scholarly journals The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Zabentungwa T. Hlongwane ◽  
Rob Slotow ◽  
Thinandavha C. Munyai
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Edible Insects ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
Vhembe District ◽  
Economic Development Strategies

Edible insects are an important natural commodity in rural areas that is used for household consumption and to generate income through trade. As a result, edible-insect trading is a profitable business that provides employment and improves the livelihoods of impoverished rural people. This study aimed at determining the socioeconomic benefits of and reasons for trading insects, and to assess if edible insects are included in economic development strategies in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa. We conducted 72 questionnaire interviews targeting traders in 5 towns across the district. Five insect groups belonging to four insect orders are traded in informal markets of the district. Mopane worms (Gonimbrasia belina) were the most traded (42%) edible insects. Unemployment (45%) and the demand for edible insects (34%) were the major reasons for trading insects. Insect trading has numerous benefits; however, the provision of income (60%) and financial support (35%) were stated as the primary benefits. Despite several benefits associated with trading in insects, there are many challenges such as insect spoilage and a decline in the availability of edible insects in the wild. Edible insects play an important role in food security and the rural economy by generating employment opportunities for unemployed traders. Trading in insects is a traditional practice based on indigenous knowledge, which has persisted as an economic practice that improves rural livelihoods by reducing poverty and increases the human dignity of rural citizens. Only four governmental organisations in Limpopo included edible insects in economic development strategies. Trading insects is primarily an informal activity. The government could stimulate the activity and broaden and deepen the community benefits by providing infrastructure, access to harvest areas, financial support, and business training as part of a rural empowerment strategy to end hunger and poverty while creating employment opportunities in rural areas.

scholarly journals Fuzzy Cognitive Map-Based Sustainable Socio-Economic Development Planning for Rural Communities

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Papageorgiou ◽  
Pramod K. Singh ◽  
Elpiniki Papageorgiou ◽  
Harpalsinh Chudasama ◽  
Dionysis Bochtis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Fuzzy Cognitive Maps ◽  
Weighted Averaging ◽  
Aggregation Method ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Economic Development Strategies

Every development and production process needs to operate within a circular economy to keep the human being within a safe limit of the planetary boundary. Policymakers are in the quest of a powerful and easy-to-use tool for representing the perceived causal structure of a complex system that could help them choose and develop the right strategies. In this context, fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) can serve as a soft computing method for modelling human knowledge and developing quantitative dynamic models. FCM-based modelling includes the aggregation of knowledge from a variety of sources involving multiple stakeholders, thus offering a more reliable final model. The average aggregation method for weighted interconnections among concepts is widely used in FCM modelling. In this research, we applied the OWA (ordered weighted averaging) learning operators in aggregating FCM weights, assigned by various participants/ stakeholders. Our case study involves a complex phenomenon of poverty eradication and socio-economic development strategies in rural areas under the DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission) in India. Various scenarios examining the economic sustainability and livelihood diversification of poor women in rural areas were performed using the FCM-based simulation process implemented by the “FCMWizard” tool. The objective of this study was three-fold: (i) to perform a brief comparative analysis between the proposed aggregation method called “OWA learning aggregation” and the conventional average aggregation method, (ii) to identify the significant concepts and their impact on the examined FCM model regarding poverty alleviation, and (iii) to advance the knowledge of circular economy in the context of poverty alleviation. Overall, the proposed method can support policymakers in eliciting accurate outcomes of proposed policies that deal with social resilience and sustainable socio-economic development strategies.

The Pittsburgh Transition: Not Quite So Simple

2021 ◽  
pp. 089124242110248
Author(s):  
Sabina Deitrick ◽  
Christopher Briem
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Economic Restructuring ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
The State ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Significant Other ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Economic Trends ◽  
Economic Development Strategies

Benjamin Armstrong’s article compares state economic development policies in Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the 1980s, the period of major regional economic restructuring. Armstrong argues that what separated Pittsburgh from Cleveland in the ensuring years was the state-mandated inclusion of the city’s universities as major economic development decision makers and the role that advanced technology played in Pittsburgh’s recovery—much more prominent than in Cleveland’s. The authors agree that the 1980s expanded stakeholders in the region’s traditional economic development strategies, but not to the extent that Armstrong argues, and that significant other factors have affected the two regions in recent decades. The authors also find that the divergence in economic trends between the two regions is not a strong as Armstrong suggests.

scholarly journals Prevalence and Genetic Characterisation of Human Sapovirus from Children with Diarrhoea in the Rural Areas of Vhembe District, South Africa, 2017–2020

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Mpho Magwalivha ◽  
Jean-Pierre Kabue Ngandu ◽  
Afsatou Ndama Traore ◽  
Natasha Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rna Extraction ◽  
Diarrhoeal Disease ◽  
Positive Sample ◽  
Prevalent Strain ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
Vhembe District ◽  
Pcr Targeting

Diarrhoeal disease is considered an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing areas, and a large contributor to the burden of disease in children younger than five years of age. This study investigated the prevalence and genogroups of human sapovirus (SV) in children ≤5 years of age in rural communities of Vhembe district, South Africa. Between 2017 and 2020, a total of 284 stool samples were collected from children suffering with diarrhoea (n = 228) and from children without diarrhoea (n = 56). RNA extraction using Boom extraction method, and screening for SV using real-time PCR were done in the lab. Positive samples were subjected to conventional RT-PCR targeting the capsid fragment. Positive sample isolates were genotyped using Sanger sequencing. Overall SV were detected in 14.1% (40/284) of the stool samples (16.7% (38/228) of diarrhoeal and 3.6% (2/56) of non-diarrhoeal samples). Significant correlation between SV positive cases and water sources was noted. Genogroup-I was identified as the most prevalent strain comprising 81.3% (13/16), followed by SV-GII 12.5% (2/16) and SV-GIV 6.2% (1/16). This study provides valuable data on prevalence of SV amongst outpatients in rural and underdeveloped communities, and highlights the necessity for further monitoring of SV circulating strains as potential emerging strains.

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