Assessing farmers’ aspirations and goals to expand irrigation crop production from homestead gardens to irrigation plots in Mhlontlo Local Municipality
- Authors: Finiza, Tabisa Nomava
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Crops irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11209 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016173 , Crops irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Most land is still state owned and is granted to users through traditional authorities. Even though the government has undertaken some programmes to reduce rural poverty and has initiated land reform programmes, improved service delivery and formed new water rights legislation in rural areas, the problem of low crop production still persists among South African farmers. The study was undertaken to identify different farmers’ aspirations and goals for expanding their crop production from homestead gardening to irrigation plots in Mhlontlo Local Municipality, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The central problem is that smallholder farmers are not expanding their scale of crop production even though they have access to natural capital which includes land and water. The broad objective of the study was to determine the aspirations and goals of farmers to expand irrigation crop production from homestead gardens to irrigation plots. The specific objectives of the study were to assess factors that addressed smallholder farmers’ aspirations and goals to expand crop production, to identify challenges that smallholder farmers encountered in expanding from homestead gardens to irrigation plots and to determine the current state of homestead gardens and irrigation plots. A list of 20 goals were identified from the field survey with 54 homestead food gardeners and 50 smallholder irrigation farmers in the different villages of the Mhlontlo Local Municipality. Random sampling was used to select the farmers who were asked to score the identified farm enterprise goals in terms of their relative importance. The goals were categorised into five factors using Gasson goal ranking methods which ranked goals on the basis of intrinsic, expressive, instrumental, and social criteria. The next step was to determine the standard deviations and means of the ranked goals. Descriptive statistics was then used to profile the farmers according to such factors as age, gender, years of farm experience, types of plot, the availability of water and land for crop production, the income farmers generate from the sale of crops produced and these are cross-tabulated with their goal rankings. The Logit model was used to estimate the probability that farmers would belong to a particular goal ranking and performance category. The logit model was also used to identify the factors that influence the expansion of the cropped area. The results revealed that maize production and land size where significant at 1%. Age and type of irrigation used were also positively significant at 1%. The results also revealed that the adoption of agricultural technology by smallholder irrigation farmers and homestead food gardens contributed to better quality produce.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Finiza, Tabisa Nomava
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Crops irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11209 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016173 , Crops irrigation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Most land is still state owned and is granted to users through traditional authorities. Even though the government has undertaken some programmes to reduce rural poverty and has initiated land reform programmes, improved service delivery and formed new water rights legislation in rural areas, the problem of low crop production still persists among South African farmers. The study was undertaken to identify different farmers’ aspirations and goals for expanding their crop production from homestead gardening to irrigation plots in Mhlontlo Local Municipality, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The central problem is that smallholder farmers are not expanding their scale of crop production even though they have access to natural capital which includes land and water. The broad objective of the study was to determine the aspirations and goals of farmers to expand irrigation crop production from homestead gardens to irrigation plots. The specific objectives of the study were to assess factors that addressed smallholder farmers’ aspirations and goals to expand crop production, to identify challenges that smallholder farmers encountered in expanding from homestead gardens to irrigation plots and to determine the current state of homestead gardens and irrigation plots. A list of 20 goals were identified from the field survey with 54 homestead food gardeners and 50 smallholder irrigation farmers in the different villages of the Mhlontlo Local Municipality. Random sampling was used to select the farmers who were asked to score the identified farm enterprise goals in terms of their relative importance. The goals were categorised into five factors using Gasson goal ranking methods which ranked goals on the basis of intrinsic, expressive, instrumental, and social criteria. The next step was to determine the standard deviations and means of the ranked goals. Descriptive statistics was then used to profile the farmers according to such factors as age, gender, years of farm experience, types of plot, the availability of water and land for crop production, the income farmers generate from the sale of crops produced and these are cross-tabulated with their goal rankings. The Logit model was used to estimate the probability that farmers would belong to a particular goal ranking and performance category. The logit model was also used to identify the factors that influence the expansion of the cropped area. The results revealed that maize production and land size where significant at 1%. Age and type of irrigation used were also positively significant at 1%. The results also revealed that the adoption of agricultural technology by smallholder irrigation farmers and homestead food gardens contributed to better quality produce.
- Full Text:
Determinants of rural households’ diversification of livelihood strategies: a case of Intsika Yethu farmers of the Eastern Cape province, South Africa
- Authors: Munhenga, Daniel
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farm management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11220 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019818 , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farm management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Despite the continuing perceived economic centrality of agriculture in Intsika Yethu local municipality, rural households engage and pursue diverse non-farm livelihood activities to cope with diverse challenges and risks such as drought. This study assessed the importance of existing livelihood strategies adopted by the different rural households in Intsika Yethu; the link between households’ ownership and access to different ‘assets’; factors determining households’ ability to adopt certain livelihood strategies in the area. A survey of 120 households in six administrative areas and informal discussions with key informants were used to collect demographic data, data on socio-economic activities and factors determining the choice of livelihood strategies of the households in Intsika Yethu. The research findings indicated that only about 10% of the interviewed households relied solely on on-farm livelihood strategy only. Credit, remittances, market distance, affiliating to cooperatives, education and household size have a potential of influencing households to shift from on-farm livelihood strategy to other livelihood strategies. The government may need to promote programs and awareness on how households can diversify their livelihood strategies as a way of coping with economic constraints in the area.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Munhenga, Daniel
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farm management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11220 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019818 , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farm management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Despite the continuing perceived economic centrality of agriculture in Intsika Yethu local municipality, rural households engage and pursue diverse non-farm livelihood activities to cope with diverse challenges and risks such as drought. This study assessed the importance of existing livelihood strategies adopted by the different rural households in Intsika Yethu; the link between households’ ownership and access to different ‘assets’; factors determining households’ ability to adopt certain livelihood strategies in the area. A survey of 120 households in six administrative areas and informal discussions with key informants were used to collect demographic data, data on socio-economic activities and factors determining the choice of livelihood strategies of the households in Intsika Yethu. The research findings indicated that only about 10% of the interviewed households relied solely on on-farm livelihood strategy only. Credit, remittances, market distance, affiliating to cooperatives, education and household size have a potential of influencing households to shift from on-farm livelihood strategy to other livelihood strategies. The government may need to promote programs and awareness on how households can diversify their livelihood strategies as a way of coping with economic constraints in the area.
- Full Text:
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