Determinants of household food security in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe: a case study of irrigation and non-irrigation farmers in Lupane and Hwange districts
- Authors: Sikwela, Misery Mpuzu
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Food -- Safety measures , Irrigation farming -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11163 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/90 , Food -- Safety measures , Irrigation farming -- Zimbabwe
- Description: Lupane and Hwange districts fall under natural region IV and V and lie in the semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe with low and erratic mean annual rainfall not exceeding 600mm. Seventy percent of Zimbabwe’s population lives in communal areas, whose livelihood is based on agriculture. The communities in these areas mainly practice mixed farming systems. However, crop production is constrained by water availability and suitable production techniques. As a result households in these areas are experiencing worsening levels of household food insecurity. Two irrigation schemes were identified for this study and these are located in these two districts. Tshongokwe irrigation scheme is located in Lupane district and Lukosi irrigation scheme is located in Hwange district and these irrigation schemes are about 25 hectares in size. Lupane and Hwange districts are considered to be one of the most food insecure areas in the country because of the frequent droughts and unreliable rainfall in the region. The major tool of enquiry in this study was the questionnaire which was used to collect data from the households that farm on irrigated land and those that farm on dryland farming. Household and farm characteristics were collected using structured questionnaires with the help of locally recruited and trained enumerators. Agricultural production, household consumption and marketing of agricultural produce were accessed using the questionnaire to establish problems experienced by farmers. The main objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of household food security using a logistic regression model. The model was initially fitted with thirteen variables, selected from factors identified by previous researchers that affect food security in communal areas. Six variables were found to be significant at 1, 5 and 10 percent significance level and all had the expected signs except farm size. These factors include access to irrigation, farm size, cattle ownership, fertilizer application, household size and per capita aggregate production. The results obtained were further analyzed to compute partial effects on continuous variables and change in probabilities on the discrete variables for the significant factors in the logistic regression model. Analysis of partial effects revealed that household size, farm size, cattle ownership and per capita aggregate production lead to a greater probability of household being food secure. Change in probability results showed that having access to irrigation and using fertilizer can increase the probability of household being food secure The findings of this study highlight a positive and significant relationship between access to irrigation, fertilizer application, cattle ownership, per capita aggregate production to household food security. Household size and farm size have a negative and significant relationship on household food security. This study shows the effectiveness of irrigated farming over dryland farming in the semi-arid areas. The results show increased agricultural production, crop diversification and higher incomes from irrigation farming as compared to dry land farming. Irrigation farming has enabled many households to diversify their source of income and generate more income. Irrigation has enabled households with irrigation not only to feed themselves throughout the year but also to invest on non-agricultural goods and services from incomes received from crop sales Based on the results from the logistic regression model, it can be concluded that household size, farm size, per capita aggregate production, cattle ownership, fertilizer application and access to irrigation have a positive effect on household food security and the magnitude of changes in conditional probabilities have an impact on household food security.
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Economic valuation of communal rangelands in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Authors: Gombakomba, Gift
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Rangelands -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation , Commons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11166 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/351 , Rangelands -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Evaluation , Commons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The exploitation and conversion of rangeland ecosystems is often explained by economists as being the result of an undervaluation of the goods and services provided by the rangelands. Undervaluation of rangelands may contribute to their mismanagement or their transformation to monoculture, such as livestock or gathering. Similarly, this may lead to inappropriate policy recommendations and prescriptions. This study undertakes a valuation exercise in an effort to address causes of undervaluation. The objective of the study is to estimate the annual direct, indirect and non-use values per household of communal rangelands in the Eastern Cape Province, based on both primary and secondary data. The exercise incorporates the two major direct uses, both marketed and non-marketed, of rangelands - livestock and gathering. Contingent valuation method based on stated preferences by individual household was used to value the indirect and non-use values of the communal rangelands (e.g. erosion protection and burial sites). Data was collected using PRAs, structured questionnaires and interviews by trained enumerators. The study shows that half of the households owned livestock, which is the main economic use of the rangelands and gathering of natural resources also made an economic contribution. Every household was involved in collection of range resources such as fuel wood, wild fruits, thatch grass, building poles, hunting, fishing make a significant contribution to the direct use values: in the case of gathering it shows that there is “hidden harvest” of many of the natural resources from the rangelands. Indirect and non-use values are shown to be important in the communal areas but are difficult to quantify; the results of these are based on qualitative analysis. Keywords: communal rangelands, demand curve, direct use values, indirect use values, individuals’ preferences, non-use values, willingness-to-accept and willingness-to-pay.
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Socio-economic impact of the participatory and conventionally implemented irrigation and livestock development projects: a case of Beitbridge and Mberengwa Districts of Zimbabwe
- Authors: Ndou, Portia
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Irrigation -- Zimbabwe , Water resources development -- Zimbabwe , Range management -- Zimbabwe , Livestock projects -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/82 , Irrigation -- Zimbabwe , Water resources development -- Zimbabwe , Range management -- Zimbabwe , Livestock projects -- Zimbabwe
- Description: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of participatory and conventional approaches to livestock and irrigation project implementation in Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge and Mberengwa districts. The conventional livestock projects performed better than the participatory. Despite the breed for the participatory livestock projects being unsuitable for the environment, the farmers failed to utilize the drugs and surplus funding set aside for replacement of dead cattle. Farmer training was found to be of paramount importance in the establishment of the livestock projects in spite of the participatory approach used for the implementation of the projects. Also the technical backup and support for the livestock project beneficiaries is important to ensure early rectification of problems that may affect the smooth running of the projects as well as an opportunity to introduce new technical advice to boost production. Livestock projects take long period of time to establish, i.e. for the financial turn over to be realized. It takes long time for farmers in these projects to make investments from the proceeds of the livestock projects. For this reason, there is need for the number of beneficiaries for each pass-on livestock project to take into account the number of beasts at project establishment and also the number per each beneficiary group. However, the projects should still be encouraged as they will take full operation at a later stage and be of benefit to the rural disadvantaged who cannot access other means to own cattle, which in turn play a pivotal role in crop production (through draft power, manure provision) and cash earnings that indirectly ensures food security. Regardless of approach used, livestock projects should be strongly supported because the districts under study are prone to poor crop production and hence the cattle can be a source of income and food. Participatory irrigation projects performed better than the conventionally implemented, despite their small hectarages. This proved that farmer participation can greatly improve the efficiency of development work and eliminate many of the problems regarding proprietorship and enhance development activities at community level. Conventional irrigation projects were plagued by problems of mismanagement and theft as was reflected by poor performance and malfunction of the conventional Chingechuru and Chimwe-Chegato irrigation schemes. Fencing theft atChingechuru irrigation scheme had brought it to a stand still. However, the larger incomes associated with the conventionally implemented irrigation projects were the result of the larger areas under cropping for these projects. Production levels in participatory irrigation schemes were good. Adoption of most technical innovations in livestock projects was found to be associated with the conventional approach. Asset procurement was a function of the farmer’s accessibility to non-project income, like formal employment, and procurement of specific assets applied more to project type than the approach to project implementation. This study found that the approach used in implementation had a greater influence on the performance of irrigation projects than livestock projects.
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Technical constraints to smallholder agriculture: case study of Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Pote, Peter Paul Takawira
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms -- South Africa -- Technology , Agricultural productivity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/84 , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms -- South Africa -- Technology , Agricultural productivity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Using data drawn from a sample of 80 farmers in the Kat River valley, this thesis presents the results of an assessment of the technical constraints affecting smallholder development and their implications for market access. A review of the relevant literature on the smallholder farm sector, technical change and technical constraints affecting smallholder farmers along with an overview of the agricultural marketing environment in South Africa has been presented. A critical review of the theoretical framework for consideration of technical change in agricultural development, with particular attention to the induced innovation model was undertaken. General information on the institutional set up was obtained by open-ended interviews of community leaders and focus groups. These interviews supplemented information obtained through literature study and document analysis. The other method of data collection employed was the single-visit household survey using structured questionnaires. The demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the surveyed farmers are described in this study. The selection process of the variables influencing market access was done by employing correlation and logistic regression analyses. Correlation analysis was conducted to ascertain the relationship among variables to find out the extent to which they mirror theory or intuition regarding their causation to constraints influencing market access. The logistic model was employed in the step-wise manner using each of key production inputs as response variables sequentially. On the basis of a binary logistic model, it can be concluded that the farmers still operate under a number of technical constraints. The most influential constraints are information, asset ownership, value of agricultural production and extension assistance. The study reflects the previous findings in South Africa that the legacy of apartheid continues to negatively impact on its agricultural economy. Key words: Technical Constraints, Technical Change,Market Access, Smallholder Farmers, Agricultural Development, Induced Innovation Model, Kat River Valley, Correlation analysis, Theoretical framework and Binary Logistic Model
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