- Title
- Inter-generational dynamics of smallholder farming households : a case study of family farms at Bumbane and Emagaleni villages, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Creator
- Sixoto, Wandisile
- Subject
- Family farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Family-owned business enterprises -- Succession
- Date
- 2017
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- M Agric
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7886
- Identifier
- vital:30791
- Description
- This research investigates the inter-generational dynamics of smallholder farming households and their implications for the future of agriculture in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The study was conducted in two villages, of which one, Bumbane, is in Amahlathi Local Municipality, and the other, Emagaleni, is in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The study was mainly qualitative in nature, and involved semi structured, in-depth interviews with small-scale farming households. In particular, interviews were conducted with both youth and elders in the same households, so as to deeply understand the inter-relationships between the two. The study established that there is an age-based hierarchy in most farming families whereby the household head is ‘in charge’ and allows little input from or discretion of his/her adult children. For example, most household heads are not comfortable sharing decision-making authority with adult children, which alienates these adult children. This is the case even though household heads are keen to transfer their knowledge to their children, and hope that their children will one day take over the farming. The discord between household heads and their adult child is one of the reasons why the youth tend to dedicate little of their time to helping out with the farming. On the other hand, the youth are also discouraged from agriculture by other factors, such as production constraints and poor access to markets These intergenerational dynamics may pose a threat to the future of family farming in these and similar communities. The paper concludes that, in as much as household heads learnt agriculture through a participatory approach, there is a necessity to change the strategy and emphasise motivating young adults through farmers’ days and other gatherings that may serve as an inspiration. Alternatively, elders need to be coaxed to adopt a more thoughtful approach to engaging their adult children in agriculture that has a better possibility of encouraging their participation in agriculture rather than discouraging it. The participatory approach must not be the only option, since females do not get the opportunity to be motivated as most of the talks happen on the field.
- Format
- 66 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science and Agriculture
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | M Agric (Agric Extension) SIXOTO - May 2018.pdf | 984 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |