The present context of community based natural resource management is characterized by multiple stakeholder involvement, a situation that presents challenges in aligning vision for common action. A 'systemic intervention' involved the staff and stakeholders of the Farmer Support Group, a non-profit rural development organization based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The 'creative design of methods' guided inquiry in aligning vision of a Landcare ethos amongst the organization and their stakeholders, and in directing action toward the vision. Critical Systems Thinking is outlined as the framework in which the intervention methodology is encompassed. The importance of applying a broad range of environmental education methods to Landcare is established through drawing from present debates and contexts in environmental education and community based natural resource management. The 'organization as community' approach to organizational learning and development is highlighted as a means of creating synergy of purpose across staff and stakeholder boundaries. The intervention's methodology consisted of three phases: drawing out perspectives, forming a common vision in a mission statement, and developing action plans based on the mission statement. Outcomes included: identification of three schools of thought that drove perspectives on the role of environmental education in natural resource management strategies, formation of the FSG Landcare Ethos Mission Statement, which was inclusive of all stakeholder perspectives, and integration of the mission statement into FSG projects through action plans. The intervention found that aligning staff members and stakeholders in common vision and action towards developing a Landcare ethos could be accomplished through a blend of environmental education approaches that facilitate sustainable decision making by building capacity in individuals and communities in a participatory and locally relevant manner that is attentive to predominant perspectives and adaptive to change. / Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

A social survey of the communities living adjacent to the Pongolo river floodplain was carried out, in order to understand the perceptions of the impact of artificial flood releases on the general use of natural resources of Pongolo floodplain in terms of: general resource use, stream flow, water quality and subsistence agriculture. The results show that floodplain communities perceive that the present artificial flood releases which are intended to maintain the environmental requirements of the floodplain are not meeting their needs nor the needs of the environment. Key perceptions on environmental impacts identified are: (i) reduction in water required to maintain floodplain resources, (ii) deterioration in water quality and (iii) decrease in available floodplain land and natural resources. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Weenen Nature Reserve (WNR) has a long history of unwise land use that resulted in severe overgrazing and soil degradation. Since 1948 several soil conservation and reclamation programs have been undertaken to halt the degradation process and regain the agricultural potential of the area. This study evaluates the current agricultural potential of the reserve under rainfed cultivation primarily based on climatic, soil, topographic and crop requirement data collected from different sources. Spatial information on each of the land resources parameters was digitally encoded in a GIS database to create thematic layers of the land resources. Crop requirement information on seven different crops that were selected as representative crops under rainfed agriculture in the area namely, maize, Sorg):mm, cotton, dry bean, soya bean, potato and cabbage was compared with the land resources parameters. The thematic layers of the land resources were then overlyed using a GIS to select areas that satisfy the crop requirements. The results showed that WNR has two major limitations in relation to its use for rainfed agriculture, namely its shallow and rocky soils and its arid climate. Consequently, the resulting land suitability maps indicate that WNR has very low suitability for all of the crops considered. Dry beans are relatively well adapted to the area followed by sorghum. Maize and soya beans are preferred over cotton. Potatoes'and cabbages are least adapted to the area because of the high temperatures during thCl/growing season. It was concluded that generally the reserve is not suitable for rainfed agriculture. However, there is a small area of land in the northern part of the reserve that can be cultivated. The rugged area in the central part of the reserve can be used for grazing with careful managemeIit. The eastern and southern parts can only be used as habitats for wildlife owing to their steep topography and inaccessibility, whereas the highly degraded areas in the western parts of the reserve should be kept under soil conservation and reclamation. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

South Africa as other African countries has not been spared from the rural poverty. The South African government is trying to address this problem through various government departments. One such ministry trying to address rural poverty is the Ministry of Agriculture, working together with the provincial Ministries of Agriculture in different provinces. The provision of appropriate agricultural extension services is regarded as a tool that may be used to address rural poverty and development in South Africa’s rural areas. Appropriate extension services will depend on the knowledge management system applied by the organisation making it innovative and responsive to the needs of the farmers. The objective of this research was therefore to identify knowledge management systems applied by extension workers to support community garden farmers in the uMgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. To address the objective, qualitative research methods, namely focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews, were used. In this research, it was evident that the extension workers were not efficiently managing knowledge within their department, among themselves as well as among the farmers. The extension workers have potential knowledge management methods in place, such as departmental meetings. However, the extension workers’ practices do not capture the true essence of knowledge management. There is no evidence that knowledge gained by extension workers during meetings and informal discussions in the organisation is translated into learning, which could lead to the development of new knowledge by the extension workers. The extension workers claimed that they are using appropriate methods to learn from the farmers and to share knowledge with them. However, the farmers do not believe that the extension workers make use of any methods to encourage knowledge sharing and learning. It is thus evident that extension workers do not integrate knowledge gained from the farmers into the improvement of their own agricultural extension practices. Agricultural extension organisations therefore need to adopt methods that encourage learning, reflection and engagement with the knowledge gained from the organisation and the farmers for real knowledge management to take place. This, in essence, will lead to the creation, sharing, utilization, absorption and transformation of knowledge. / Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The Ezemvelo Farmers’ Organisation (EFO) is a certified organic smallholder group in KwaZulu-Natal province (South Africa) that exists as an institution to improve smallholder access to niche markets by reducing unit production and transaction costs. The study is motivated by the need to understand drivers of collective action, prevalence of internal group free-riding, and the impact of contract terms on contract performance. These three theoretical concepts are pertinent in understanding organisational and institutional issues affecting the performance of smallholder organic farming groups and in formulating policies to promote the performance of such groups. The study relies on the theoretical foundations of collective action, free-riding and contracts found within the realm of New Institutional Economics (NIE). These theories, though separate, are in fact related in certain respects. Collective action in smallholder groups, apart from being a function of a plethora of socio-economic factors, including transaction costs, could be constrained by free-riding within the group, which in turn could be influenced by flawed contractual arrangements. This study of collective action focuses on 200 farmers drawn from a sample survey of 49 non-EFO members, and a census survey of 103 partially certified and 48 fully certified EFO members. A ‘collective action’ model investigates the impact of perceived benefits and savings on production and transaction costs attributed to collective action by drawing comparisons between EFO members and non-members using a multinomial logit model. The study of free-riding uses data from 151 members of the EFO to construct an index of free-riding within the group using principal components analysis (PCA). A ‘contract model’, which also focuses on EFO members only, attempts to measure the impact of verbal contract provisions on contract performance in addition to evaluating the determinants of preferred contract terms using a combination of PCA, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, and logit models. Results indicate that continued participation in EFO is not influenced by the age or gender of the farmer, but positively influenced by growth in the net benefits of participation, and negatively by an increase in the size of the household’s cropland or on-farm earnings. With respect to production and transaction costs, the results suggest that EFO has reduced fully certified members’ concerns that crops would be damaged by livestock or constrained by inadequate technical information. However, this is not the case for other problems such as price uncertainty in conventional markets, a lack of affordable operating inputs, a lack of affordable transport, and a lack of communications infrastructure. The index of free-riding behaviour constructed using principal components analysis suggests that free-riding poses a serious threat to EFO’s collective marketing efforts. Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis of the index scores shows that members who are male, poorly educated, partially certified, aware of loopholes in the grading system, and who do not trust the buyer are more likely to free-ride. Benefits accruing to EFO members are limited and there is substantial confusion among members about the terms of EFO’s verbal contract with the pack house that purchases their organic produce. Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis of the impact that perceived contractual terms have on quantities delivered to the pack house yielded interesting findings. Perceptions that delivery calls are made by the buyer, that grading procedures are flawed and that prices are not jointly established were found to reduce quantities delivered to the pack house, after controlling for differences in farm and farmer characteristics. Logit models estimated to identify the determinants of preferred contract clauses indicate that farmers with higher levels of formal education and farm income, and lower levels of experience, favour a written contract over a verbal contract. Similarly, farmers with higher levels of formal education and lower levels of family farm labour favour a contract denominated by area rather than weight. It is concluded that EFO should recruit households that rely on farming for income and which are land constrained. EFO is more likely to survive if it continues to secure fully subsidised information, transport, fencing, and certification services for its members, and if it improves the benefits of participating by synchronising harvest and delivery dates, negotiating price discounts for organic inputs, and by maintaining an office with telephone, fax and postal services. In the longer-term, EFO should address institutionalised free-riding by issuing tradable ownership rights. In the short-term, EFO must engage with the pack house (buyer) to remove flaws in the grading process that conceal the origin of low quality produce. Transparent and mediated negotiations leading to an incentive compliant contract with the buyer may also help to build trust and reduce free-riding within EFO. It is also recommended that the terms of EFO’s contract with the pack house should be revised so that; (a) delivery calls can be made by either the pack house or by EFO during specified periods and with reasonable notice, and (b) grading procedures are fully transparent and ensure traceability so that losses caused by poor quality can be internalised to members who deliver inferior produce. In addition, it is important that prices be negotiated at the beginning of each season and that the contractual parties have recourse to pre-agreed facilitators and an arbitrator to resolve disputes on price and quality. A written contract is recommended to support these more complex terms, with the proviso that the contract is explained to current and prospective members, and that growers are fully informed of their rights and obligations. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Organic farming is increasingly viewed as a plausible production system for sustainable agriculture for smallholder farmers. However, there is not enough scientific evidence and knowledge to advocate certified organic farming for African smallholder farmers who face several constraints related to production, storage and marketing. The potential for organic farming for smallholder farmers, faced by these constraints, is not clearly defined. As a result, this study set out to evaluate the production potential of organic agriculture among three smallholder farmer groups. Production questions were used to investigate and evaluate the potential for organic agriculture among three smallholder farmer groups and constituted the following subproblems: · What crops can be grown in the three study areas, based on climatic data ? · Do farmers concur that these are the most suitable potential organic crops? · How useful do the farmers find the decision making tool? · What constraints threaten commercial production of the identified crops for these farmers? Participatory methodologies that included the use of Force Field Analysis, discussions and workshops were used to identify organic production constraints related to production decisions. Farmers faced constraints related to finance, capacity enhancement, technical knowledge, fencing, irrigation, and a lack of, or inappropriately trained extension officers. As a response to identified production constraints, a decision support tool was developed. Natural resource data, including climatic and agronomic data, was used to create a specially calibrated Microsoft Excel spreadsheet interface that functions as an empirical organic production decision support tool for organic and aspirant organic smallholder farmers, by providing answers for farmer-prioritised production constraints. A list of potential crops for each of the three study areas was subjected to a series of checks against suitability for climate and disease conditions and nutrient requirements. A limited supply of manure, to meet the enormously high requirements for organic production in the poor soils of these areas, is the major constraint to exclusive organic production and renders certified organic production difficult and unsustainable. Farmers disagreed with some of the crops on the list, arguing that familiar crops were rejected by the model, but they were excited by the prospects for production of “new” crops suggested as suitable by the decision support tool, but not yet grown in the study areas. End users welcomed the model and expressed the opinion that it would be useful in decision making related to organic crop production. The study concludes that, although a number of agronomically-suitable crops can grow in the study areas, organic production is restricted by rather high manure requirements, lack of compost making skills, lack of knowledge on natural pest and disease control and poorly nourished soils, leading to poor yields. The rainy season creates a disease-supporting environment, rendering organic farming risky for rain-fed smallholder farming. Risk in certified organic farming for smallholders was further exacerbated by a hardly inconducive policy environment that low literacy levels exist amongst farmers. This study is innovative for three reasons. First, farmers were true participants and drivers of the research. Second, trans-disciplinary expert seminars were attended by experts from different disciplines who critiqued the conceptualisation, design, and implementation of the study. Third, the development of a practical decision-support tool shows innovation towards solving complex smallholder farmers decisions. If organic farming is to be promoted, commitment by government is needed in order to establish policy and legislation on organic farming to direct and govern training, information provision and marketing. Intensive training and knowledge building of organic production for smallholder farmers and extension officers is critical. There are also agroecological risks associated with organic farming for smallholder farmers. Recommendations for future research include comparison between organic agriculture and conventional agriculture, where sustainability of certified organic farming and economic viability can be conducted in the South African context. Improvement of the decision making tool will require involving information technology specialists so that the tool can be installed in community centres, extension offices and other accessible places for farmers and others. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

For many poor rural South African communities, involvement in agriculture remains one of their most secure livelihood strategies. For the majority of these people, indigenous knowledge and the use of local materials, resources and skills is often the only asset they possess. The Ezemvelo Farmers Organisation (EFO) from the community of Embo in KwaZulu-Natal is one such group of rural people befitting this description. In the absence of financial resources to purchase relatively expensive agricultural inputs, accompanied by a lack of infrastructural development in their community, EFO farmers have become organic farmers by default. EFO members produce mainly traditional organic crops. However, little has been documented about the potential value of trade in these products. The purpose of this study was to explore potential marketing opportunities for traditional organic products through the mobilisation of indigenous knowledge, skills, and natural resources to improve the livelihoods of EFO members. A research team of three postgraduate students, each involved in his/her own independent study, worked in collaboration to collect relevant research information. Five data collection tools were used to collect this information. These were a household survey, a sustainable livelihoods analysis, a forcefield analysis, a stakeholder analysis, and a workshop. Research results showed that there are five stakeholders involved in EFO activities, each with his/her own personal interests. EFO members mainly produce amadumbe, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, which they market to a packhouse, the local community, and to hawkers. Other crop varieties are produced for household consumption and small quantities are sold to the local community and hawker markets. Farmers obtained a slightly higher price for crops sold to the packhouse as compared to the other two markets. The packhouse was the farmers' largest market for the 2002 season. However, the packhouse market was unsustainable for farmers because of problems due to the delays in payments for produce, the high quantities of crops that are rejected because they did not meet the quality control standards of the packhouse, and problems due to the unreliability of transport from Embo to the packhouse. The majority of EFO members' farms were also found to be unprofitable due to the high costs of inputs and losses to production. Constraints such as a shortage of kraal manure for soil conditioning, unfenced properties, a lack of water for irrigation, and the unavailability of a tractor for ploughing were found to be contributing factors to the unprofitability of member farms. Recommendations for improving marketing and profitability were that projects involving farmers should be regularly evaluated, EFO members seek business management skills, direct contracting agreements with their suppliers, explore value added products, and for Government to play a role for rural enterprise development to take place. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Water scarce countries such as South Africa are subject to various hydrological constraints, particularly within resource poor farming communities that are reliant on rainfed agriculture. Recent initiatives to address this issue have shifted focus to explore more efficient alternatives to water supply. Adoption of water system innovations through the use of runoff harvesting is one such alternative that provides a means to supplement water use for increased food production. However, increasing the implementation of runoff harvesting, without encountering unintended impacts on downstream hydrological and ecological systems, requires better understanding of the hydrologic and environmental impacts at catchment scale. The objective of this dissertation was to gain knowledge to the ecohydrological impacts that are likely to occur with the adoption of water system innovations as a means for upgrading rainfed smallholder farming systems. To fulfil this objective, a research component was developed whereby tools were utilised to facilitate this process on the basis of two broad aims. The first aim entailed developing a method for locating areas that are most suitable for the adoption of runoff harvesting using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This was achieved by spatially modelling physical properties of the landscape which influence runoff response. Combining potential runoff with socio-economic factors produced a runoff harvesting map of sites with low, medium and high suitability. This is illustrated by a case study at the Potshini catchment, a small sub-catchment in the Thukela River basin, South Africa. The second aim involved modelling the impacts that runoff harvesting would have on the downstream hydrology and ecology based on the alteration of the flow regimes. To accomplish this, the ACRU Agrohydrological model which was configured to represent runoff harvesting, was used to simulate streamflow for quaternary catchments within the headwaters of the Thukela River basin. Simulated streamflows from ACRU was input into the IHA model to generate ecologically relevant hydrological parameters. Alteration of the flow regime due to runoff harvesting was mostly a reduction in high and low flows however the impacts were insignificant. This suggests that, depending on the intensity of runoff harvesting, downstream ecological impacts are insignificant. / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

The classification of Bioresource Units (BRUs) was developed to provide a reconnaissance appraisal of the natural resources for both environmental impact assessments and the agricultural potential of KwaZulu- Natal. Storage of the Bioresource Programme in a geographical information system (GIS) facilitates usage. Of the criteria used for the classification of BRUs, climate (rainfall and temperature in particular), was considered to be the most important factor. Other factors used were the soil association codes of the Land Types, plant indicator species and communities, and terrain type. The base map used for the study was the 1 : 50 000 topo-cadastral map on which the Land Types (LTs) were demarcated. The result of the study was the mapping of 590 BRUs, each of which is sufficiently homogeneous in environmental factors (climate, soil association, vegetation type and terrain form), such that uniform land use practices, production techniques and levels, can be defined with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Ecotopes, based on LT information, were defined for each BRU. An ecotope is a class of land, defined according to soil characteristics, within which agricultural production will be uniform and will differ significantly between one ecotope and another. The ecotopes, both for cropping and veld, are not spatially defined, but expressed as percentages of the total area of the BRU. In the BRU inventory, crops suitable for the BRU and each ecotope, and the level of production (tons/ha/annum) in the case of crop ecotopes, are supplied at a stated level of management. In addition, it is possible to investigate the potential for 29 crops for which crop production models exist, and for any other crop providing its growth and site requirements, particularly climate and soil, are known. Additional crop production models will be developed, as the demand for this type of information is high. Veld management norms, such as grazing capacity, are supplied for the veld ecotopes. On the completion of the classification of BRUs the decision was made to develop a third level of classification and the Bioresource Groups (BRGs) were mapped. In the classification of the BRUs 23 vegetation types had been identified and used as one of the criteria for BRU demarcation. By grouping all the BRUs with the same vegetation type, BRGs were defined. Each BRG, therefore, consists of a specific vegetation type containing one or more BRUs of the same vegetation type. The 23 BRGs are used mainly for regional and veld management planning. The programme was designed for use by a wide range of people with individual skills and knowledge, and contains most of the information needed for land use planning. It is essential however, to be able to identify ecotopes in the field to effectively use the information at a detailed level for farm planning. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Rural farmers in the Nkwezela Area, with an average family size of 10 people, face a number of problems. The crops that are predominantly cultivated in the area, for subsistence (maize, dry beans, sorghum, potatoes, cabbages and turnips) have very low yields compared to the potential yield of the land. Natural resources in the area are increasingly deteriorating. In addition, arable land has shown remarkable signs of soil erosion that may lead to loss of soil fertility. This study evaluates the current land suitability for subsistence agriculture in Nkwezela based on climatic, soil, topographic and crop requirement data collected from different sources. The spatial parameters of the land resources were digitally encoded into a GIS database to create thematic layers of the land resources which was then compared to the crop requirement data of the selected crops grown in Nkwezela namely, maize, sorghum, dry beans, potatoes, cabbages and turnips. A GIS was used to overlay the thematic layers of the resources to select areas that satisfied the crop requirements of the selected crops. The results of the analysis of the land evaluation in the study area showed that the very hot summers, very cold winters together with the high clay content in the soils are the two limiting factors in Nkwezela. The land suitability maps indicate that sorghum is highly suitable in the area with dry beans and maize being relatively suitable. Cabbages are the least the least adapted crop with potatoes and turnips being not suitable due to the high temperatures during the growing season and the very cold winters. In conclusion Nkwezela is in a high rainfall area that is suitable for subsistence agriculture where warm season crops like dry beans, maize and sorghum are used for daily consumption by the community and can be cultivated in a sustainable manner. In addition the correct farming methods, procedures, liming and fertiliser requirements must be implemented, adhered to and maintained in order to improve crop yields in a sustainable manner and to encourage subsistence agriculture by the community. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.