- Title
- The acceptability of mulching on zero tillage as a water and soil conservation strategy by small scale farmers of Matatiele, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Creator
- Ngciva, Jabulani Emmanuel
- Subject
- Tillage -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape No-tillage -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- Agricultural Extension
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10564
- Identifier
- vital:35610
- Description
- The acceptability of zero tillage amongst small-scale farmers is a challenge in the Eastern Cape Province as farmers have different strategies on how to manage residue. This situation is due to the limited information available on the benefits of implementing zero tillage, such as improving soil health. The Department of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform have been assisting small-scale farmers by subsidising them with the latest innovations, such as zero tillage. The main essence of these initiatives was to compensate farmers that are previously disadvantaged as a result of the apartheid system prior to 1994. Zero tillage has recently gained more attention as one of the most important farm practices due to its benefits for soil conservation and the elimination of greenhouse gases. The study was conducted at Magadla and Nkawu villages in Matatiele, Eastern Cape. The objective of the survey was to examine the influence of current residue management practices amongst Matatiele farmers in the light of the adoption of zero tillage practices. The data was collected using questionnaires and group discussions. The statistical package SPSS and Microsoft Excel were used to analyse data. The findings showed that the adoption percentages of zero tillage by small-scale farmers was 34 percent and 65 percent in Magadla and Nkawu villages respectively. Amongst the challenges that non-adopters faced were shortage of inputs, weak communication channels between farmers and coordinators, residue benefits to livestock and lack of proper monitoring and evaluation. Binary logistic model was adopted and used to analyse 13 independent variables that influence the adoption of mulching in the study area.
- Format
- 96 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Agricultire
- 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) NGCIVA, JE - Oct Grad 2018.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |