[From Introduction]. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine some of the broad relationships which exist between different land use types and farming practises on the one hand and the geographical environment on the other. The enquiry is confined to the study of a number of farm units which have been selected within the area enclosed by the District of Albany and Bathurst situated in the south-East coastal belt of the Cape Province. The procedure adapted conforms broadly to that of a project carried out in South America by R.S. Platt of the University of Chicago and embodied in hls book "Latin America, Countryside and United Regions." Platt's project, he notes, consists of a collection of "small field studies in a frame of complex generalisations." It does not aim to give a complete geographical account of the regions he selected for investigation, but is an attempt to enlarge geograpical understanding of the respective areas.

M.Comm. / The agricultural sector is important in South Africa, because it contributes approximately 4 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Agriculture can contribute significantly to economic growth, by means of food production and job creation, and thereby it can play an important role in reducing poverty. This paper examines the contribution of agriculture to economic growth in South Africa, and its possible role in poverty alleviation. It begins by conducting a literature review of the contribution of agriculture to economic growth. In particular, it examines two stages of farming, namely, the subsistence and commercial stages, to determine how each of these contributes to economic growth and poverty alleviation. It finds that both of these stages have undergone little improvement over the years and have performed poorly. Next, the challenges that prevent the farming sector from performing better are described and investigated in detail. Importantly, unavailability of the data in the subsistence sector makes it harder to arrive at a conclusion as to whether agriculture contributes to poverty alleviation. Despite these challenges, the study finds that agriculture remains the key to survival for most of the rural poor. Finally the paper draws conclusions and makes recommendations for policy measures to increase growth in the agricultural sector based on the findings of the research. The key conclusion emanating from this study is that agriculture does not indeed contribute to economic growth and that it is able to alleviate poverty. However, resources such as land, skilled labour, machinery and capitals are a major limiting factor. As for recommendations, a critical strategy must be to recapitalise agriculture, investing more heavily in this sector and in programmes to develop rural economic and social infrastructure. Public investment needs to be directed in particular towards promoting agricultural research and extension, improving access to financial services, providing investment incentives, and increasing access of the poor to support services and productive resources. The study concludes that data and information should be separated between subsistence and commercial farmers to be able to determine whether agriculture contributes to poverty alleviation.

Thesis (MTech (Design)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. Bibliogr.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-185). / This study investigates the production, consumption and regulation within the South African Organic Cotton Project (SAOCP). It argues that the implementation of design strategies has the potential to promote the consumption of organic cotton clothing products in South Africa. This is necessary because of growing global concerns about environmental and social issues, such as global warming, environmental degradation and pressurised working condition. These point to a need for fundamental change of our industries to sustain future generations. In the fashion and textiles industry, cotton production specifically is among the most environmentally damaging. Organic cotton production serves as a sustainable alternative to conventional production, and has increasingly been included by brands and organisations in the United States and several European countries. However, in South Africa, organic cotton production and consumption remains in a formative stage. Though sustainable consumer intentions are there, they do not manifest in the consumers‟ buying behaviour. This study wants an attempt to promote the consumption of organic cotton apparel products by South African consumers through suggesting a more interconnected, transparent value chain providing a collaborative learning and teaching experience. The literature extensively reviews the cotton fibre industry and notion of fashion and design in connection to the sustainability debate. Further, it presents innovative design projects encouraging sustainable consumer lifestyles, indicating the necessity of a holistic and re-connective strategy to promote such behaviour. A qualitative multi-method research approach is employed – including a consumer survey, an in-context immersion, focus groups and interviews with key informants. These (mainly) participatory research methods aim to include participants in the design process as co-designers. Activity Theory is utilised as an analytical lens in this study to examine the dynamics of a number of actors in the SAOCP who share the objective of promoting organic cotton consumption in South Africa. Consequently, the Design for Sustainability model guides the adaptable design strategies that are relevant and sustainable within South Africa, and possibly also internationally in similar industrial contexts. This research study concludes that promotion of organic cotton consumption can be achieved through stakeholder re-connection in the organic cotton value chain, and the development of a humanised and transparent system. Ultimately, the strategies attempt to contribute to an increased well-being among actors through a deeper level of understanding of one‟s role in the SAOCP system.

Empirical studies have suggested that agricultural extension can increase agricultural productivity. However, the increase in productivity is dependent on a number of issues. As a result, this particular study was conducted among farmers in order to examine the relationship between the provision of extension services and increased productivity in a regional context. The perceptions of vegetable home gardeners resident in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area, who participated in the Siyazondla Homestead Production Programme, formed the source of the primary data. The views of these farmers were analysed to determine how extension services affected their performance. The findings revealed that the farmers have a good perception of the extension services, although this negatively correlates with their level of performance. In addition, the data indicate that farmers who had a poor perception of extension services tend to achieve high production while those with a good impression of services had a poor performance. It was however observed that level of education, farming experience and exposure to print media influenced the responses that were captured in the study.

Bibliography: pages 116-124. / It is well known that women are constrained by their gender role, which is imposed on them by the gender relations they experience. This role allocates them the direct responsibility for maintenance of the household and subjects them to patriarchal relations of male domination and female subordination. There is little understanding, however, of how gender-specific constraints operate. This study records the gender-specific constraints affecting the lives of black, rural women in a homeland in South Africa (KwaZulu). An analysis is given of the extent to which these gender-specific constraints affect the agricultural productivity of these women. An integrated methodology, combining elements of qualitative observations, key-informant interviews and quantitative surveys was used to identify gender-based constraints to agricultural production experienced by rural women in the study area (the Nhlangwini Ward, Umzumbe District, southern KwaZulu). This information revealed that the lives of women in the Nhlangwini Ward are severely affected by gender-specific constraints that arise out of: their involvement in various activities that constitute their multiple work role (survival tasks, household tasks and different resources (land, income generation); their access to capital and training) and their perception of their gender role and the patriarchal relations they experience. Women in the ward adapt to these constraints by: using child labour and hired labour to assist them in conducting survival tasks and household tasks; allocating some shopping (for clothes) to male household members who have greater access to urban centres; membership of community gardens to gain access to arable land and agricultural expertise; hiring private arable land for farming and adopting poultry farming as a favoured agricultural activity. Recommendations are made for types of projects and policy changes that could work to overcome these constraints and the broader subordination of women in rural areas. As gender and rural development is a pioneering research field in South Africa, more research of this type is urgently required because at present the development process takes little cognisance of gender issues.

Masters of Art research report prepared for the Department of Development Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, March 2017 / The current food system is contributing to the food insecurity of the urban poor. Local food systems and other food system alternatives benefit the urban poor in all four spheres in which the corporate food regime disadvantages them: accessibility, empowerment, sustainability and health. This research maps the overlap of poverty and types of agriculture in the City of Johannesburg to locate potential for urban farms to serve and benefit the urban poor. There are many areas where potential for food system alternatives is high, especially where smaller scale farms are growing vegetables in areas where there are many and mostly poor households concentrated over space. By engaging with farmers, from study areas in the City which meet at least some of these conditions, the research not only confirms that the potential identified in these areas is being realised and exceeded but suggests that the potential has been underestimated for all of the other areas of the municipality in which urban agriculture coexists with the urban poor. The combinations and variations of food system alternatives chosen by farmers, in the foodstuffs produced, nature of production and modes and channels of distribution, are evidence of the reciprocal influence of structure and their own agency. By reframing urban agriculture to recognize the diverse opportunities for farmers to do things differently, we can see that many are choosing to do so, and are thus making sustainably produced, healthy fresh produce locally available to the urban poor in ways that are accessible and empowering. / XL2018

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / The objective of this study was to determine the current status of e-agriculture research in the South African context. A systematic literature review was used to gather and analyse data in alignment with the objective of the study. The researcher used keywords and combined search keywords on web search engines and digital databases to obtain pertinent research papers. The scope of the study was limited to the period 2000-2016. The books, theses, conference papers and journal articles identified as pertinent to conduct the study, amounted to 114 in number. The analysis of the study described the focus of research papers, research methods, research approaches, theoretical lenses, units of analysis and observation, levels of analysis, historical development, and major concepts and disciplines used by authors in their studies. The study also sought to discover the year of publication and assessment of searchability of the papers. The results indicate that 13 papers (11.4%) were published in the first five years (2000- 2004) and 51 papers (44.7%) in the last five years (2012-2016) of the delimited period for the study. The results of the study further indicate that the application of geographic information systems (GISs) towards improving agriculture was the most prominent eagriculture research area in South Africa (27 papers, 23.6%), followed by the use of satellite enhancing agriculture (26 papers, 22.8%). E-government direct services, mobile in agriculture, and agricultural information systems were the least prominent e-agriculture research areas in South Africa with a contribution of two papers (1.8%) each. The results of this study show that information mapping was the most used research method by researchers in their studies (57 papers, 50%), followed by the case study method with 31 papers (27.1%). The results further denote that the least used research method was industry reports with no mention of it in any of the pertinent papers, followed by grounded theory with two papers (1.7%). Interpretivism was the most used research approach by researchers (six papers, 5.2%) during the period 2000-2016. The findings of this study clearly show that researchers still need to address certain issues or problems regarding e-agriculture in South Africa in order to improve the agricultural sector. The contribution of the study is to understand the importance of enhancing research capability and socio-economic transformation of farmworkers and farmers through enhanced communication of agriculture research knowledge in the area of agricultural informatics. A foundation for further studies was created for continuous e-agriculture research in South Africa.

The purpose of this thesis is to explain the continued advocacy of 'urban agriculture' (UA) in the literature in the face of the seemingly modest role played by cultivation in practice. The analytical framework adopted isrthat of discourse, the theoretical underpinnings of which are derived from the early works of Foucault, and applications such as those of Escobar (1989; 1991) and Ferguson (1990). Using a discursive orientation involves two main tasks - an explanation of how 'UA' has gained some prominence and the man~er in which its currency is able to be maintained. The investigation included an in-depth analysis of the literature and empirical research in th!"e~Eastern Cape centres. The function of the empirical findings is to expose the discourse, as well as to extend the empirical base relating to 'urban agricultural' research in general. The thesis suggests that the growth in interest in 'UA' is a result of a Foucaultian "gap" opening in the discourse. Changes in the conceptualisation of development, the rise-in prominence of the urban poor and emerging ecodevelopment views, among others, have given proponents of "UA' greater room for manoeuvre. However, most case studies promote 'UA' despite providing little evidence of its role in household welfare. The way the discourse maintains its' currency is in the manner in which the objects of 'UA' are constituted. Firstly, the people are characterised as poor, largely divorced from their rural origins, and mainly female. Each of these assertions is questioned on the basis of the literature itself and the empirical findings. Secondly, in the practice of cultivation, emphasis is placed on the inputs used, and the crops that are produced. The treatment of both the inputs and the crops by the literature is cursory. Investigations show that land availability, garden size and irrigation water are e~pecially problematic and vegetable consumption remains low. Four types of alleged benefit associated with 'UA' are analysed - environmental and ecological, psychological and social, financial, and nutritional. In each case commonly held assumptions are undermined by closer investigation. Thus, the thesis contends that the role played by cultivation is a modest one. Most of the claims made on behalf of 'UA' are more congruent with development discourse than actual cultivation practice.

Land degradation is a serious problem that many poor communities face and this worsens their vulnerability and therefore, poses a threat to food security, as it reduces yield, forces farmers to use more inputs, and disproportionately affect the smallholder farmers in remote communities that also suffer diverse infrastructure disadvantages. In response to that, the international development agencies, donors, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), especially faith-based organizations have turned towards sustainable farming approaches. Much attention has been paid to a combination of sustainable farming measures which are packaged under the “Conservation Agriculture” (CA) banner. The previous work in the KZN Province and elsewhere has demonstrated that CA has the potential to improve the soil structure, thereby reversing the effect of soil degradation. Consequently, many of the farmers in the areas in which these demonstrations have been conducted appreciate the ecological and economic value of adopting CA. However, the on-farm financial benefits of adopting a CA specific tillage practice are not as well known or thought to be as pronounced. By means of integrating field survey, reviewed literature, and econometric analysis, this study assessed the farm level cost-benefit analysis of conservation agriculture for smallholder maize farmers in OLM, specifically in one demonstration village of Bergville town. The analysis is based on the case study of the NGO’s work in which they had selected a community and participating households who received assistance in a number of ways such as maize seed, soil preparation, and CA planters. To analyse the farm level cost-benefit analysis, descriptive, linear regression, gross margin (GM) and appraisal indicators such as Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) were used. The descriptive analysis, used to analyse the factors affecting the extent of adoption of CA revealed that socio-economic characteristics have the influence on the level to which a farmer responds to incentives. Linear regression model used in this study showed that years in farming, involvement in joint farmer’s group, and use of cover crops have the significant effect on the extent of adoption of CA. Moreover, the calculated gross margins of the two tillage systems were different, revealing higher Gross Margins for CA plots than for conventional plots. The major cause of the difference was found to be differences in the variable costs. When using appraisal indicators (NPV, BCR, and IRR) the study projected a 10-year period at 8% and 10.5% discount rates. The study also revealed positive NPVs for both CA and conventional agriculture. The positive sign implies that there are positive pay-offs for investing in both trial and control plots. However, trial plots have larger NPVs compared to control plots, meaning that there are less additional returns for investing in control plots compared to trial plots. Results also reveal that with 10.5% discount rate, the NPVs are lower than with 8% discount rate, showing that lower discount rates are consistent with higher performance over the long term. This therefore means that at lower discount rate, it is more viable to produce maize using CA than using conventional tillage system. In the case of BRC presented in the study, it was revealed that at both low and high discount rates, the trial plots were more viable than the control plots. Finally, the IRR presented in the study reveal that the trial plots would be able to pay their way much faster than the control plots. Overall, the study found that there are incentives to adoption of CA compared to conventional farming. The message from the different results arising from the use of different discount rates is that farmers should receive assistance at low cost of capital in order for their operations to be viable and this works out well over the long term as shown by the 10-year period projections.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa, land reform and the development of upcoming farmers are part of the country’s transformation objectives. The development of upcoming farmers into commercial farmers therefore requires the growth of sustainable agri-businesses. Unfortunately, limited success has been achieved in terms of land reform and the country is far from its set targets. This study examined the factors that gave current successful, upcoming commercial farmers the advantage to grow their businesses up to a certain level. Data was collected through interviews with farmers, mentors, transformation managers and governing bodies such as Agri-West Cape. Interviews on the farms gave the researcher the opportunity to observe underlying factors that can influence their businesses. The objective of the study was to determine the critical success factors that relate to the success of upcoming commercial farmers in the Western Cape. The results identified a number of success factors, some of which were unexpected and in contrast with some of the literature sources. All the cases covered in this study – i.e. successful, upcoming commercial farmers in the Western Cape – used different business models and emphasised the importance of proper management. They also used their detailed business plans as a handbook for successful farming, and acknowledged the important role of mentors. Only a mentor-farmer relationship based on trust and respect worked in the end. The mentors took on coaching roles that were not limited to farming activities but included an equally important people development component. A sustainable market was identified as one of the critical success factors for successful upcoming commercial farmers. One of the biggest hurdles for upcoming farmers was financial management. Hence, they required dedicated financial management to be sustainable. One of the main outcomes of the study was the importance of the personal profile of the farmers and their understanding of the opportunity. Focusing on short-term financial gains resulted in failure. All the farmers in the case studies displayed a deep understanding of the long-term goal of their businesses and their role in that. Transformation, land reform and building an equal society in South Africa are burning points for the nation. The success of upcoming farmers helps to build confidence that the hard work is paying off.