Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Preface: "The need for development as observed today is a problem peculiar to the 20th century. The current situation is characterised by the fact that there are no more empty places on the earth, while our use of dwindling resources is curbed by environmental constraint." (Mouly and Costa, 1974, 155). The need for development is not equally felt by all nations as disparities in income and standards of living on a national basis have dissected the world into developed and underdeveloped countries. Disparities also exist within nations. These divisions are not simply determined nor are the terms related to development clearly defined - a matter that will be discussed in Chapter Two. Impetus to developing underdeveloped countries may be provided by various means, such as a general injection of capital or by more specific development projects. The purpose of these projects is to initiate changes that are intended to promote rapid development of an area. An interest has been shown by Geographers in the ability of these projects to stimulate economic growth in surrounding areas (Silberfein, 1976). The resulting success of development projects is closely related, if not determined, in large measure, by the aims. In view of the need for the aims of development projects to be successfully fulfilled, research into what constitute constructive developmental aims would be beneficial. Previous studies have revealed problems encountered with conflicting aims and objectives (Mountjoy, 1971); poorly defined aims (de Wilde, 1967); and inadequate groundwork prior to initiating the project (Berry, 1976). It is the intention of the study to examine the impact made by a development project in an underdeveloped area, and thereby assess the extent to which the development aims have been carried out. In order to carry out an examination of a development project in an underdeveloped area, an area in need of development had to be selected; a project within the area chosen for study; and the particular aim of the project examined. The Ciskei, a Homeland in South Africa, was chosen as a suitable area for study. A number of factors contribute towards it being an area in need of development, particularly as the Ciskei is a small country and dependent on South Africa, which is explained in the overview of the Ciskei in Chapter One. Three characteristics of underdevelopment noted by Seers (1972) are poverty, inequality and underemployment. Of these three factors it was decided to focus on unemployment as the indication of the extent to which development has taken place. The reduction of unemployment was one of the aims of the Keiskammahoek Irrigation Scheme, the project chosen for study. The overview concludes with a presentation of the Keiskamma Irrigation Scheme.

In Suid-Afrika het die opkoms van die sosialistiese gedagte teen die einde van die negentiende eeu ook merkbare invloed op die staatshuishouding gehad. In die negentiende eeu was die ekonomiese wetgewing, hoofsaaklik onder invloed van die indiwidualisme volgens die leer van "Laissez- faire", daarop gerig om die maksimum welvaart te verkry deur vrye mededinging aan te moedig en te beskerm, en om privaat inisiatief sy gang te laat gaan. Daar het egter geleidelik 'n verandering in hierdie houding en beleid ingetree. Deur 'n verandering in die beskouing omtrent die einddoel van die menslike arbeid en sy ekonomiese bedrywigheid moes die staat uit sosiaal-ekonomiese oorwegings sekere seksies van die samelewing deur spesiale en beskermende wetgewing te hulp kom. Die ontwikkeling van die aandeel wat die staat geneem het in die beheer en bevordering van die welvaart van die boere in die Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek is ' n voorbeeld van die voorgenoemde omwenteling in die ekonomiese en bedryfslewe teen die einde van die vorige eeu. Die staat het aanvanklik weinig gedoen vir die bevordering en beheer van die onderhoudsboerdery. Later, met die veranderde boerderyekonomie, het staatshulp, staatsvoorligting en -beheer egter noodsaaklik geword. Gedurende die laaste jare van die Suid- Afrikaanse Republiek het die owerheid meer en meer verpligtings teenoor die boeregemeenskap aanvaar. Namate die staat groter hulp en diens verskaf het, na dié mate moes hy ook groter beheer uitoefen.

Economic development remains elusive for many world economies, but especially those of African countries. The current global inequalities in terms of GNP per capita and human living standards between developed and developing nations have ensured that the challenges of food insecurities are only some of the many negative experiences of underdevelopment in the African continent. Hence, delivery pressures are increasing on policy makers and researchers to provide tangible and timely economic solutions to the resilient state of underdevelopment. In the policy fights against the challenges posed by a lack of development in South Africa, the agricultural sector has in the past and continues in the present to play a central role. Such is the case because the majority of citizens rely on agricultural production activities for their livelihoods. For instance, even though the sector only contributed four percent towards the national Gross Domestic Product in 2006, in the Eastern Cape Province, more than seventy percent of the total population resided in rural areas. Moreover, in 2004 more than sixty percent of the national formal and informal employment levels were found in the sector. These economic indicators do not only reinforce the assertions that high levels of geographical and sectoral inequalities exist in the country’s economy, but they also illustrate the importance of the agricultural sector in public policy attempts, which are aimed at achieving food security alongside long-term developmental objectives. Some economists, especially the proponents of institutionalism, have argued that most of the recommendations to public policy interventions from mainstream economic research endeavours are not adequately helpful. The recommendations generally lack well considered and socially effective ideas, mainly because there remains some level of ignorance about the impacts that institutions have on economic and social systems. Some argue that this ignorance is reflected in (flawed) hedonistic and rationalist assumptions made about economic actors and in the methodological thinking of many research designs and economic analyses. The misuse of formal tools and statistical methods, for example, are some of the important factors, which have led to failures of the discipline of economics to provide effective policy solutions to problems of underdevelopment and poverty, especially in poor country environments. The thesis, having taken account of the majority of criticisms levelled against the classical and new-classical economic schools of thought, argues that the discipline as a whole lacks a paradigmatic integration of institutional and new-classical economic perspectives to offer appropriate guidelines for a methodology aimed at achieving socially responsive research outputs. The lack of this integration has resulted in a skewed selection of methods by economists, which are employed in research without a supportive and in-depth understanding of institutional and social factors. To support the thesis, a more effective and integrated framework for economic research is developed and presented with case study illustrations in a cumulative manner. The 20th century history of agricultural policies in South Africa, the agricultural and institutional case studies from the Eastern Cape Province alongside reviews of other agricultural studies are all used in presenting a case for rigorous institutional investigations in general economic research. These are also used in developing the proposed integrated framework, which aims to give guidance in developing research methods, which are more socially responsive. Having shown the usefulness of the proposed research framework, the thesis recommends that public policy interventions (at national and local levels) should aim to eliminate all types of institutions which have high associated transactional costs. The interventions should also encourage the emergence and growth of the types of institutions, which present the lowest costs to initiatives of economic development. In the primary case studies from the Eastern Cape Province, the insecurity of land tenure and the various local initiatives of business ventures are highlighted as two examples of the types of institutions, which respectively present high and low transactional costs to local initiatives of agricultural and economic development.

The need to achieve developmental local government in South Africa has necessitated that the municipalities and other government departments pay more attention to the poor so that they can be helped to live more fruitful lives and become the instruments for the growth of local economy. This study seeks to assess the impact of Local Economic Development (LED) initiatives in Mbhashe Local Municipality with special focus on the Maize Production Project (MPP). The areas of Mbhashe municipality that were included in the study include Ndakeni village near Dutywa, Tswele-litye near Willowvale and Madwaleni near Elliotdale. The study followed both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches and the respondents were made up of a sample of MPP beneficiaries from the three areas mentioned above, Community Leaders and the Officials. The objectives of the study were to identify MPP objectives, to identify challenges in the implementation of the MPP, to assess the availability of remedial measures and lastly, to assess whether the community has benefited from the maize production project or not. Among others, the objectives of the MPP were to maximise maize production, to make profit, to create employment opportunities for the unemployed. Only 13 percent of the surveyed beneficiaries believe that their expectations of this initiative were fully met. The majority (two thirds) believe that their expectations were partly met, whilst one in five (20 percent) believe that their expectations were not met at all. The MPP implementation challenges included delays caused by the municipal procurement processes, unfavourable climate conditions, poor service delivery by the appointed service providers who provide tractors, shortage of funds and late start for ploughing. Even though the remedial measures seem to be in place, the implementation and the communication of the strategies remains a big challenge. Furthermore a proportion of the respondents were unhappy with the public participation process that preceded the implementation of the project.According to the findings, two thirds (67 percent) of the surveyed farmers believe that their communities have benefited from the MPP, although one third (33 percent) disagreed. The challenges of an insufficient budget, procurement delays and late commencement of ploughing need to be addressed if the maize production initiative is to yield the desired results.

This study examines the importance of public research and development (R&D) expenditures and innovations (prices) to U S agricultural productivity employing panel vector error correction econometric technique Specifically, time-series and panel unit root tests, panel cointegration procedures, panel causality tests, and vector error correction model are used in the analysis. Empirical application to U S state-level data for 1960-2004 suggests positive and statistically significant influence of both supply-side drivers, in the form of public R&D expenditures, and demand-side drivers, in the form of innovations (prices), on total factor productivity growth.

This study examines how federal farm policies, specifically crop Insurance, have affected the farm economic structure of North Dakota's agriculture sector. The system of derived input demand equations is estimated to quantify the changes in North Dakota farmers' input use when they purchase crop insurance. Further, the cumulative rolling regression technique is applied to capture the varying effects of the farm policies over time. Empirical results from the system of input demand functions indicate that there is no moral hazard since North Dakota farmers will increase fertilizer and pesticide use in the presence of crop insurance. Results also indicate that farmers in this state will not increase the use of land.

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of agricultural infrastructure on agricultural productivity and agricultural income of smallholder farmers in the North West Province, South Africa. Factors that contribute to the availability, accessibility and satisfaction of smallholder farmers with regards to agricultural infrastructure were also assessed in the study. Using cross sectional data from the North West Province of South Africa, 150 smallholder farmers were selected using stratified sampling to group farmers into those who had agricultural infrastructure and those who did not have. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, divided into six sections as follows: personal socio-economic characteristics of farmers; characteristics of the land; agricultural infrastructure of smallholder farmers; agricultural production and markets; and production activities and financial support rendered to farmers. The data were coded, captured and analysed using STATA 14.0. Data were analysed through descriptive analyses, Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Heckman selection procedure and Tobit Regression Models. This result revealed that most of the farmers were male, aged between 41 and 60 years of age, had contact with extension services, had contact with extension services only occasionally and did not engage in non-farming activities. Smallholder farmers had less than 10 years of farming experience, a household size of less than or equal to five members, had about one household member assisting in the day-to-day farming activities. Most of the farmers did not belong to any organisation. Generally, the farmers indicated that they were involved in dry land farming. Farmers who irrigated their farms, did so on approximately 15 and 45 hectares of land. Farmers also indicated that they received agricultural support from CASP and used commercial seeds, fertilizers and animal vaccines as their production inputs. Furthermore, smallholder farmers in the study area received support for inputs while majority indicated they did not have to repay for the inputs. Majority of farmers indicated that infrastructure impacted on their farming enterprises through increases in productivity in their farming enterprises. The study found that the factors influencing agricultural income for smallholder farmers with agricultural infrastructure were: Physical infrastructure index (Coef=0.78: P=0.01); Social infrastructure availability index (Coef=0.61: P<0.01); Institutional infrastructure availability index (Coef=1.05: P<0.01); Level of education of farmers (Coef=0.96: P<0.01); Access to extension services (Coef=1.05: P<0.01); Membership of farmers’ organisations (Coef=0.59: P<0.05); Age of smallholder famers in the study area (Coef=0.05: P<0.01); and Household members assisting in farming activities (Coef=0.24: P<0.05). In terms of smallholder farmers with accessible agricultural infrastructure, factors influencing agricultural income were: Physical infrastructure access index (Coef=1.29: P<0.01); Social infrastructure access index (Coef=0.38: P<0.1); Equipment infrastructure access index (Coef=0.62: P<0.01); Level of education for smallholder farmers (Coef=1.21: P<0.01); Access to agricultural extension services (Coef=1.64: P<0.01); Membership of Farmers’ organisations (Coef=0.77: P<0.05); Age of smallholder farmer (Coef=0.01: P<0.01); and Household members assisting in the farming enterprises (Coef=0.39: P<0.01). In terms of satisfaction of smallholder farmers with agricultural infrastructure, factors influencing agricultural income were: Physical infrastructure satisfaction index (Coef=0.35: P<0.1); Social infrastructure satisfaction index (Coef=0.37: P<0.1); Institutional infrastructure satisfaction index (Coef=1.25: P<0.01); Equipment infrastructure satisfaction index (Coef=1.04: P<0.01); Level of education of respondents (Coef=1.24: P<0.01); Access to extension services (Coef=1.58: P<0.01); Age of smallholder farmers in the study area (Coef=0.05: P<0.01); Number of years farming (Coef = -0.57: P<0.1); and Number of household members assisting in farming (Coef=0.19: P<0.1). The results of the Heckman selection model revealed that the variables impacting on agricultural income were: agricultural infrastructure availability index (Coef=1.12: P<0.01); and access to extension services (Coef=0.62: P<0.05). Furthermore, those impacting on agricultural production were: infrastructure satisfaction index (Coef=-1.31: P<0.01); infrastructure accessibility index (Coef=-0.59: P<0.05); Level of education of smallholder farmers (Coef=0.64: P<0.01); access to extension services (Coef=1.29: P<0.01); and membership of farmers’ organisations (Coef=0.66: P<0.01). The results of the Tobit Regression Model showed that among others factors influencing availability of agricultural infrastructure, the following variables played a critical role: assistance of household members in farming enterprise (Coef=0.702: P<0.01); farm ownership (Coef=0.962: P<0.01); farm acquisition (Coef=0.323: P<0.01)farmer occupation (Coef=0.785: P<0.01); member of farmers’ organisations (Coef=2.066: P<0.01); sources of labour (Coef=1.283: P<0.01); farming experience (Coef=0.100: P<0.01); and agricultural production inputs (Coef=-0.763: P<0.05). In terms of accessibility to agricultural infrastructure, the following variables played a critical role: engagement in non-farming activities Coef=1.275: P<0.01); contact with extension services (Coef=1.205: P<0.01); farm ownership (Coef=0.403: P<0.01); farmer occupation (Coef=0.456: P<0.01); membership of farmers’ organisations (Coef=1.111: P<0.01); sources of labour (Coef=0.653: P<0.01); farming experience (Coef=0.045: P<0.05) and land tenure (Coef=0.156: P<0.01). In terms of satisfaction with agricultural infrastructure, among other factors influencing satisfaction with agricultural infrastructure, the following variables played a critical role: organisation for extension services (Coef=1.779: P<0.01); assistance of household members in farming enterprise (Coef=0.411: P<0.01); government agricultural support to farmers (Coef=0.419: P<0.01); farm ownership (Coef=0.464: P<0.01); membership of farmers’ organisations (Coef=1.011: P<0.01); age of farmer (Coef= 0.030: P<0.01); level of education (Coef= 0.483: P<0.01); marital status (Coef=0.290: P<0.01); and gender (Coef= -0.576: P<0.01). The results of the analysis were used to close the knowledge gap with regards to the impact of agricultural infrastructure, availability, accessibility and satisfaction on the productivity and agricultural income of smallholder farmers in the North West Province. In terms of recommendations, the study highlighted that agricultural industries and government should commit in assisting smallholder farmers to be productive and to participate in economic activities. This could be achieved through collaboration with industries in implementing initiatives that assist and accelerate the development of smallholder farming and also through assisting smallholder farmers access agricultural infrastructure. / Agriculture and Animal Health / Ph. D. (Agriculture)

Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness / MSc.AEC