Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to provide the first in depth description of the natuurboerdery farming system as developed and adopted by ZZ2, a privately-owned farming conglomerate in South Africa. Natuurboerdery aims to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability while maintaining environmental integrity to contribute to overall sustainability. A case study research design using multiple sources and techniques for data gathering was applied to investigate the reasons for and process of converting from conventional farming to natuurboerdery, describe the principles and practices of natuurboerdery farming and document the changes and benefits realised by conversion. It was established that ZZ2 converted to natuurboerdery farming due to the challenges associated with conventional methods of farming. The main challenges ZZ2 experienced were recurrent pests and diseases which were becoming difficult to control with inorganic pesticides, large decreases in yields and unsustainable production outputs or returns to support production costs mainly due to the escalating cost of inorganic pesticides and fertilisers. ZZ2 also became aware of the growing customer demand for healthy food produced by ethically accepted methods while minimising environmental degradation. A conceptual framework was developed to describe the natuurboerdery farming system, based on five principles or health aspects: agro-ecosystem health, soil health, plant health, food health and human health. All of the practices developed and adopted by ZZ2 were described and classified in terms of this framework. Natuurboerdery integrates the use of inorganic fertilisers and organic soil amendments for soil health and plant nutrition; inorganic pesticides, fermented plant extracts from herbal plants with insecticidal properties, EM products, compost teas and biological control agents for plant protection. The conversion to natuurboerdery resulted in changes and benefits which were described and classified under: strategic and technical, economic, social and ecological and environmental. The main findings were that soil health has improved, soil organic carbon levels have increased, the use of inorganic products for plant nutrition and protection has decreased with significant cost savings, yields have risen, water availability has increased and energy spending has been reduced. The conclusions drawn from the research findings indicate that natuurboerdery is neither organic nor conventional farming which indicates that inorganic and organic inputs are compatible in sustainable farming systems. The natuurboerdery farming approach is a potentially sustainable farming system which works with nature. Areas for further scholarship, research and recommendations have been identified to improve the sustainability of natuurboerdery. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis was om die eerste in-diepte beskrywing van natuurboerdery saam te stel soos dit deur ZZ2 ontwikkel en gebruik is. ZZ2 is ‘n Suid Afrikaanse boerdery konglomoraat in privaatbesit. Natuurboerdery beoog om boerdery produktiwiteit en volhoubaarheid te verhoog, terwyl dit die integriteit van die natuuur in stand hou om tot algehele volhoubaarheid by te dra. ‘n Gevallestudie is as navosingsontwerp gebruik en verskeie bronne en metodes is toegepas om inligting in te samel. Die proses en redes vir die oorskakeling van konvensionele boerdery na natuurboerdery is ondersoek, terwyl die beginsels en praktyke van natuurboerdery beskryf is en die veranderings en voordele van die oorskakeling gedokumenteer is. Dit is vasgestel dat ZZ2 na natuurboerdery omgeskakel het as gevolg van uitdagings wat met konvensionele boerderymetodes gesassosieer word. Die hoof-uitdagings wat ZZ2 ondervind het was terugkerende peste en siektes wat moeilik beheerbaar was met onorganiese plaagdoders, groot afnames van oeste en onvolhoubare produksie uitkomste of winste om die produksiekostes te dra. Stygende pryse van onorganiese plaagdoders en kunsmis was die grootste oorsaak van hoë produksiekostes. ZZ2 het ook bewus geraak van die groeinde klante-aanvraag vir gesonde kos wat op eties-aanvaarbare metodes geproduseer is en skade aan die natuurlike omgewing verminder. ‘n Konsepsuele raamwerk is ontwikkel om natuurboerdery as ‘n boerdery-sisteem te beskryf en is gebasseer om vyf beginsels of gesondheidsaspekte: agroekosisteemgesondheid, grondgesondheid, plantgesondheid, voedselgesondheid en menslike gesondheid. Al hierdie praktyke wat deur ZZ2 ontwikkel en gebruik is word in hierdie tesis beskryf en geklassifisseer in terme van die konsepsuele raamwerk. Natuurbeordery integreer die gebruik van onorganiese kunsmis en organiese grondwysigings vir grondgesondheid en plantvoeding. Geïntegreerde praktyke sluit in: onorganieise plaagdoders, gefermenteerde kruieplant-ekstrakte met insek-bestrydende einskappe, EM produkte, kompos-tees en biologiese beheeragente vir plantbeskerming. Die oorskakeling na natuurboerdery het sekere veranderings en voordele gehad. Dit word geklassifiseer volgens die betrekking wat dit het op die strategiese en tegniese, ekonomiese, maatskaplike en ekologiese en omgewings-aspekte van ZZ2. Die hoofbevindings was verbeterde grondgesondheid, verhoogde organiese koolstofvlakke in die grond, laer gebruik van onorganiese produkte vir plantvoeding en beskerming met noemenswaardige koste-besparings, verhoodge oeste en waterbeskikbaarheid, en kleiner spandering op energie. Die navorsingsbevindings wys daarop dat natuurboerdery nie organies of konvensionele boerdery is nie en dat onorganiese en organiese insette dus verenigbaar is in volhoubare boerdery-sisteme. Die natuurboerdery uitkyk is ‘n potensiële volhoubare boerderysisteem wat in staat is om saam die natuur te werk. Areas vir verdere studie, navorsing en voorstelle is geïdentifiseer om die volhoubaarheid van natuurboerdery te verbeter.

Agriculture forms the livelihood basis of several billion people around the world. Despite the increasing trend for rural to urban migration the problems associated with poverty are expected to remain predominantly rural for some time into the future. The challenges associated with rural poverty are particularly important in South Africa where the remaining effects of the oppressive apartheid regime are still vividly evident. The rural population are often stranded in areas of stagnant economic growth and minimal employment opportunities further compounded by low levels of education. The livelihoods of these rural communities, in the former homelands, are often confined to a heavy reliance on remittance incomes and agriculture. However, in the recent past the level of agricultural activity in these rural homelands appears to be declining. This has direct implications for the development agenda in these rural areas. This study is an examination of the various dynamics which have affected the subsistence agriculture sector within a specific community in the former homeland of KwaZulu in Southern KwaZulu-Natal. The responses of 12 respondents, representing independent households, were recorded along with four purpositive interviews with relevant role players in the agricultural sector and in the rural community. The responses shed some light on the multifaceted dynamics which have played an important role in how individual households and the community at large make livelihood choices and how subsistence agriculture fits into these decisions. An increasing reliance on money as the basis of livelihood decisions is resulting in the reliance on agriculture shifting away from a central foundation of household livelihood towards a more supplementary form of food source and risk diversion. Shifting cultural norms have resulted in women and the youth becoming less involved in farming practices in general, which may have been influenced by the expansion of social grants into the rural communities. The changes in dynamics which influence local community and household livelihood decisions are important to consider when determining a possible development initiative in these rural areas. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

M.A. / This research project assesses the impact of South Africa's Land Reform Programme on the Land Redistribution Programme and thus, on the productivity and sustainability of farming operations in Limpopo Province. The impact of the Land Redistribution Programme was examined on five farms within four district municipalities in Limpopo Province, namely: Capricorn Municipality (Vaalkop 656LS), Vhembe Municipality (Spitzkop), Waterberg Municipality (Hartebeespoort 84 KR, Speculatie 139LQ and St Catherine 1257LQ). Landsat 5 remote-sensing images and quantitative and qualitative survey techniques were employed to source the information..

Univ., Diss.--Göteborg, 2007. / Enth. 4 Beitr.

The majority of the rural population in developing countries sustains their livelihoods through small-scale family farming on subsistence level. However, agricultural productivity is far from its potential and food insecurity and high absolute poverty rates are widespread challenges in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), including Mozambique. Global actors, such as the World Bank (WB), frequently publish policy guidelines, strategy papers and reports, all aiming at tackling the focal problem of low agricultural productivity and claiming to be dedicated to the overall goal of economic, social, inclusive and sustainable development. But as agricultural productivity rates in many developing countries remain low, and food insecurity rates have been high for several decades, the adequacy of global policy guidelines for local structures, conditions and needs is questionable. The aim of this study is therefore to analyze the suitability of and identify possible discrepancies between global strategies – that claim to raise agricultural productivity and food security – and the local level. A strong emphasis is placed on a people-centered, local grassroots perspective. To gather data, a five-week field study in Lago District, Mozambique, was carried out, following an abductive approach and using semi-structured interviews on household level, and with a variety of other stakeholders from the public and private sector. The Logical Framework Approach was applied to structure the findings from the WB report and from the field work, with the aim to create a basis for the analysis and comparison of that data, which provides an answer to the research problem of the suitability of global policies on local level. Additional analytical guidance is provided by the concept of human security and a gender perspective. Conclusions from the study demonstrate that the neoliberal point of departure and the different understandings of small-scale farming underlying the problem and objective of (low) agricultural productivity rates identified by the WB, are not coherent in comparison to the local situation identified in Lago District. The development interventions suggested by the WB rather tend to be an obstacle for sustainable rural and agricultural development, as well as local food security/sovereignty, poverty alleviation and inclusive economic growth in the context of Lago District.

In the past, the indigenous knowledge of soils of small-scale farmers in South Africa has been largely ignored in scientific research. Hence the use of scientific approaches to land evaluation has often failed to improve land use in rural areas where understanding of the prescriptive scientific logic is lacking. Despite this, it is clear that local people and smallscale farmers have knowledge of their lands based on soil and land characteristics that remain largely unknown to the scientific community. It is therefore important for researchers to understand farmers’ knowledge of soil classification and management. To address this issue, a study was conducted in the uMbumbulu area of KwaZulu-Natal to investigate the use of indigenous knowledge as well as farmers’ perceptions and assessments of soil fertility. A preliminary questionnaire was designed to explore indigenous knowledge in a group interview that was conducted prior to the study. Another questionnaire was used to elicit indigenous knowledge from 59 randomly chosen homesteads representative of the population of Ezigeni and Ogagwini villages. Six homesteads were chosen for further detailed information on the cropping history, knowledge specific to the cultivated lands, detailed soil description and fertility. Soil samples were taken from these homesteads under different land uses (taro, fallow, veld and vegetable) at 0-30 and 30-60 cm depth for laboratory analysis. This was done to determine the effect of land use on soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbial activity. For scientific evaluation a general purpose free soil survey was conducted to produce land capability and suitability maps. Farmers identified ten soil types using soil morphological characteristics, mainly soil colour and texture. These soil properties were also used in the farmers’ land suitability assessment. In addition, slope position, natural vegetation and village location were used to indicate land suitability. The amount of topsoil was also used in land evaluation. However, slope position was considered the most important factor as it affects the pattern of soils and hence their suitability. Soils on the footslope were considered more suitable for crops than those found on the midslope and upslope. The yield difference observed between villages, which were higher in Ogagwini than Ezigeni, was also used as a criterion for evaluation. Farmers attributed these yield differences for various crops to the effect of soil type on productivity. In support, scientific evaluation found that Ezigeni village had a number of soils with a heavy textured, pedocutanic B horizon and hence a relatively shallow effective rooting depth. Moreover, the Ezigeni village land suitability was limited in places by poor drainage and stoniness. These limitations were rarely found for the Ogagwini village soils. Farmers had a total of six comprehensive and well defined soil fertility indicators, namely crop yield, crop appearance, natural vegetation, soil texture, soil colour and presence of mesofauna. Results showed that farmers’ fertility perceptions are more holistic than those of researchers. However, despite this, their assessment correlated with soil analysis. There was a close relationship between scientific and indigenous suitability evaluation for three commonly cultivated crops (taro, maize and dry beans). This was further substantiated by yield measurements which were significantly higher for Ogagwini as rated by both farmers and scientific evaluation as the more suitable. The significant agreements between the scientific and indigenous approaches imply that there are fundamental similarities between them. Recognizing this and subsequently integrating the two approaches will produce land use plans relevant and profitable for both small-scale farmers and scientists. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The productivity of small-scale sugarcane contractors affects not only their own profitability and sustainability, but that of other stakeholders as well, such as the small-scale sugarcane farmers they contract to and the sugar mills these farmers supply in the form of improved services to growers and a steady flow of sugarcane to mills. This study firstly illustrates the organisational structures of the sugar industry. It then aims to identify constraints that inhibit the performance (such as timely haulage operations and cost effectiveness) of small-scale sugarcane contractors in the small-scale sugar industry of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). To obtain this information, interviews were conducted with 124 randomly selected contractors from 11 mill group areas in KZN between September 2002 and July 2003. Case studies (concerning institutional issues such as organisational structures) of contractors, sub-committee members, and development officers were also conducted in eight mill group areas of KZN between September 2002 and February 2004. Sample statistics and case study results show that contractors face institutional constraints (work allocation limitations, lack of performance incentives and high transaction costs, such as negotiation costs, the risk of losing work and contract default risk), cash flow problems, poor physical infrastructure and a lack of labour. It is concluded that the promotion of a more competitive small-scale sugarcane contractor sector will alleviate many of the problems (such as work allocation limitations) faced by small-scale contractors, while providing incentives for the provision of higher quality and cheaper services to small-scale sugarcane growers. The study also examines the attributes of small-scale sugarcane contractors that affect their quality of service as perceived by small-scale sugarcane growers (SSGs) within current institutions. Information is drawn from the same sample survey, although ten observations from the Umfolozi area are excluded because they were not part of the sample drawn from population lists. Further interviews were conducted in the same time period with SSGs for information on contractor service quality (transport and general service timeliness, meeting of daily ratable delivery requirements, low downtimes, good staff management, and minimal disagreements on service terms). Results show that factors affecting a contractor's perceived service quality include gender, training, the quality of information used (industry focused information sources such as the South African Sugar Association Experiment Station (SASEX) and the Ingede magazine, or general sources such as the radio), and sugarcane tonnage transported (size of business). Being a male contractor and having a larger business positively influence service rating as perceived by SSGs. The importance of the quality of information used and increased training levels highlights the need for the continual provision of relevant information and training for sugarcane contractors by extension services (government, SASEX and milling companies). The study also identifies the need for further research on the issue of contractor machinery costs. In a competitive sector contractors would need to have adequate information on own costs in order to compare these with contract rates in the market. Further guidance by extension staff and other industry advisors (e.g. development officers) in the accessing of adequate finance may also be necessary. Government has a role in strategising the creation of land markets to promote efficient use of resources (land), while providing improved rural infrastructure (mainly district roads). Government also needs to ensure unbiased tribal court rulings, review the impacts of minimum wage legislation on contractors sourcing labour, and provide protection for those competing for work. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

Grazing lands in Eritrea are degraded due to decades of overstocking and consequent overgrazing. Since the rangelands are accessible to entire village communities, organisation and coordinated decision making regarding the management of these resources is not often achieved. Farmers are not motivated enough to make investments to improve a communally owned resource due to the prevailing common access grazing systems. A field survey was undertaken interviewing 12 farmers in the private access commercial and 80 farmers in the common access subsistence grazing using face to face interviews in the Barka and Arado cattle farming communities in four out of the six regions in Eritrea. Debub, Gash-Barka, S. Keih Bahri and Maekel regions were selected using stratified and simple random sampling methods. The regions were chosen based on various agroecological zones where the representatives of different grass species and the two most common cattle breeds in Eritrea (Arado and Barka) are found. The survey included the collection of data on village and household characteristics focusing on rangeland grazing management systems and additional sources of supplementary forage. The study uses several stages of analysis like principal component analysis accompanied by regression analysis together with descriptive statistics and ordination diagram. The commercial farmers addressed grazing constraints by investing in improved grazing through planting 258 ha per farmer of drought resistant seeds and 1767 vs. 8 cactus slices per farmer and covered 75% vs. 40% of forage requirements from grazing resources compared to the subsistence farmers, respectively, during 2002. These results were achieved because 78% of the commercial farmers adopted controlled stocking rates. In common access grazing, the costs of collective action to control cattle stocking rates are high, making imple mentation of stocking rate controls difficult. As a consequence, 65% of the subsistence farmers were forced to migrate their cattle looking for grazing forage in the dry season during the year. The outcomes of migration were evidenced by the results of severe overgrazing and degradation on the rangelands proximity to villages in Debub and Maekel regions and the populated area of Gash_Barka region. The increased number of animals resulting in high grazing pressure was the consequence of migration. Ten vs. six percent of mortality rates was reported for the subsistence systems compared to the commercial systems respectively. The lower results of milk yield, calving rates and off- take rate productivity indicated in the different stages of analysis for the subsistence farmers were the consequences of the lack of the adoption of controlled stocking rates primarily constrained by the migration. The Barka and Arado cattle farming systems are kept under common access grazing systems. Compared to the Arado cattle farming, the Barka cattle farming region had relatively better access to grazing forage. The better quality of grazing in this region is attributed to a naturally low stock density in the region. During 2002, the Barka cattle farming had 1087 vs. 721 Lit of milk yield, 63% vs. 53% of calving productivity and 9.3% vs. 10.9% of mortality rates than the Arado cattle farming regions respectively, due to access to a wider area of grazing lands and more labour inputs. The Barka cattle area farmers are agro pastoralists and usually focus on grazing dairy cattle farming than crop farming. They increased calving rate productivity and decreased mortality rates by increasing the proportion of lactating cows and decreasing the proportion of oxen compared to the Arado cattle farming. The Arado cattle farming had higher offtake rates and income from cattle sales compared to the Barka cattle farming region. The higher off- take rate, which is an index of percentage of cattle sold, for the Arado cattle was probably linked to the shortage of grazing forage and increased herding costs. The Barka and Arado cattle farmers had a shortage of quality and quantity crop residue winter forage during 2002. Farmers were dependent only on rain fed cropping. The application of crop rotation, fallow and chemical fertilizers were low to enhance soil nutrients. Out of the total crop residues forage produced, only 22% and 15% of legumes residue DM forage was produced for the Barka and Arado cattle farmers respectively. Agro- industrial and crop farming by-products supplementary feeds were also limited due to the shortage of feeds in the country during the year. In general, government intervention is important to bring institutional changes to promote the adoption of controlled stocking rates to alleviate the shortage of grazing forage. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

In recognition of the crucial role irrigation plays in stabilizing agriculture production in the face of erratic rainfall that often affects Mozambique, the Government has, since national independence in 1975, implemented several policies regarding irrigation development. Yet, the country is still struggling to expand the area equipped for food crop irrigation. In particular, the formulation and implementation of irrigation policies has faced constraints in the expansion and effective use of irrigated land to ensure increased food production. Despite this, there has not been a systematic effort to consistently document and identify constraints and enablers of irrigation policies and development in to support evidence-based policy dialogue and interventions. This study intends to fill this gap. It does this through an analytical historical trajectory of the irrigation subsector, paying particular attention to critical factors affecting the effectiveness of irrigation policies in contributing to the expansion and effective use of irrigated land to enhance agriculture’s contribution to food production and food security in Mozambique. A qualitative approach is employed in which a review of the existing literature and official documents, along with secondary data collection, is augmented with interviews of key informants and expert opinions. The analysis posits that the ability of irrigation policies to effectively contribute to an expansion and improvement of irrigated production can be enhanced through addressing issues of policy weaknesses, limited investment resources to expand irrigated land, inadequate public institutional support to the irrigation subsector, especially at field level, limited involvement of the private sector in irrigation, weak farmers’ organizations (FOs) and water users associations (WUAs) on irrigated land as well as weak information and knowledge generation and sharing among relevant stakeholders. These issues are particularly pertinent in light of the anticipated implementation of the 2010 Irrigation Strategy. The role, cooperation and partnerships among Government, private sector, FOs/WUAs and development partners need to be taken into account in the formulation and implementation of public irrigation policies. Overall, it is important to note that the success of irrigation depends critically on other agriculture sector-wide policies, suggesting that it is important to have a comprehensive agricultural development policy in place. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Em um programa de melhoramento genético varios fatores influenciam na seleção de cultivares, basicamente pelo elevado número de genótipos em avaliação e pela reduzida capacidade experimental em fases iniciais do programa. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho foi dividido em quatro partes. O primeiro estudo objetivou identificar locais chaves para avaliação e seleção de genótipos de soja nas nas macrorregiões 1 (M1) e 2 (M2), em gerações com pouca disponibilidade de semente. O conjunto de dados consistiu em 22 genótipos de soja cultivados em 23 locais por 3 anos. As análises GGL + GGE e G vs. GE foram usadas. As localidades Chapada-RS e Maracaju-MS foram os locais mais representativos e discriminantes macrorregiões 1 e 2, respectivamente. A identificação das localidades chave é fundamental para a avaliação, onde o número de locais de ensaio pode se resumir a um único local por macrorregião sojícola. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a precisão experimental de diferentes métodos de análise estatística para ensaios com elevado número de genótipos de soja. Foram usados dados de produtividade de grãos de 324 genótipos de soja, avaliados em 6 repetições. Os dados foram analisados considerando os delineamentos de blocos ao acaso, látice triplo e uso do método de Papadakis. Os indicadores de precisão experimental do método de Papadakis são mais favoráveis, quando comparados com os delineamentos de blocos ao acaso e látice triplo. Pode-se usar duas repetições e analisar os dados, usando o delineamento de blocos completamente casualizados ou método Papadakis, sem redução da precisão experimental. No terceiro estudo foi avaliado o desempenho produtivo, a adaptabilidade e a estabilidade de cultivares modernas de soja, em ensaios multiambientes. Foram avaliados 46 cultivares em oito ambientes, nas microrregiões de adaptação 102, 201 e 202, na safra 2014/2015. Ocorreu interação genótipo x ambiente complexa, com alterações do ranqueamento de cultivares entre os locais. Dentre os genótipos avaliados a cultivar NA 5909 RG, parental das RILs no ensaio GWS, esteve presente entre genótipos de maiores médias produtivas, apresentando também elevada adaptabilidade e estabilidade. O quarto estudo teve três objetivos: avaliar a precisão da SG na soja; identificar o efeito da estrutura intrapopulação na precisão da seleção genômica; e, comparar a eficiência da seleção fenotípica e genômica na soja. Foi utilizado o modelo BayesB com validação cruzada para dados fenótipicos e genótipicos de 324 genótipos de soja. Avaliou-se a precisão do GS para caracteres fenotípicos com dados genotípicos de 5403 marcadores SNPs. Os resultados indicaram que a precisão genotípica foi semelhante, considerando, ou não, a estrutura da população. Se observou que a estrutura da população não afetou significativamente a precisão dos modelos para os caracteres avaliados. Constatou-se que com esta metodologia torna-se possível reduzir pela metade o tempo de seleção e aumentar a eficiência de seleção em 123% para produtividade de grãos. / In a breeding program, several factors influence the selection of cultivars, mainly due to the high number of genotypes under evaluation and the reduced experimental capacity in the initial phases of the program. In this context, the present study was divided into four parts. The first one aimed to identify the core locations for evaluation and selection of soybean genotypes in the macro-regions 1 (M1) and 2 (M2), in generations with low seed availability. The data set consisted of 22 soybean genotypes grown in 23 sites for three years. The GGL + GGE and G analyses versus the GE analysis were used. The locations Chapada-RS and Maracaju-MS were the most representative sites and discriminant macro-regions 1 and 2, respectively. Identification of the core location is fundamental to evaluation, since it is where the number of test sites can be summarized to a single site by soybean growing macro-region. The second study aimed to evaluate the experimental accuracy of different statistical methods used to analyze the assays with large numbers of soybean genotypes. The grain yield data from 324 soybean genotypes, evaluated in six replicates, were used. The data were analyzed by using the randomized block design, triple lattice design, and Papadakis method. The experimental accuracy indicators of the Papadakis method were more favorable when compared to those of the randomized block and triple lattice designs. Two replicates could be used when analyzing the data without reducing experimental accuracy: a randomized complete block design or the Papadakis method. In the third study, the productive performance, adaptability, and stability of modern soybean cultivars were evaluated in multi-environment assays. A total of 46 cultivars were evaluated in eight environments, in the adaptation micro-regions 102, 201, and 202, during the 2014/2015 harvest. Genotype × complex environment interactions occurred with changes in the ranking of cultivars between the sites. Among the genotypes evaluated, the cultivar NA 5909 RG, parental to the RILs in the genome-wide selection (GWS) assay, was considered to be among the genotypes with higher mean productivities, and it also showed high adaptability and stability. The fourth study had three objectives: to evaluate the accuracy of genomic selection in soybean, to identify the effect of intra-population structure on the accuracy of genomic selection, and to compare the efficiencies of the phenotypic and genomic selections in soybean. The BayesB model with cross validation was used for analyzing the phenotype data from the 324 soybean genotypes. The accuracy of GS for phenotypic characters with genotypic data of 5403 SNP molecular markers was also evaluated. The results indicated that the genotypic accuracy was similar, irrespective of consideration of the population structure. It was observed that the population structure did not significantly affect the accuracy of the models for the traits evaluated. It was verified that with this methodology it is possible to halve the selection time and increase the selection efficiency by 123% for grain yield.