scholarly journals Operational challenges faced by smallholder farmers: a case of Ethekwini Metropolitan in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Mutero ◽  
Elias Munapo ◽  
Phemelo Seaketso
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Access To Technology ◽  
Asset Based Community Development ◽  
Capital Access ◽  
The Government ◽  
Development Approach ◽  
The Impact

The study is aimed at establishing the impact of access to capital, access to markets, access to information and access to technology on competitiveness of smallholder farmers on the market in Ethekwini Metropolitan in South Africa. A questionnaire is used as a research instrument. A total of 100 participants was sampled from a population of 485 smallholder farmers in Ethekwini Metropolitan. From the sample, 21% were male and 79% were female. All respondents were all from the African race. The study reveales that access to funding, access to markets, access to information and access to technology not only influenced viability of the smallholder farmers in Ethekwini Metropolitan, but also that the smallholder farmers were not getting enough access to all four stated variables. Of the 100 farmers, 66% of the smallholder farmers had plots with less than 0.5 acres under cultivation. Another finding was that even though the farmers had basic tools to work with, they required funding to acquire irrigation, water storage facilities, transport and tractors. As far as passing information to farmers is concerned, the farmers mostly preferred extension visits.The study recommends that well equipped agricultural resource centres be established in all the agricultural hubs. It is also recommended that the government employs an asset based community development approach when funding smallholder farmers and that the smallholder farmers and other stakeholders be conscientized on the concept of sustainable farming

scholarly journals Smallholder perceptions of land restoration activities: rewetting tropical peatland oil palm areas in Sumatra, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Ward ◽  
Lindsay C. Stringer ◽  
Eleanor Warren-Thomas ◽  
Fahmuddin Agus ◽  
Merry Crowson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Land Restoration ◽  
Peatland Restoration ◽  
Drainage Canals ◽  
Perceived Impacts ◽  
The Government ◽  
Restoration Target ◽  
Peat Fires ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe Indonesian government committed to restoring over 2 million ha of degraded peatland by the end of 2020, mainly to reduce peat fires and greenhouse gas emissions. Although it is unlikely the government will meet this target, restoration projects are still underway. One restoration strategy involves blocking peatland drainage canals, but the consequences of this for smallholder farmers whose livelihoods are dependent on agriculture are unclear. This paper investigates perceived impacts of canal blocks on smallholder farmers and identifies factors that affect their willingness to accept canal blocks on their land. We use data from 181 household questionnaires collected in 2018 across three villages in Jambi province, Sumatra. We found that the majority of respondents would accept canal blocks on their farms, perceiving that the blocks would have no impact on yields or farm access, and would decrease fire risk. Respondents who would not accept blocks on their farms were more likely to use canals to access their farms and perceive that canal blocks would decrease yields. The majority of farmers unwilling to accept canal blocks did not change their mind when provided with an option of a block that would allow boat travel. Our results improve understanding of why some smallholders may be unwilling to engage with peatland restoration. Further research is needed to understand the impact of canal blocks on smallholders’ yields. Engaging with stakeholders from the outset to understand farmers’ concerns, and perceptions is key if the government is to succeed in meeting its peatland restoration target and to ensure that the costs and benefits of restoration are evenly shared between local stakeholders and other actors.

scholarly journals FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN ZIMBABWE

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-182
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
◽  
Steven Henry Dunga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The study sought to investigate the impact of financial inclusion on poverty reduction in Zimbabwe among the smallholder farmers. It is alleged that financial inclusion can help in achieving seven of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs), which include poverty eradication in all its forms everywhere, ending hunger, achieving food security, ensuring improved nutrition as well as promoting sustainable agriculture and many others. Using the simple regression method, the study discovered that financial inclusion has a strong impact on poverty reduction among smallholder farmers. The study went on to discover that, for the government to tackle poverty especially among the smallholder farmers, it is important to ensure that farmers do participate in the financial sector through saving, borrowing and taking out insurance among other services. So, it is important for the government of Zimbabwe to fully implement policies that encourage financial inclusion such as making sure that farmers find it easy to access financial institutions and encouraging financial institutions to review transaction costs like bank account opening charges periodically, implementing financial education programs among the farmers because these variables are important in influencing farmers to participate or preventing them from using financial services.

Investigation Of The Impact Of Networking Among Tenants In The Seda Limpopo Jewellery Incubator In South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Forbes Chiromo ◽  
Goodwell Muyengwa ◽  
Joseph Makuvaza
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Metal Fabrication ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

AbstractThis study investigates the extent to which tenants in a jewellery incubator in the Limpopo Province of South Africa network. Since 1994 SEDA has set up more than 31 incubation centres in furniture making, construction, chemicals, jewellery, ICT, metal fabrication, agriculture and small scale mining. This study was done through a survey conducted on tenants in the SEDA Limpopo Jewellery Incubator (SLJI). Information was obtained through a structured questionnaire. The study revealed how tenants benefit from networking around exhibitions and collective purchasing of raw material. Through the Incubator institutional mechanisms, the study explains how tenants share expertise, experiences, technology and resources. Unfortunately the tenants do not initiate the own networking programmes. They lose out on benefits associated with collective effort in other areas such as advertisements, lobbying the government for industrial stands, organising an newsletter, hiring of consultants, and organising joint training programmes. Lastly the study identified opportunities that the tenants could collectively exploit in order strengthen and sustain their businesses.

scholarly journals The impact of social grant dependency on smallholder maize producers’ market participation in South Africa: Application of the double-hurdle model

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sikhulumile Sinyolo ◽  
Maxwell Mudhara ◽  
Edilegnaw Wale
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Hurdle Model ◽  
Market Participation ◽  
Double Hurdle Model ◽  
Social Grants ◽  
Double Hurdle ◽  
Social Grant ◽  
The Impact

Background: Social grants have become an increasingly popular means of improving the welfare of poor households in South Africa and beyond. While the goals of these transfers are to alleviate current poverty as well as to improve human capital capacity, they also have unintended effects, positive or negative, on beneficiary households. A question that has not been adequately addressed in the literature is the role that social grants play in the efforts to commercialise smallholder farming.Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of social grant dependency on the incentives of smallholder maize producers to participate in the market.Setting: The study was done in the rural areas of four districts (Harry Gwala, Umzinyathi, Umkhanyakude and Uthukela) in the KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.Methods: The study adopted a quantitative research design. A total of 984 households were randomly selected from the four districts, of which 774 had planted maize in the previous season. The analysis was done on the 774 farmers who had planted maize. The double-hurdle model was used for statistical analysis.Results: The results show a negative association between social grant dependency and market participation, suggesting that social grant-dependent households are more subsistent, producing less marketable surplus. Moreover, households with access to social grants sold less quantities of maize in the market, indicating reduced selling incentives.Conclusion: The study indicates that social grants reduce the incentives of smallholder farmers to commercialise their production activities. The results suggest that, while policies aimed at reducing transaction costs would increase smallholder market participation, attention should be paid on how to reduce social grants’ dis-incentive effects. To reduce spill over effects to unintended household members, the study recommends offering part of the grant as ‘in-kind support’, which is specific to the intended individual beneficiary.

scholarly journals Review: Challenges and opportunities for revitalising smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa

Water SA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (3 July) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Fanadzo ◽  
B Ncube
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
The Government ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

South Africa is classified as a water-scarce country, and depends on agriculture for food production. The irrigation sector is the largest consumer of water in the country, accounting for about 62% of water utilisation, but also losing 30–40%. Given the threat of drought and climate change, efficient irrigation systems have become a necessity, especially in the smallholder farming sector where most losses occur. Smallholder irrigation schemes (SIS) were developed to improve rural livelihoods through sustainable food production for food security and poverty alleviation, but these development objectives remain largely unfulfilled. The objectives of this review were to assess challenges facing SIS and explore opportunities for revitalising the schemes. The focus was on government policy and strategies to support smallholder farmers. A review of government policy showed that although the needs and interests of smallholder farmers are high on the national agenda, there is insufficient financial support to the sector, suggesting that smallholder agriculture is not really seen as a potential driver of the economy. The core focus of the government on repairing irrigation infrastructure while neglecting the soft components relating to capacity building has partly been blamed for the failure of SIS in South Africa. Capacity building is one of the missing links in smallholder irrigation development and many failures have been attributed to lack of adequately trained farmers and extension staff, particularly in irrigation water management. Land tenure insecurity has been singled out as a major institutional challenge leading to poor performance of irrigation schemes. The diversity of schemes means that different kinds of interventions are needed to respond to varying farmers’ needs, resources and agricultural contexts. These findings point to the need to balance the soft and hard components of the irrigation schemes for sustainability. It is therefore evident that the government needs to review its priorities in revitalisation of SIS. Land tenure policies allowing increased access to arable land need to be developed urgently, together with the promotion of alternative cropping systems that are suitable forthe smallholder farming sector.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Impact of Fiscal Policy on Economic Growth in South Africa: VECM Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
Tshembhani Mackson HLONGWANE ◽  
Itumeleng Pleasure MONGALE ◽  
Lavisa TALA
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
National Development ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Fixed Capital Formation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Fiscal policy ensures macroeconomic stability as a precondition for growth at the macro level. This study investigates the impact of fiscal policy on economic growth of South Africa from 1960 to 2014 through a Cointegrated Vector Autoregression approach. It seeks to contribute to the existing literature as well as in designing effective fiscal policy programmes which can propel economic performance. Theresults of the long run estimates revealed that government tax revenue has a positive and significant long run influence on economic growth, whereas the government gross fixed capital formation and budget deficit have a negative impact on real GDP. For that reason, the study recommends that some expansionary fiscal policy measures should be strengthened since they play a very important role in the economy so as to meet the government target of the National Development Plan Vision for 2030.

scholarly journals Impact of Selected Economic Indicators on Foreign Investment Inflow in Nigeria and South Africa: Optimal Indicators Search

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Onuorah Anastasia Chi-Chi ◽  
Nzotta Samuel Mbadike ◽  
Ozurumba Benedict Anayachukwu ◽  
Chigbu Emmanuel Ezeji
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Information Criteria ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Development Model ◽  
Banking Sector Development ◽  
Domestic Credit ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Search for ways of attracting foreign investment into developing countries raises great interest among researchers and therefore, there is a search for the economic indicators affecting foreign investment appeal in Africa. This study focuses on the impact of economic indicators of Banking Sector Development Model on foreign investment inflows in Nigeria and South Africa. Various data on banking sector; economic indicators of the classified model were sourced from state statistical bulletins as well as World Bank for the year of 1980-2013. The analysis employed several econometric tools: Unit root, Co-integration, VAR estimates of relative and global statistics to measure the impact and significance of economic indicators attracting/repelling foreign investments. Akaike information criteria for best model selection results showed that economic indicators of Banking Sector Development Model in Nigeria attracted more foreign investment than it did in South Africa. The study concluded that the optimal economic indicators attracting foreign investment are domestic credit and inflation rate. Therefore, the study recommended that effort is highly needed by the government to promote sustainable domestic credit facilities to local industries to attract foreign investment and there should be proactive efficient interest rate control to encourage loans and advances in these two countries.

scholarly journals The Impact of Training and Support Interventions on Small Businesses in the Expanded Public Works Programme—Pretoria Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lungisani Dladla ◽  
Emmanuel Mutambara
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
The Government ◽  
Development Approach ◽  
Training And Support ◽  
The Impact

The small business sector is regarded as a catalyst of employment for the largest number of people around the world. To reduce massive unemployment and inequality in the country, the Government of South Africa introduced various initiatives to stimulate and support small businesses, and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is one such initiative. The enterprise development approach, which seeks to transfer income to poor households in the short to medium term, is one of the delivery mechanisms of the EPWP. This study critically assesses the impact and effectiveness of the training and support interventions provided to small businesses through the EPWP. The study employs a quantitative research method due to the size, availability, and ease of access of the participants, and the entire population of 20 small businesses, supported by the EPWP in the Pretoria region, was sampled. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The study demonstrates that the training intervention provided by the EPWP has a positive impact and achieves its intended goal of enhancing the business management skills of participants. It also reveals an interesting outcome, i.e., that the majority of the participants are women. The study also identified some weaknesses in the programme, which led to the recommendation that long-term support mechanisms are essential for ensuring the sustainability of emerging enterprises.

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