Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

It is widely believed that Acacia karroo Hayne trees compete with and negatively affect the production of grasses in their immediate surroundings. This perception formed as a result of observations by farmers of their veld as well as some research. The complexity of plant interactions in different conditions required that research be done to better explain the extent of grass and tree interactions. In response to this need, the effect of a range of Acacia karroo densities on grass production was tested in areas of differing rainfall. Results emphasize the complexity of such plant interactions but highlight rainfall as influencing the effect of tree density on grass production and grass quality. Study sites were chosen with significant differences in tree density and rainfall and this was found to be concomitant with significant differences in grass yield and crude protein (p < 0.001). Grass yield (mass produced) was negatively correlated with tree density (p < 0.001) and was affected by rainfall. High tree density reduced grass yield at the lower rainfall sites, but a reduction in yield was only recorded during dry conditions in the higher rainfall areas. By contrast, the crude protein content of grasses was positively correlated to tree density (p < 0.001). However, as with yield, rainfall played an important part in the strength of the correlation. Soil properties such as temperature (-) (p = 0.011), phosphorus content (+) (p = 0.006), calcium concentration (+) (p = 0.005), acid saturation (-) (p = 0.018), and soil pH (+) (p = 0.008) were also significantly correlated to tree density. Tree density enriched the soil, subsequently benefitting grass quality. The study sites investigated, had different plant communities and environmental conditions with Cradock, Kubusi Drift and Kei Mouth having unique communities and conditions while Adelaide and Cathcart could not be separated in either. Cradock was the driest site and the vegetation was dominated by both grasses and karroid shrubs, differing in pattern and process from the other sites. The Kubusi Drift site had high tree densities, to the extent that the trees altered the grass species composition. The effects of rainfall on grass yield and quality exceeded that of community composition differences.

The Cape Griffon Gyps coprotheres is listed as a globally threatened species, because of threats posed by, inter alia, poisoning, loss of habitat, food shortages, electrocutions and drowning in high-walled farm reservoirs. The Cape Griffon has undergone major decline in South Africa, including the Eastern Cape. A detailed investigation into the causes of this decline is vital to ensure the survival of the species. Since it is known that electrocution on powerlines is a major cause of mortality of the griffons in the Eastern Cape, the study therefore focuses on this factor in this region. More specifically, the overall aim or objective of the study is to investigate, through the application of appropriate GIS techniques, the use of descriptive, empirical, habitat and foraging models to prioritise powerline networks, in the Eastern Cape, for mitigation to prevent electrocution of Cape Griffons Gyps coprotheres. The specific activities associated with the aim of the study are: (1) to identify the broad habitat types used by the griffons, (2) to determine the mean daily foraging range size of the griffons, (3) to map currently active foraging ranges and to categorise them according to their role, and the level of importance, in the foraging and breeding behaviour of the species, (4) to map the locations of networks of griffon-unfriendly powerline networks, and (5) to integrate the outcomes of (1) to (4) above, to produce a spatially explicit product that ranks griffon-unfriendly powerline networks according to their priority level for mitigation. The study uses simple descriptive models to investigate, spatially, the threat posed by griffon-unfriendly powerlines to the Cape Griffon in the Eastern Cape. The modelling approach includes a broad level simple habitat model (Categorical model), a Maxent model, a spatial foraging model and an electrocution model. Several map outputs were produced from the analyses. Cape Griffon habitat was successfully modelled using ecological input variables: biome, vegetation xvii type (suitable/unsuitable for griffon foraging), stock (cattle, sheep and goats), and stock farming types (commercial & communal). All outputs were modelled through the use of a Geographical Information System (GIS). Opportunistic sightings data were used for the study, which means that the data were collected on a non-systematic basis and are therefore considered incomplete. In ecology and zoogeography, incomplete datasets are common. To address this issue, a maximum entropy (Maxent) model was applied to the available dataset. Maxent produces predictions or conclusions from incomplete information, and was therefore useful for this study. The mean daily foraging area (coverage) of the Cape Griffon in the study area was estimated from published and unpublished marked bird studies conducted elsewhere, but in generally similar habitats. Based on all the data from these studies, it was considered appropriate to use a circular area, with a radius of 40 km, to represent the mean daily foraging range of the Cape Griffon in the Eastern Cape. It was considered appropriate to use a roughly circular area to depict the daily foraging area, given that the Cape Griffon qualifies as a central place forager. This means that the griffons are tied to a permanent site (roosting site or breeding site) and forage within a certain area around that central site. The mean daily foraging area (40 km) was applied to the currently active griffon sites: breeding sites, regular roosting sites, seasonal/occasional sites, and roosting sites (uncertain status). This produced four foraging area types, which formed the basis for the creation of two spatial foraging area models: Hierarchical Foraging Area Model (HFAM) and the Intersecting Foraging Area Model (IFAM). The HFAM produced three outputs: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Foraging Areas. These three areas represent the hierarchical presentation of the relative importance of the four foraging area types. The outcome was areas of different predicted griffon occurrence: ‘high’, ‘medium’, ‘low’. The IFAM is essentially an extension of the HFAM, which represents a single area where foraging ranges based on all four types are intersected. The outcome represents the area of predicted highest griffon occurrence. The identified areas of different predicted griffon occurrence, or density (outputs of the HFAM and IFAM), were individually intersected with the layer that indicates the locations of the ‘unsafe’ powerlines. These intersects are depicted in hierarchical mode and expressed according to a number of four risk categories (very high, high, medium and low). The final spatial output of the study is a map that identifies priority powerlines for mitigation against griffon mortality caused by electrocutions and collisions with powerline infrastructure.

The utilisation of estuary headwater environments by young estuary- and marine-spawned fish species was investigated together with the effects of riverflow alteration, in-stream barrier effects and non-native ichthyofauna on the nursery function of these habitats. The distribution and abundance of young estuary- and marine-spawned fish were sampled using seine and fyke nets in the headwater environments of four permanently open Eastern Cape systems, namely the Great Fish, Kowie, Kariega and Sundays Estuaries. Within the suite of study systems, the first of two case studies focussed on barrier effects of in-stream structures on fish migration. This was undertaken in the Sundays River. In the second case study, predation and competition dynamics of the non-native piscivorous Micropterus salmoides on estuary-dependent fish was investigated in the estuary headwater regions of the Kowie River system. In all four estuaries, young estuary-spawned fish species dominated the ichthyofaunal community followed by marine-spawned species, despite varied freshwater inflow resulting in headwaters varying in salinity from fresh to hypersaline. Fish community structure however, differed largely between estuaries, with both freshwater abstraction and unnatural elevation of freshwater into estuaries, as a result of inter-basin transfers, affecting these communities. In-stream structures were found to effect upstream movement of fish in two ways, dependent on the type of barrier. Partial (size-dependent) and complete (species-dependent) restriction to upstream migration of fish by causeway-type instream structures were observed. Weir-type in-stream structures acted as a complete barrier to most species, regardless of fish size. Predation of estuary- and marine-spawned fish species by large sized M. salmoides was recorded, although these fish did not contribute significantly to their diet during this study. However, the main dietary components found in smaller sized M. salmoides stomachs overlap with those of juvenile estuary- and marinespawned fish species, suggesting feeding competition between the juveniles of indigenous and non-native fish species.

The introduced common warthog, Phacochoerus africanus, in the Eastern Cape is increasing rapidly both in numbers and distribution, despite attempts by landowners to reduce numbers and exclude warthogs. These control attempts are motivated by concerns over the impacts of warthogs, on vegetation, soil and other animal species. This expansion of warthog populations is paradoxical given that a species of warthog occurred historically in this part of the world, apparently at low densities and was wiped out in the mid-1800s. The question therefore arises as to why warthogs are able to overcome population regulation attempts now, and this becomes an invasive species issue as the species now occurring in the Eastern Cape is in fact an introduced species. The objectives of the study were to investigate the status of warthogs as an introduced invasive species in the Eastern Cape by documenting the rate and direction of population expansion, ecological impacts and possible dietary shift of the introduced species, P. africanus compared to the extinct species P. aethiopicus. The research approach adapted here was to test the hypotheses that, (1) the success of P. africanus in the Eastern Cape reflects dietary differences of the two species based on observations of different dental adaptations, as P. africanus has functional incisors, which are absent in P. aethiopicus. Stable carbon isotope analysis of the tooth enamel was used to determine the diet of the two species. (2) Common warthogs are specialized grazers and will impact on a limited range of grass species, this hypothesis was addressed by describing the diet of common warthogs in one site in the Eastern Cape to identify plant species at risk due to invasion by P. africanus, and microhistological faecal analysis was used. (3) Common warthogs have successfully expanded their range in the Eastern Cape since their introduction and are now showing impact, this was addressed by describing the range of expansion of P. africanus in the Eastern Cape, as well as reviewing landowner perceptions of the impacts of warthogs, this was based on questionnaire surveys distributed in the Sundays and the Fish River valleys. The results of the study showed that there are differences in the diet of Cape warthog P. aethiopicus and common warthog P. africanus. The Cape warthog was largely a grazer (86 percent C4 grasses in their diet), while P. africanus is also a grazer (71 percent of C4 grasses in their diet), but with a larger proportion of browse in their diet. These results support the hypothesis that the presence of functional incisors in the common warthog might provide the common warthog with foraging advantages over the Cape warthog. This might be a contributing factor to the success of this invasive species in the Eastern Cape, and might explain the rapid disappearance of Cape warthogs in the 1800s, which coincided with rapid expansion of herds of domestic grazers. A total of twelve grass species are used by common warthogs and are therefore most vulnerable to impacts of this invasive species. Common warthogs are rapidly expanding their range particularly around the Sundays and the Great Fish River valleys and they are perceived by landowners to have impacts on grass cover, soils and fencing. This spread of warthog in the Eastern Cape exhibits characteristics of an invasive species. In light of the findings of this study, it is therefore important that government authorities and other parties concerned recognize that common warthogs are invasive in the Eastern Cape.

This dissertation deals with the nature of the black middle-class assimilation in the South African suburban space, a space that was the sole preserve of the white middle-class during apartheid. It explores the relationship between these races as they come to meet in this space and what new identities are being formed. It also explores the relationship between both the black and white suburbanites and the urban poor who stay in an adjacent area to the suburb. The study uses the Beacon Bay area, which is constituted by one of East London’s most affluent suburbs and a poor township, Nompumelelo, to show how the emergent black middle-class has managed to enter this space in the post-apartheid era. Previous studies by Richard Ballard (2004) and Grant Saff (2001) have shown how the white middle-class has always been against any form of race or class mixing. Within the suburb, the new black suburbanites in Beacon Bay appear to have been welcomed but with conditions by their fellow white counterparts. The relationship between these two races does not stretch beyond meet and greets and it is only in the second generation black middle-class that you find better and non-superficial relations with fellow white suburbanites. In the older generation, the generation that experienced apartheid, the relationship between these two races has been that of tolerance and serious escape of contact unless when necessary. The children of both white and black families, though, have a far better relationship in school and in sport than their parents. This has created another area of contact for both these races and it bears potential for meaningful integration in the suburban space. Externally as it relates to relations between the black middle-class and the urban poor, the findings show that these new black suburbanites express a similar discomfort as the white suburbanites about the urban poor’s presence in the area. This shows that the evolution of the Beacon Bay suburb, with its deep-rooted discourse of white middle-class exclusivity, has not been entirely about hatred of the urban poor necessarily but about an identity ascription of what it means to live in a suburb. Despite these realities traditional ceremonies organised by the black middle-class in the suburbs and the church appear to be playing a role in creating relations between these suburbanites and the Nompumelelo residents. This is why we have decided to use the conceptualisation of the 18th century frontier zone as the borders of segregation within the suburb and between the suburban residents and those of the township can be crossed and re-crossed.

This thesis presents aspects of Internet connectivity in rural South Africa. The work looks at government initiatives being undertaken to connect rural communities to up-to-date information networks. Various projects that seek to connect rural areas of South Africa, as well as other remote areas around the world, are discussed. These projects present many novel ideas that have been successfully used to link rural communities in remote areas with the information age. In particular, wired and wireless access technologies that can be implemented to connect remote communities to the Internet are discussed. A field test utilizing GPRS, VSAT and WiMAX was implemented in Dwesa-Cwebe, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. VSAT proved to offer better Internet connectivity in terms of throughput and latency. WiMAX was then successfully implemented to relay the signal over the remote area of Dwesa-Cwebe, thus effectively providing Internet connectivity to an area with limited cell phone coverage and no telephone lines.

The study was conducted in the Mthatha District, Mqanduli area, and it sought to enquire about the role of junior secondary school principals in supporting Grade R teachers in order to make teaching and learning in the Grade R classes effective. The researcher has noticed with concern the poor conditions of Grade R classes in the schools and felt a need for proper support. She felt the principal could champion the concept of support better, in his capacity as a manager in the school. Studies in Early Childhood Development have been done, and they pertained to all aspects of child development, parental support etc., but studies that view support from a managerial perspective in Mthatha District are scarce. Under quantitative research design, a survey research method was employed to collect a large portion of the data. A questionnaire consisting of closed and open ended questions was used in order to collect data from the Grade R teachers. Open ended questions were used in order to get a broader view and perceptions. Comprehensive sampling was used in this study because the whole population fell into the sample. All ethical considerations were observes and after receipt of permission to conduct research in the schools, a questionnaire was distributed personally to all the schools in the sample. Data was analyzed by means of the SPSS. Some of the findings identified in the study pertained to: the need for material support including good infrastructure, poor communication between principal and Grade R teacher, scarce meetings specifically for Grade R. The individual findings, together with the implications were discussed in relation to the research questions. The researcher recommended that technical support should be attended to and the principal must communicate frequently with the Grade R teacher. Financial limitations and negative attitudes from some principals were the major limitations the researcher encountered.

After the end of legislated apartheid, the South African government changed old policies that had been driven by segregation against the black majority. Black small-scale farmers in rural areas were encouraged to join commercial agriculture to capitalise on state subsidies and support. Municipalities including Buffalo City Metropolitan, Great Kei, Amathole and others in the Eastern Cape, in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture and agro industry, introduced programmes such as the Massive Food Production Programme and the current Cropping Project to support rural farmers and to reduce poverty in the province. The initiatives included the introduction of genetically modified maize seeds, chemical fertilisers, chemical herbicides, and pesticides, as well as herbicide-resistant and pest-resistant crops. However, joining state-funded initiatives meant farmers had to give up the farming practices and knowledge systems that had sustained them for years, and they lost the kinship they had built with the local soil and its organisms. By kinship I am referring to a symbiotic relationship that does not separate nature from society, a relationship that is mutualistic and in which there is no mastery of one party over the other. Working with rural Eastern Cape small-scale farmers who participated in these programmes, this study employs a multidisciplinary approach to understand the changing agricultural landscape in rural South Africa, focusing on the consequences of state-funded programmes on local soil knowledge in the context of current Eastern Cape industrial agrarian policies. Navigating from small-scale farmers' voices, remote sensing technology, history, African environmentalism, soil science and the human psyche, the study examines what happens when corporations and the government encroach on traditional and small-scale agriculture. This integrative research methodology of the Environmental Humanities, framed from the Global South, compels us to reconceptualise our relationship with nature. The study argues that while agro-industrial technologies can be used with existing local practices to assist farmers, they should never be introduced as a replacement for existing local knowledge of soil fertility. Moreover, where policies focus on the financialisation of the agrarian economy, such policies risk benefitting agrobusinesses instead of poor, small-scale farmers. If policies intended to stimulate rural development are to be effective, the needs of rural small-scale farmers must be taken into consideration when such policies are initiated.

This dissertation assesses the role of small-scale farming in reducing poverty in rural areas using household data collected from Kanyayo and interviews with Department of Agriculture, Bizana Local Municipality and other key community members. The reviewed literature confirmed that small-scale farming has a potential to reduce poverty if well supported. This support includes the eradication of problems facing small-scale farming, while at the same time empowering small-scale farmers through connecting them to reliable market outlets. The findings of the study indicated that small-scale farming in Kanyayo is faced by many problems. These problems include: labour shortage which is attributed to lack of youth involvement, laziness and sicknesses; insufficient rainfall; poor infrastructure and inadequate access to services; lack of connectedness to market outlets; lack of farming information. These obstacles to small-scale farming tend to constrain smallscale farming potential and thereby exacerbate poverty levels. Arising from the research several recommendations were put forward. These include: development of the labour force; irrigation schemes and construction of dams; delivering of services and infrastructure; market arrangements; accessible to farming information center. The study concludes that small-scale fanning has a power to reduce poverty in rural areas but that power is based on removal of barriers to small-scale farming. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.