Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices by Smallholder Farmers in Mbhashe Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The market partaking of smallholder farmers in market-oriented production has the perspective to expand profits, upsurge agricultural output and ultimately promote food security. However, the participation of smallholder’s irrigators and homestead gardeners in markets in South Africa remains low despite numerous interventions, especially since the dawn of democracy in 1994. However, up-to-date, there is not enough evidence that these attempts had been met successfully. This paper examines factors influencing smallholders’ choice to partake in markets and volume sold in the Eastern Cape Province. The study employed survey data of 150 irrigated crop farmers. A random sampling procedure was used in the study areas. The study used a Heckman regression to assess factors impelling market participation and volume sold. Results reveal that market participation and volume sold are influenced by socio-economic and technical factors. Based on the results, the needed policy change to encourage group marketing and upgrading of roads to enable smooth accessibility of output markets are highlighted.

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Factors influencing the demand for improved maize open pollinated varieties (OPVs) by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Journal of Cereals and Oilseeds ◽

10.5897/jco2015.0142 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 14-26

Author(s):

Sibanda M ◽

Mushunje A ◽

Mutengwa C S

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Eastern Cape Province ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Factors Influencing

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) towards agricultural development in rural areas: case of smallholder farmers in Umzimvubu local municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa

South African Journal of Agricultural Extension (SAJAE) ◽

10.17159/2413-3221/2021/v49n1a10779 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 81-90

Author(s):

Z. Makaula ◽

S.F.G. Yusuf

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Sample Population ◽

Eastern Cape Province ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Local Municipality ◽

Information And Communication

This paper was initiated in order to find the usage and relevance of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by the smallholder farmers of the Umzimvubu Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. A survey questionnaire was then developed to collect the relevant data from randomly selected six villages of Umzimvubu Local Municipality targeting 138 respondents. The questionnaires structure employed both closed and open-ended questions that were administered using a face to face interview, conducted on the sample population in each village. There seems to be a correlation between ICT usage and the economies of scale in agricultural development, where smallholder farmers tend to use less of highly modernized ICT, while commercial large scale farmers use more of the modernized ICT. This disparity amongst farmers is exacerbated in many areas by the differing support systems employed by the public extension services.

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