricultural practices in rural South Africa. Government efforts at this time enabled white farmers to mechanize production methods, which reduced the number of black workers needed on white-owned farms and left many blacks unemployed with few alternatives. Blacks could theoretically resort to farming on their own, but severe droughts limited agricultural productivity in the early 1940s, diminishing the potential profitability of individually owned farms. Consequently many black families sought the little hope offered by jobs in urban areas.
Cities were already overpopulated with black Africans unable to find legal places to live. There were more than 800,000 black migrant workers in South Africa, and of these more than 250,000 labored along the gold belt centered in the city of Johannesburg. The migration of so many people from the country created enormous housing problems, forcing both the government and black Africans themselves to take extreme measures.
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