An investigation of skills, knowledge and farmer support programmes of land reform beneficiaries :a case study of Forest Hill farmers in Kenton-on-Sea in the Ndlambe Local Municipality
- Authors: Tshuma, Mengezi Chancellor
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Land reforms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11205 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013109 , Land reforms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: black owners by white colonialists. Even though whites made up less than 20% of the nation‟s population, they took more than 80% of the agriculturally productive land and drove the original owners to the unproductive reserves where they were cramped and could not practice agriculture at all. Various acts such as the Black Land Act of 1913, Development Trust Act of 1936 and the Native Laws Amendment Act of 1937 were introduced which further frustrated the displaced black population thereby plunging it deeper and deeper into poverty. The main objective behind the introduction of these acts was to restrain the black population from earning livelihoods through agriculture thus forcing them to offer their labour to white farmers for low wages just to earn some form of livelihood. Such unfair practices and distribution of land prompted the first democratically elected government of South Africa to embark on a drive to redistribute the nation‟s land equitably amongst its citizens to foster national reconciliation, stimulate economic growth and compensate those that were forced out or lost their land during the apartheid era. This initiative was called the Land Reform Programme (LRP) and was implemented with three prongs namely (i) land redistribution; (ii) restitution; and (iii) land tenure. Among the beneficiaries of the LRP were farmers from a community called Marselle in Kenton-on-sea. In addition to getting land for farming purposes, the Marselle farmers also obtained financial support from the government‟s Land Bank to help them kick-start their farming activities. However, in spite of such interventions, they have struggled to turn their activities into sustainable livelihood sources. One most likely cause for this is the lack of farming knowledge and skills needed to make them more efficient and productive. This study was thus geared towards evaluating the knowledge and skills gap in Marselle which, when addressed, could make the Marselle farmers more productive. Its focus was limited to the 32 livestock and 8 chicory farmers that are recognized members of their respective projects. Focus was limited only to these farmers since the next phase of this study will involve building their capacity based on the skills gaps identified through this study. The findings showed that the two projects benefited at least 130 individuals belonging to the farming households, with 67.5% of these households headed by males. The age of these farmers was equally shared at 40% each between those above 65 years and those that only went as far as fourth grade. No one went to tertiary at all. At least 75% of the investigated farmers were unemployed and 42% of this population was pensioners. In terms of income though, 64.98% of it was from external sources. The Masakhane Silime (Chicory) project was implemented to generate income and provide job opportunities for the locals but neither of these objectives had been met at the time the data for this study was collected due to various challenges like lack of funds and infrastructure to enhance productivity. Just like the chicory project, the livestock project had its own objectives, namely; to remove animals from the residential areas, provide the animals with a safe place, reduce road accidents and also to provide a livelihood source for local farmers. Due to overgrazing the pastures, lack of proper camps and other challenges, some effort still needs to be put to achieve these objectives. Even though the livestock project was formed with these objectives in mind, the farmers themselves reared livestock either for personal consumption, selling, ritual purposes, store of wealth or all these combined. Regarding technical skills, livestock farmers were found to rely mostly on indigenous knowledge sources to attain farming knowledge. Only animal healthcare knowledge was popular to more than half the respondents. This was said to be due to the focus group meetings held on the farm every other Wednesday to share information with local extension officers. In spite of these information sharing events, livestock farmers identified training on how to feed; market; handle; and treat their livestock as key intervention knowledge areas. Attendance to these focus group meetings was limited to livestock farmers only. Various socio-economic factors were also found to have some form of influence on the acquisition of livestock knowledge. Education was the most dominant factor, with a significant association with the farmers‟ feeding (p=0.033); animal healthcare (P=0.038); marketing (p=0.009); veld management (p=0.036); and cattle slaughtering (p=0.027) knowledge. Other variables most influential include the gender and age of the household head. The former was significant at 95% confidence level for farmers‟ feeding knowledge (p=0.021); animal healthcare (p=0.039); marketing (p=0.043); livestock housing and handling (p=0.023); veld management (p=0.018); and cattle slaughtering (p=0.043). The dominance of males in acquiring these skills could be explained by the fact that the majority of the livestock project members were males. The majority of the few female members became members by default after the passing on of their husbands but their participation in the project was done through other project members who looked after their animals on their behalf. The number of farming years also had some positive and significant influence on other knowledge areas such as feeding (p=0.021) and livestock housing and handling (p=0.013). The logic supporting this association is that farmers tend to accumulate new and more skills the longer they stay in the same enterprise. In addition, most of the interviewed farmers were farm labourers prior to relocating to Marselle hence they acquired the necessary knowledge long before the project started. Concerning the chicory project, its members also relied heavily on indigenous knowledge sources for farming knowledge. Soil preparation (24.1%); planting (20.7%); land care (24.1%); and mechanical weed control (48.3%) were the knowledge areas lacked by more than half the respondents. The farmers identified land preparation (75%); communication skills (25%); marketing (100%); financial management (62%); and harvesting (88%) as the key crucial intervention areas they needed prioritized. As a study meant to inform the capacity building phase of the Land Bank project, this study identified the existing skills gaps in the two projects implemented in Forest Hill. When implementing the Capacity Building (CB) phase, various socio-economic factors will have to be considered. For example, the proposed intervention should not discriminate against anyone on the grounds of gender or physical abilities. The skills introduced should also be simple enough to be accepted and acquired even by the illiterate, especially when one considers the high illiteracy levels amongst the respondents. Efforts should also be made to create partnerships with the right organizations or groups of people so that they provide the required expertise and resources for the benefit of the farmers as and when required.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Effect of agricultural extension services on beneficiaries of the Nguni cattle project: the case of Ncera and Kwezana villages, Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Gwala, Lindokuhle
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Agricultural assistance -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural extension work -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture, Cooperative -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farmers -- Education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11219 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1019814 , Agricultural assistance -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural extension work -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agriculture, Cooperative -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Farmers -- Education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The study was conducted to determine the effect of agricultural extension services on beneficiaries of the Nguni Cattle project in Ncera and Kwezana villages, both in Nkonkobe local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province. The objectives of this study were to determine the quality of extension services offered to the beneficiaries of the Nguni cattle project, relationship between extension officers and beneficiaries of the project, lastly was to determine communication strategies used by extension officers to communicate with the project beneficiaries. A total of 73 Nguni cattle project beneficiaries were interviewed. Semi- structured questionnaires were administered to the beneficiaries of the project who were willing to participate in the study. Xhosa speaking enumerators assisted in data collection. Focus group discussions were later carried out in both villages to determine effect of agricultural extension services on socio-economic status of the beneficiaries. The focus groups were divided into three groups of different ages and gender. The majority of the beneficiaries in the project were males (62.2 % Ncera and 75% Kwezana). There was an association between gender and extension services. Farmers depended on different sources of income. Old age pension and animal sales being the main contributing sources and also having a significant difference. The results of the study further revealed that the beneficiaries were faced with cattle production challenges, lack of extension support services being the main challenge. The results of the study indicated that the majority of beneficiaries had no access to extension services. Only 37.8% and 32.1 % at Ncera and Kwezana respectively reported that they had access to extension services. Although the latter is the case it was further explained by the beneficiaries that extension services offered to them were of poor quality due to poor communication strategies used to provide these services. Beneficiaries also reported the relationship between them and extension officers’ as poor. It was concluded that extension services had an effect on beneficiaries of the Nguni cattle project, largely based on the constraints they face on the project and limited access to extension services.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Factors affecting rural farming households’ willingness to participate in a proposed irrigation scheme: a situation analysis of Guquka in Nkonkobe District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Ngwenya, Kwanele
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Irrigation farming -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural systems -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics)
- Identifier: vital:11198 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007145 , Irrigation farming -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Agricultural systems -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Previous studies conducted in the study area recommended an irrigation scheme as a much desired intervention in order to reduce poverty levels, reduce unemployment, provide a livelihood for the households and trigger development. The Land Bank of South Africa has shown keen interest to provide funds to set up an irrigation scheme in Guquka. Absence of peoples’ involvement and farmer participation has been identified as one of the causes of poor performance of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa. The poor performance of smallholder irrigation projects in South Africa provided a good basis for exploring factors that could possibly affect farmer participation and the success of the proposed irrigation scheme. This knowledge would be useful to providers of extension services, capital providers, policy makers and the recipients of the proposed irrigation scheme. The main objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the willingness of farming households to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. This investigation helped to analyse demographic; socio economic situation; farming practices; economic activities; water sources, uses and management in the study area. The major tool of enquiry in this study was the questionnaire which was used to collect data from the households. Household and farm characteristics were collected using structured questionnaires with the help of locally recruited and trained enumerators. The data used for the empirical analysis was obtained from a survey of 50 farming households in Guquka, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The following variables were selected to determine the scope of their influence on farmer willingness to participate in the proposed scheme: age; membership in local group; investment in agriculture, educational level of the farmers, knowledge, household size, labour and gender. A logit model was used to determine the extent to which these selected characteristics influence the willingness of farmers to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. The results showed that willingness to participate in the scheme was significantly influenced by the afore mentioned variables as well as knowledge about the planned irrigation scheme which is mainly provided by extension agents; and total household income. Age was found to decrease the willingness of farmers to participate in irrigation. A positive association existed between participation and the following variables; membership in local group, investment in agriculture, educational level of the farmers and knowledge. On the other hand, household size, labour and gender were not significant variables affecting willingness to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. Based on the results from the logit regression model, it can be concluded that membership in a local group, investment in agriculture, education, knowledge and total household income are responsible for increasing the probability of participation. The negative relationship on age and participation indicates that the older the person is, the lesser the chances of participation. It is recommended that stakeholders should improve access to education and farmer training programmes. Support systems to disseminate information, training and knowledge should be enhanced. Improving institutional support and access to financial services should be prioritised by the stakeholders in the study area. Further studies on building institutional capacity and a cost benefit analysis of irrigation options in the study area are recommended.
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- Date Issued: 2013