Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Despite the attempt by the South African government to transfer farms to black ownership, black farmers still remain poor and have to compete without technical skills. The majority of the previously disadvantaged farmers part of mostly practice subsistence agriculture characterised by low production and lack of market. The question that still remains to be answered is whether these subsistence farmers will ever grow to be commercial farmers, and white farmers continue dominating commercial farming. This prompted the researcher to engage in this study that will identify the challenges that make emerging farmers not to succeed as they should. The aim of this study is to investigate the challenges faced by black emerging farmers in the transition from subsistence to commercial farming in Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality and the role played by the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in ensuring that such transits take place. Data used in this study collected from 50 emerging farmers from the five villages in Ba-Phalaborwa and eight (8) extension officers from different sections in the department of Agriculture and Rural development in Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality. The researcher used mixed research design, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to achieve the intended objectives. The finding shows that the majority of emerging farmers receive support to run their farm activities from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development mostly in the form of extension services. The study further indicated that emerging farmers are aware of the role being played by the Department of Agriculture, and Rural Development although they are not satisfied with the support the Department is giving them and they believe that if the departments can further support them, they can improve their productions. The study established that emerging farmers have been facing several challenges, including lack of property right or title deed, insufficient farm size, shortage of money, inadequate extension services, inadequate or damaged infrastructure, and climate change, risk on production, lack of market, and lack of information, stock theft, erratic rainfall is a major challenge, lack of access to electricity, lack of access to telephone, not receiving advices on farming activities, not receiving advices on marketing of products, bookkeeping and technology. The emerging farmers’ challenges are worsened by the fact that farmers who are facing droughts are not able to get immediate funding to engage in farming activities. Despite these challenges emerging farmers want to continue with farming and in the next five years they want to see themselves in commercial farming. The concerned government departments should be encouraged to provide farm inputs and equipment like tractors, fertilisers, improved seeds, irrigation system and other types of farm inputs to emerging farmers to empower them to move from subsistence to commercial. The government departments and extension officers should be encouraged to provide skills to emerging farmers like, soil cultivation, irrigation, controlling of weed, packaging, livestock health care, hygiene, breeding and nutrition, recording skills and maintenance of farm equipment to empower emerging farmers to move from subsistence to commercial. Furthermore, policy makers should be encouraged to develop alternative strategies that will motivate emerging farmers to overcome challenges they are facing like lack of property rights of title deeds, insufficient farm sizes, climate change and shortage of money

Thesis (MSc. (Geography)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / In spite of the widespread scientific debate on the impacts of climate variability, not much is known about smallholder farmers’ perceptions towards climate variability and the impacts thereof on their agricultural practices. This is especially true for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa in general and South Africa in particular. Literature contends that an understanding of the farmers’ perceptions of climate change and variability is indispensable for effective policy formulations and adaptive strategies. This current study posits that discrepancies between farmer perceptions and climatological evidence will negatively impact on farmer adaptation options and outcomes. The objectives of the study were to; (1) assess climate variability in Molemole Local Municipality, Limpopo Province, (2) investigate farmers’ perceptions of climate variability, (3) compare farmers’ perceptions of climate variability with climatological data and (4) appraise farmers’ adaptive strategies to climate variability. A total of 125 farmers from Botlokwa Village participated in the study. The village was selected because it is the largest village in the municipality and it comprises mainly of rural farmers that are involved in rain-fed subsistence agriculture. In addition, the village receives limited government intervention and is in close proximity to a functional climate station (Polokwane Airport Weather Station). Based on purposive sampling, focus group discussions and a three-part closed ended questionnaire was administered to the farmers. Mean annual temperature and rainfall data (30 years) was used to assess climate variability in the study area. Farmers’ perceptions to climate variability was assessed using descriptive statistics based on summary counts of the responses with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare differences in perception (mean responses). Comparison of farmers’ perceptions of climate variability against climatological evidence was restricted to mean annual temperature and rainfall data over the past 5 – 10 years). To appraise farmers’ adaptive strategies, the Adaptation Strategy Index (ASI) and the Weighted Average Index (WAI) were employed. vi Farmers’ perceptions of climate variability were consistent with recorded meteorological data. Based on the ASI and WAI computations, use of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) and crop management approaches were highly important adaptation strategies while the use of insurance and subsidies were least employed by the farmers. The results from the study also showed that the age of the household head, gender, level of education, farming experience and access to information on climate variability were crucial factors in influencing the likelihood of farmers to perceive climate variability. Given the overwhelming dependence on IKS for weather forecast, and adaptation to climate variability, it is recommended that IKS take centre stage in government initiatives and policies on climate change and variability, especially for smallholder farmers in rural settings. Sensitisation on the use of technology such as cellular phones to receive weather forecast is also recommended.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The research investigated the challenges faced by emerging farmers in managing projects towards sustainable agricultural development in Capricorn District. The literature established the importance of project management in the context of sustainable agricultural development. In this regard, it was found that it is of extreme importance to support emerging farmers in managing agricultural projects where emerging farmers are engaged through a participatory approach in decision making processes for sustainable agricultural development. Further, this research seeks to investigate the factors that hinder project management from influencing emerging farmers to manage and sustain the agricultural projects in the area of the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were distributed to the selected sample within the target population. The purposive sampling method was used to select the 16 project officers for interviews while questionnaires were distributed randomly for 30 emerging farmers in the Molemole and Polokwane Municipalities. The findings of the study suggest that most emerging farmers and project officers think that the lack of resources and training hamper the management and sustainability of agricultural projects. To conclude, it is expected that the recommendations will highlight strategies and policies that could be put in place to accelerate the management of agricultural projects and their sustainability in the Capricorn District.

Thesis (M. A. Agricultural Management (Agricultural Extension)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Smallholder farmers’ need for regular supply of adequate, quality and affordable seed led to the establishments of Community-Based Maize Seed Production Schemes (CBSPSs) in most developing countries, including South Africa. In view of the important influence of perception on the adoption and continued use of an innovation, this study was undertaken to evaluate farmers’ perceptions of CBSPSs in Polokwane and Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipalities of Limpopo province. The conceptualization of perception used in this study was based on the Düvel (1991) framework. The evaluation focused on whether planting the scheme’s main product, improved Open-Pollinated Varieties (improved OPV maize) seed meets farmers’ needs based on their perceptions and the extent of farmers’ planting of improved OPV maize. A census approach was used in view of the small numbers of seed producers in the schemes; all scheme members (50) were, therefore, interviewed between 27 March and 21 April 2017. To allow for comparison, an equal number of farmers (50) who were not members of the scheme were also interviewed. Data was collected from farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyze the data using SPSS software. A binary logistic model was used to analyze factors that influence farmer perceptions on OPV benefits. The study findings showed that there is a significant relationship between awareness knowledge of improved OPV maize and planting of improved OPV maize. Furthermore, the results showed that farmers perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of improved OPV maize seed were not different among scheme and non-scheme members as they were all in agreement that improved OPV maize have more benefits than their own previously recycled seeds. Finally, findings showed that respondents municipality and scheme membership had a significant, effect on the positive perception of planting improved OPV maize seeds. Other explanatory variables such as sex, farming experience, years of viii schooling, farm size, income and age of participants had no significant effect on farmer perceptions. It is therefore recommended that improved OPV maize be made widely available and promoted based on its advantages to enhance its adoption. Future studies on these seed schemes could look into the production and financial analysis of CBSPSs to ascertain their profitability and sustainability. / Agricultural Research Council (ARC)

Institute for Rural Development / MRDV

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Agriculture plays a significant role also serves as a critical economic sector in Limpopo province in terms of its contribution to the economy, and the number of employment opportunities it produces within local communities. The majority of people involved in agricultural practices are emerging farmers and smallholder/small scale farmers. These farmers try to earn a living from the production of livestock, broilers, fruits & vegetables, and cereals. Cowpea is a drought-tolerant legume that also serves as a staple food for the majority of Africans alongside maize and other typical staple foods consumed by most Africans. The crop is regarded as a key protein source for urban and rural poor, and plays an important role as a cash crop. Despite several nutritional benefits, economic importance and welfare enhancing potential of cowpea, farmers still do not have sufficient information on knowledge about the value that can be added to their cowpea production also the potential and competitiveness of this traditional leafy vegetable. The aim of the study was to map the value chain and determine the marketing efficiency of smallholder cowpea farmers in Capricorn and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province. The specific objectives were to: identify and describe socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder cowpea farmers in Capricorn and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province, identify and define the participants along the cowpea value chain and identify marketing constraints among smallholder cowpea farmers. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 80 smallholder cowpea farmers in Ga-Molepo of Capricorn district and Bela-Bela of Waterberg district using purposive sampling technique. Value chain mapping, descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model were used in addressing the objectives. In identifying and defining the participants along the cowpea value chain, a value chain map was constructed to show the different stages cowpea goes through before reaching the final consumer. Two null hypotheses were formulated. The first hypothesis that stated smallholder cowpea farmers were inefficient in marketing cowpea was rejected. Marketing efficiency measure used to determine each farmer’s marketing efficiency revealed that 66% of smallholder cowpea farmers were efficient. The determinants of marketing efficiency were examined using binary logistic regression model. The second hypothesis stated that socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder cowpea farmers have no effect on the marketing efficiency. The v hypothesis was also rejected based on binary logistic results that revealed that age, household size, years in schooling, years in farming cowpea, income generated from selling cowpea, quantities of cowpea sold and occupation of the farmers were found to be significant in determining marketing efficiency of smallholder cowpea farmers. Pests, lack of access to formal markets and lack of information on how to process cowpea were major constraints farmers were faced with. It was recommended that value chain analysts, policy makers and extension workers together with other stakeholders assist in ensuring that food value chain relationships are established so that market opportunities can be created for smallholder cowpea farmers. In addition, farmer schools need to be introduced in rural areas were agricultural practices are dominant. At these schools, farmers can be taught about basic knowledge relating to agricultural production. Training should also be given to farmers on adopting technology as it can potentially assist in making production more efficient. / Water Research Commission (WRC)

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African government continues to provide post-settlement support to emerging farmers, with the objective of improving productivity through targeted funding or conditional grants. The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP), which came into effect in 2004, provides funding targeted at supporting emerging farmers. CASP has six pillars, of which this study focused on one, which is capacity building and training. The study investigated the assessment of the impact of training on the projects’ beneficiaries who had benefited from the CASP pillar of training and capacity building in the Limpopo Province. The methodology applied was the difference-in-difference technique. Projects that benefited from funding were regarded as the treatment group and those that did not benefit from the programme were regarded as the control group. The justification for the research was that while the government had financed CASP through fiscal allocation since 2004, because CASP is a conditional grant, there was a need to review the programme, focusing on establishing whether the budget allocation had achieved its intended objectives during this time. The objectives of the study were to measure whether there had been an improvement in the beneficiaries’ income levels. It focused on the status of the projects prior to the beneficiaries receiving training and benefiting from capacity building, and what the status was after receiving training through the programme, with the key determinant being an increase in income levels. Not all funded projects had benefited from the particular pillar investigated here. The selection of the beneficiaries to be trained was based on a skills audit which treated the groups as homogeneous, which was found to be inappropriate because of the differences in the prior skills, education levels and the specific interests of individuals. The findings were that there was variation in the increase of income levels. There was a positive relationship between training and reported increase in income levels in some projects, and a negative relationship between training and income levels for other projects. It was interesting that income levels increased for projects that had benefited from the CASP pillar of training and capacity building when the projects were analysed as a group, but when projects were analysed individually, it was revealed that there was a marginal decrease in income levels. There should be a shift in policy. The focus on training and capacity building should be a priority and should occur prior to the projects receiving infrastructure support. The 10% of the total CASP budget allocated for training and capacity building needs to be reviewed, taking into account that low skills levels continue to be the main reason why projects are not sustainable. There is also a need to review the impact of training. The type of training offered should not be generic for all projects, it should be differentiated to suit the both the people and the commodities concerned and should be more biased towards entrepreneurship, as this would enable emerging farmers to grow their business units and realise increased income levels.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Livestock production is the most important sub-sector in agriculture in South Africa. It contributes a very large proportion to the agricultural gross domestic product. It has been identified as the sub-sector that has potential in improving food security and livelihoods of the rural people. The current study analyses the determinants of market participation and profitability of IDC Nguni smallholder farmers in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The aim of the study was to contribute to the body of knowledge that exist in the study area, particularly of Limpopo Province livestock marketing by analysing determinants of market participation and profitability. The primary data were collected using structured questionnaires. All IDC Nguni Project beneficiaries (62 famers)were included in the survey. Descriptive data were analysed using Version 23 of SPSS. The logistic regression was used to analyse market participation data, multiple regression was used for profitability data and livelihood model for assessing the contribution of the project to livelihoods. The models were analysed using Stata 14. The results revealed that 59% of the respondents participated in the market and 41% of respondents did not participate. The study revealed that 54% of the respondents indicate that market access was easy and only 38% of respondents indicated that market access was not easy and 8% of respondents revealed that they do not know how the market access was because they were not yet selling. Seventy percent of the farmers perceived their livelihoods being improved after joining IDC Nguni Cattle Project whereas 23% of the farmers perceived their livelihood not improve after joining IDC Nguni Cattle Project. Gross margin computation showed that 52% of the farmers made gross margins ranging between R2 000 and R481 200 during the 2015 production/marketing season. The overall gross margins showed that 46% of the farmers made loss ranging from R7 300 to R170 500 during the 2015 marketing season, and 2% of the smallholder farmers were operating break-even point. The average gross margin for Community Property Associations was R6 031 while for individual farmers it was R16 082. The decision making process, for example to sell vii livestock, may be complex in the CPAs and hence a higher gross margin results for individual farmers than for CPAs. Thirty-six percent of CPAs made a loss, while 49% of individual farmers also made loss during 2015. The results of logistic regression showed that marital status, education level, loan repayment, price of an animal and household income were all significant factors (at various probability levels and with different signs), influencing market participation in the study area. A multiple regression model revealed that empirically the herd size, farm size and distance travelled to the market were significant at various probability levels and with different signs influencing profitability in the study area. Livelihood model results revealed that recent increase in farm income and farm size were all significant at different probability levels and with different signs influencing smallholder farmers' livelihood improvement in the Limpopo Province. The study identified some challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Limpopo Province. The major ones were inadequate access of market information, high transactional costs, poor conditions of the animals and poor access to markets. Policy makers should come up with policies that support the smallholder farmers with formal training, seminars and workshops to improve profitability of the farmers. Basic training of production and marketing may enable the smallholder farmer to increase profits. Other recommendations were formation of farmers' organisations, access to financial resources and private-public collaboration to establish central selling points. / Department of Science and Technology-National Research Foundation (DST-NRF) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Food Security and National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC)

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Raising cattle in South Africa and any other developing country in the Southern African region as part of livestock production, is one of the important means through which people sustain their livelihood. Inadequate efforts have been taken by the government to improve the marketing system of cattle, particularly to develop small-scale farming in the Limpopo Province and South Africa as a whole. With that being said, the small-scale sector has not been developed to the extent it is expected to. This study examined the factors affecting the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in livestock auctions in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. The study had three objectives, namely; (i) To describe the socio-economic characteristics of the small scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province; (ii) To assess the perception of small-scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province towards livestock auction; (iii) To identify and analyse factors affecting the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in livestock auctions in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. The Multi-stage sampling procedure was used in the selection of the representative sample. Three locations (Lepelle-Nkumpi, Molemole and Polokwane local municipalities) were selected purposively because a large number of small-scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District rely on the agricultural sector economically. The Logistic Regression Model was used to analyse factors affecting the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in livestock auctions. The results showed that, out of the 120 sample size, 42% of small-scale cattle farmers were auction participants and 58% of small-scale cattle farmers were non-participants . There were 43 male-headed households of the participants and 61 female-headed households of the non-participants . An analysis of the farmers ’ socio-economic characteristics further showed that in order for the farmers to cut the costs of production, the majority of the small-scale cattle farmers preferred using family labourers or household labourers in their cattle farming. Farmers were asked a set of Likert type scale questions about their perceptions on the auctions. The Perception Index score ii was skewed to the left and therefore revealed that the small-scale cattle farmers had a negative perception towards the auction. Farmers who had a positive perception, on the other hand, often sold their cattle at a higher price compared to the non-participants who had a negative perception. Furthermore, small-scale cattle farmers who are participants tend to use the market avenue and through that, their cattle productivity is higher, resulting in a total revenue compared to the non-participants. Consequently, small-scale farmers who participate in auctions acquire valuable production information at the very auctions. Descriptive statistics such as means, minimum and maximum values, frequencies, percentages and standard deviations were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the small-scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. The results revealed that only 4 variables were significant. The total herd size, distance to the market, gender of the household head and market information were significant at 1%, 5%, 1%, 5%, respectively and all had a positive effect towards auction participation. The study suggested that the government and other policy makers should increase the marketing information and abilities of small-scale cattle farmers through avenues like mass media, extension service and other means of capacity building. This will help the farmers to minimise transaction costs. Furthermore, farmers will not incur more costs when they participate in the markets, considering that market facilities such as auctions are often hosted far from the farmers, which results in farmers incurring more costs.

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Climate change and variability on a global level is one of the most serious environmental challenges which exacerbates the well-known vulnerability of smallholder farmers. To cushion the shock of climate change, risk management plays a crucial role in farming, and in the same context, insurance positions itself as one of the main risk management instruments available to farmers. However, one of the key reasons to the struggles of smallholder farmers in South Africa is the inability to obtain effective insurance. To this end, the study identified and profiled the socio-economic features of smallholder cattle farmers, identified smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions on components of climate change as sources of risk to cattle production and finally, analysed the determinants of willingness to adopt IBLI among smallholder cattle farmers. A purposive multistage sampling procedure was used to identify 110 smallholder cattle farmers in the Polokwane local Municipality. IBM SPSS version 26 and STATA version 15 was used to analyse the primary cross-sectional data collected through structured questionnaire interviews. Farmers’ perceptions on components of climate change as sources of risk were identified using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA revealed three principal components (PCs) explaining almost 61% of the variance of the original variables (climate change components). Furthermore, about 89% of the sampled farmers were willing to adopt IBLI, while about 11% weren’t willing to adopt and the Probit regression model results revealed that marital status, farming experience, access to extension services, off- farm income and land ownership, farmers’ educational level, household size, experience of livestock loss and farm size significantly influenced willingness to adopt IBLI. Based on the findings of this study, the recommended interventions include workshops for raising IBLI awareness, government subsidy on insurance premiums and finally, increased extension service reach to smallholder cattle farmers. / AgriSETA