Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 1994 election seems to stand as a clear divide between past and present in South Africa. But while it was believed that this election would catapult South Africa into a promising new era of democracy and equality, it has become all too clear that the transition was unfortunately limited to the political sphere. Despite some progress being made in the economic sphere, we still have a visible correlation between race and class – a correlation that certainly stems from the apartheid era, signifying a definite continuity of an era long past. In the social sphere we have also struggled to achieve complete integration. We find that racial categories of old have remained an important part of the ‘new’ South Africa. While we were promised a non-racial country, government policies such as Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment have been a constant reminder of supposed racial differences – signifying another continuity of apartheid. While the post-apartheid period can be summarised as a period of change, we find that it can also be summarised by the continuities of the past. It was found that, specifically in my research area, a rural farmers’ community, the continuities of the past are visible in the everyday structures of society. For my research subjects, white Afrikaners, it was found that the 1994 election proved to be no ‘road to Damascus’ regarding beliefs about the racial other. I found that interracial social interaction is still governed by fixed racial boundaries that are rarely crossed and, if crossed, this is done so conditionally. These boundaries seemed to be reinforced by the active socialisation of a community. While many argue that the post-apartheid period has brought on an identity crisis for white Afrikaners, I found that my research subjects have failed to encounter such a crisis, as they have held on to fixed racial boundaries in an attempt to preserve and protect their identity. We find ourselves in a time where we are urged to move beyond our apartheid past, yet many are unable to do so. But the question remains: given our past, should this come as a surprise to anyone? / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verkiesing van 1994 staan as ‘n duidelike skeiding tussen die verlede en die hede in Suid-Afrika. Maar al is daar geglo dat hierdie verkiesing Suid-Afrika in ‘n belowende nuwe era van demokrasie en gelykheid sou inskiet, het dit al hoe meer duidelik geraak dat die oorgang ongelukkig tot die politieke sfeer beperk was. Ten spyte van vordering in die ekonomiese sfeer, vind ons nog steeds dat daar ‘n sigbare ooreenkoms tussen ras en klas is – ‘n ooreenkoms wat seer seker geërf is vanaf apartheid en dui op ‘n definitiewe voortsetting van ‘n era wat lankal verby is. In die sosiale sfeer sukkel ons ook om volkome integrasie te bereik. Ons vind dat die rasse-kategorieë van ouds steeds ‘n belangrike deel van die ‘nuwe’ Suid Afrika bly. Hoewel ‘n nie-rassige land belowe is, dien regeringsbeleide soos Regstellende Aksie en Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging as ‘n konstante herinnering aan sogenaamde rasseverskille – nog ‘n voortsetting van apartheid. Terwyl die post-apartheid tydperk opgesom kan word as ‘n tydperk van verandering, vind ons dat dit ook opgesom kan word deur voortsettings van die verlede. Veral in my navorsingsgebied, ‘n plattelandse boeregemeenskap, het ek gevind dat die voortsettings van die verlede sigbaar was in die alledaagse strukture van die samelewing. Vir my navorsingssubjekte, blanke Afrikaners, is dit gevind dat die 1994-verkiesing geensins gedien het as ‘n ‘pad na Damaskus’ in terme van oortuigings aangaande die ‘ander’ ras nie. Ek het gevind dat interrassige sosiale interaksie steeds regeer word deur gevestigde rasse grense wat selde oorgesteek word, en indien wel oorgesteek, word dit voorwaardelike gedoen. Dit wil voorkom of hierdie grense versterk word deur die aktiewe sosialisering van die gemeenskap. Terwyl baie outeurs argumenteer dat die post-apartheidtydperk ‘n identiteitskrisis vir blanke Afrikaners tot gevolg gehad het, het ek gevind dat my navorsingssubjekte nie so ‘n krisis ervaar het nie omdat hulle vasklou aan gevestigde rassegrense in ‘n poging om hul identiteit te bewaar en beskerm. Ons vind onsself in ‘n tyd waar ons aangespoor word om verby ons apartheid verlede te beweeg, maar steeds is baie mense nie in staat om dit te doen nie. Die vraag bly staan: gegewe ons verlede, kom dit vir enigiemand as ‘n verrassing?

In South Africa, communal and/or emerging farmers’ rangeland condition and grazing capacities deteriorate, because grazing capacity is usually over-estimated due to lack of knowledge on veld and livestock production system by the farmers. Woody plants has encroached in the arid and semi-arid savannas and grasslands biomes many parts of world, including in southern Africa. This causes challenges to farm owners due to its negative effects on the herbaceous plant material, which offers a substantial part of forage for livestock production. Although the consequences of deteriorating rangeland condition on livestock production is understood, there is limited research on the impact of land ownership on rangeland condition. Furthermore, knowledge on how farmers manages their livestock and rangelands. The objectives were to document the knowledge of emerging livestock farmers on livestock-rangeland management practices, and to determine the effects of land ownership and practices on rangeland condition. Firstly, we hypothesize that, emerging livestock farmers unknowingly manages livestock in isolation from their rangelands, and secondly, rangeland in private owned lands are relatively in good conditions compared to communal and leased lands. Fifty (50) emerging livestock farmers (i.e. ruminants) in different vegetation types and district municipalities of the Gauteng province were selected using a snowball procedure. To investigate the knowledge of emerging farmers on livestock - rangeland management practices, the farmers were asked questions about their 1) demographic information, 2) livestock management practices and 3) rangeland management practices. To test the differences in farmers’ demographic profiles, Chi-square statistics was employed. To determine the effects of land ownership on rangeland condition of the selected farms, rangeland condition among three land ownership types was compared using ANOVA, and the relations between veld condition score (%) and herbaceous biomass production (kg DM/ha) was tested using Pearson’s correlation analysis The results revealed that, the emerging livestock farmer are dominated by males (68 %) compared to female (32%). Majority (66%) of the farmers are old aged (> 50 years) compared to middle aged (30% (31 – 50 years)) and young (< 30 years) farmers (4%). Farmers who did not receive any agricultural training were higher (74%) than farmers who had prior training (26%). Sixty-three percent of the farmers had knowledge and understanding of breeding and calving seasons of their livestock, with only 27% having no knowledge and understanding of breeding and calving seasons of their animals. Eighty-three percent of the farmers keep mixed livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) species and 17% only keep cattle. The mean cattle herd sizes were significantly lower 8.2 ± 7.16 compared to goats and sheep (15.5 ±11.2). Feed shortage was the major constrain to livestock production (46%) compared to diseases (26%), marketing (14%), stock theft (8%) and other (6%) constrains. Sixty-three percent of the farmers had knowledge and understanding of breeding and calving seasons of their livestock, with only 27% having no knowledge and understanding. Eighty-three percent of the farmers keep mixed livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) species and 17% only keep cattle. All of the farmers indicated that they did not conduct rangeland condition assessment (mainly due to lack of knowledge). All farmers did not have fodder conservation plan for their farms and highlighted that during dry season, forage is scarce for their animals. Majority (58%) of the farmers relay on government-drought relief programme compared to those who were supplementing (20%), selling their animals (14%) and those with no drought coping strategy (8%). v Vegetation was assessed using nearest plant technique. In total, 28 grass species were identified during field survey, of which n=23, n=4 and n=2 were perennials, annuals and short-lived perennial, respectively. The most commonly observed and very palatable grass species, Digitaria eriantha had the highest frequency on private lands (n=92 and the lowest on communal lands (n=51). There were no significance difference in grass species richness and basal cover among land ownership types (P > 0.05). There were significant differences in veld condition score, large stock units, grazing capacity and herbaceous biomass production among land ownership types (P < 0.05). Private lands had a significantly higher veld condition score (69.63%) than leased (56.07%) and communal lands (52.55%). The herbaceous biomass production was positively correlated to the veld condition score (r = 0.159; P<0.005). The outcomes of this study show that emerging livestock farmers in Gauteng province have little understanding of rangeland-livestock management practices. The current results further indicated that poor grazing practices such as overgrazing might be common on leased and communal lands due to farmers’ lack of knowledge on rangeland management practices. This may lead to rangeland degradation thus negatively affecting livestock production and the livelihood of farmers who rely on farming as a source of income. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

In general, traditional co-operatives suffer from free-rider, horizon, portfolio, control and influence problems that starve them of both equity and debt capital. Evidently, the factors which constrain agricultural development also inhibit co-operative development in the former homelands. These factors include socio-economic as well as political factors operating in the environment of the cooperatives. In addition to these external factors, co-operatives have several internal problems such as inefficient management and lack of understanding of the co-operative concept and principles. The New Cooperative Act No. 14 of 2005 was an attempt at addressing these fundamental problems. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent towhich cooperatives organized on the basis of this new Act have performed and to ascertainwhether or not they have met the expectations of the policy makers. In order to address these issues a structured questionnaire was used to interview 100 farmers. Farmers were divided into two groups, one group consisting of fifty members and the other fifty non-members; all these farmers were randomly selected from Ndonga and Maqhashu in Lady frère. The study investigated and profiled the socio-economic situation of the communities of Ndonga and Maqhashu with particular emphasis on the employment and poverty situations, as well as the income earning opportunities in the communities. It also undertook a comparison of the members and non-members of the co-operatives in terms of their production results under the sorghum production programmes in the two communities.The data were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics which explain some measures of central tendency and dispersion as well as levels of significance. A t-test of independent samples was used to compare the means for the sorghum yields and revenues for non-members and members of the co-operative. Gross margin analysis was also used to determine the financial implications of cooperation for the smallholders. In addition, a multiple regression model and a discriminant function were fitted to determine the factors explaining the differences in performance of members and non-members of the cooperative society. The Gross Margin analysis shows that the cooperatives are operating at a loss, meaning they produce less with high production costs. However, the results also show that the Ndonga and Maqhashu sorghum co-operative did not benefit only its members but the whole community through significant job creation for the local population.

The smallholder livestock farmer in South Africa is in a difficult position, not only grappling with a changing global environment, but at the local front, without access to domestic markets. This is due to very limited knowledge of buyer requirements emanating from lack of marketing information. This limits adequate access to livestock markets by smallholder farmers in South Africa and more specifically in the Moretele area of the North West Province, resulting in limited growth and less disposable income. Some of the problems facing the smallholder livestock farmer are a lack of understanding of buyer requirements regarding livestock product characteristics, industry price determination processes, alternative marketing channels and how to promote livestock. Empowerment and equitable access to markets by these farmers can only be realised when knowledge is disseminated and training and capacity building is enhanced. It is especially an understanding of what the market requires, how price determination occurs and how marketing channels and promotional tools are used in the livestock industry that is lacking. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Summaries and keywords in Afrikaans and English / Hierdie histories-argeologiese studie bied ‘n basiese beskrywing van die materiële kultuur van ‘n afgeleë Suider-Afrikaanse plaas wat tussen die 1880’s en die 1930’s bewoon is. Die studie berus op ‘n gedetailleerde ontleding van die opgegraafde vondste wat herwin is van ashope wat met drie wooneenhede op die plaas Welkomskraal, geleë in die distrik Venterstad in die Noordoos-Kaap, verbind word. Die artefakte is aan die hand van die naslaanversameling in die Bloemfonteinse Nasionale Museum en handelsadvertensies geïdentifiseer. Die materiële kultuur dek die volle spektrum van die alledaagse lewe van die plaasbewoners en word aangevul deur genealogiese data, wat aantoon dat die grondeienaars die nasate was van die eerste trekboere wat hulle in die gebied gevestig het. Die bewoningsperiode van Welkomskraal val saam met die tweede industriële revolusie, wat gekenmerk is deur die massaproduksie van goedere en ‘n toenemend globale handelsnetwerk. Die versameling lewer bewys dat boere in die verre binneland toegang tot ‘n wye reeks ingevoerde produkte gehad het, hoewel hulle nie noodwendig welvarend was nie. / This historical archaeological study provides a baseline description of the material culture of a remote southern African farm occupied between the 1880s and the 1930s. The study is based on a detailed analysis of the excavated finds recovered from middens associated with three homesteads, located on the farm Welkomskraal, in the Venterstad district of the north-eastern Cape. Artefacts were identified using the reference collection of the National Museum in Bloemfontein and commercial adverts. The material culture covers the full spectrum of the daily lives of the farm’s occupants and is complemented by genealogical data, which indicate that the landowners were the descendants of the first trekboers who settled in the area. The occupation of Welkomskraal coincided with the second industrial revolution, which was characterised by mass production of goods and an increasingly global trade network. The assemblage attests that farmers in the deep interior had access to a wide range of imported goods although they were not necessarily prosperous. / Anthropology and Archaeology / M.A. (Argeologie)

Few female farmers are participating in the sector due to various gender-based challenges that they face. The purpose of this study was to investigate prospective farmers’ motivation and their personal attitude to starting their own businesses, as well as their perceptions of barriers to successful business start-ups in the sector. The Prospective Farmers Profile Questionnaire was distributed to 421 prospective farmers (agricultural students at six institutions of higher learning in South Africa). There was an estimated 3,486 students enrolled for various agriculture-related qualifications in the country when this cross-sectional, quantitative study was carried out. The aim of the study was to investigate perceived gender-based barriers to business start-up amongst prospective farmers in SA. The study found perceived barriers to be either intrinsic, (such as, risk aversion, innovation and self efficacy) and extrinsic, examples being, social cultural, political skills and access to land among others factors. The study also intended to find out if (1) motivation to start a business (2) taking responsibility (entrepreneurial orientation) and (3) entrepreneurial intention, were predicted by a number of select business start up factors. The findings were that motivation was predicted by only one business start up factor, socio-cultural forces; while four key factors; motivation, proactiveness, creativity and socio-cultural forces did predict taking responsibility (EO). Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is predicted by three key factors, namely socio-cultural forces, motivation and creativity. It is recommended that prospective farmers be introduced to the importance of social networking and socio-cultural forces in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, entrepreneurial education is required from government, institutions of higher learning and other organisations to educate prospective farmers on the influence of barriers to business start-up.The study was conducted on undergraduate agricultural students and should be extended to post-graduate farmers in South Africa, that is practising farming. A comparison between prospective farmers and prospective entrepreneurs from other disciplines should also be undertaken.This is a South African study and the results cannot be generalised. Therefore, the study could be expanded to other regions and future comparative studies could be done. / Applied Management / D. Phil. (Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Management Sciences)

In early 2003, a persistent drought threatened about 15 million people in the Southern African region (SADC) with starvation as farmers in this region were not able to produce enough food. A similar threat was experienced in the United States of America (USA). The Americans responded by introducing GM technology, which thankfully stabilised corn production and food security. It was against this backdrop that the South African government legalised and supported GM technology in the farming industry. However, the technology became a contentious issue amongst scholars, politicians and policy makers as well as farmers. Therefore, this study analysed the perceptions of small-scale and large-scale farmers, located in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa, on the adoption of GM technology. This qualitative study, using a case study design, collected primary data from thirty (30) farmers: fifteen (15) small-scale and fifteen (15) large-scale farmers. The findings revealed complex factors influencing farmers’ adoption decisions and that Adopter perception (AP) and Consumer perception (CP) play a key role in their adoption of GM technology. These commercially and profit-driven farmers avoid using GM technology because public opinion and the markets weigh heavily against it. It was concluded that the farmers regarded GM technology as just one of many agricultural technologies and not as an exception. It was also considered unaffordable and detrimental to the environment, the economy and their livelihoods.The study recommends that the government should fully investigate public perceptions with regard to the adoption of any new agricultural innovation prior to making policy decisions. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)