Orientador: Julieta Teresa Aier de Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-28T13:36:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Procopio_FrancinedeCamargo_M.pdf: 2244726 bytes, checksum: 6c9f4df6d1e8cfada0e31bf54b534606 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: O Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (Pnae) está regulamentado por meio da Lei nº 11.947/2009, com vigência a partir de 2009, a qual estabelece que no mínimo 30% dos recursos financeiros repassados pelo Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Educação (FNDE) aos municípios para alimentação escolar devem ser para adquirir alimentos oriundos diretamente da agricultura familiar. Essa medida garante um mercado estável e regular para a produção familiar. No entanto, muitos municípios e agricultores familiares até o momento não aderiram ao Programa e os que aderiram enfrentam dificuldades para cumprir as exigências operacionais do Pnae. Nesse sentido, esta dissertação teve por objetivo principal analisar esses entraves operacionais no município de Itapeva, situado na região sudoeste do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Para tal, coletou-se, com o uso de entrevistas semiestruturadas e aplicação de questionários, junto às organizações formais de agricultores familiares que participavam do Programa na época da pesquisa e aos funcionários municipais responsáveis pela implantação e execução da Lei, informações sistematizadas sobre as dificuldades enfrentadas. Trabalhou-se também com pesquisa documental. Foi possível compreender os principais entraves para execução do Pnae no município selecionado e com isso propor medidas para a superação dos obstáculos enfrentados pelos agricultores familiares para participarem desse programa governamental / Abstract: The National School Feeding Programme (NSFP) is regulated by Law No. 11,947/ 2009, effective from 2010, which states that at least 30 % of the funds transferred by the National Fund for Education Development (NFED) to municipalities for school feeding should be to get food from directly from family farmers. This will ensure a stable and regular market for family production. However, many municipalities and farmers so far not joined the program and those who joined struggling to meet the operational requirements Pnae. Thus, this project is meant to examine these operational barriers in the municipality of Itapeva, located in São Paulo, Brazil. To this end, we intend to collect, together with formal organizations of farmers participating in the Program and municipal officials responsible for implementation and execution of Law systematic information about the difficulties faced by documentary research, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Expected to understand the main obstacles for the implementation of Pnae in the selected region and thus propose measures to overcome the obstacles faced by family farmers to participate in this public policy / Mestrado / Planejamento e Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável / Mestra em Engenharia Agrícola

Agriculture revenue contributions to Ghana's gross domestic product have declined because of limited farm funding, which has constrained some smallholder rice farmers access credit to acquire necessary inputs, and to secure a stable market for their harvests. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies some smallholder rice farmers in the Afadzato South District of Ghana used in obtaining farm funding. Data collection included semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 9 smallholder rice farmers who successfully obtained farm funding. Previous research, reports, and policies of the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture served as additional data collection sources. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and resulted in three major themes: the smallholder farmer's strategy of belonging to cooperative association membership, the smallholder farmer's strategy for satisfying lender collateral requirements, and smallholder farmer's strategies for developing a repayment rating history. The implications for positive social change include the potential to guide the smallholder farmers to successful strategies to access farm funding for their farming activities and increase their farm sizes. The increase in farm sizes may result in more rice production that can help mitigate hunger and reduce poverty in the Afadzato South District of Ghana.

To date, research on organic farming and certification has focused on the production and trade possibilities of the industry. Farmers‟ opinions are underrepresented and this study endeavours to capture their opinions. In this study, the economic problem is to investigate the low participation of farmers in certified organic farming, highlight the economic benefits which are normally not clearly defined, as well as study the often complicated and frustrating certification process. The main objective is to investigate the determinants, which affect the smallholder farmer‟s participation, and to analyse farmers‟ perceptions of certified organic farming in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The specific focus was on the participation of smallholder farmers in certified organic farming. The dependent variable was participation as measured by a farmer‟s decision to either certify their farm or not. The independent variables included factors that make up farmer and farm characteristics, certification and market related characteristics. The study used a standard questionnaire to obtain information from farmers. The research methodology, analysis and the presentation of the study was quantitative. The study used descriptive statistics (percentages, means, standard deviations, Chi-squares and significance intervals) to evaluate the significance of the variables. These were analysed and described quantitatively by making use of EVIEWS and IBM AMOS software. In estimating the influential factors, a probit model was adopted, and in analysing farmer perception, structural equation modelling was used. v Descriptive statistics indicated that among farmers interviewed, the majority (61%) were female farmers and 39 per cent were male farmers. Among the female respondents, 46% participated in certified organic farming and 15 per cent of female farmers were not certified organic farmers. From the male group, 29 per cent were certified organic farmers and 7% were not. In determining factors influencing farmer participation, three of the variables were positively associated with the probability of participating in certified organic farming, these being: the age of the farmer, membership to a farmer organisation and market premium prices for certified commodities. The other five significant factors were negatively associated with the probability of participating in certified organic production. These factors were: the gender of the farmer, the farmers‟ income, farming experience, information access and certification costs. All these factors tended to decrease the likelihood of participating. With the exception of the farmers‟ income and farming experience, all the significant variables had the expected signs. Farmers‟ perceptions of certified organic farming were analysed and the results showed that a high percentage of farmers had a positive view of certified organic farming. In other words, the perceived benefits of certified organic farming meet farmers‟ expectations. The perceived premium price of certified organic products is the most important factor affecting farmer perception. This is not unusual because South Africa‟s organic production is mainly focused on exportation and targets high value markets. As hypothesized, the costs associated with the certification process, that is: inspection costs (-0.578) and annual certification costs (-0.719), negatively affect farmer perception. In conclusion, a combination of factors influence a farmer‟s decision as to whether or not to participate in certified organic farming. One cannot rely only on specific factors to determine farmers‟ participation in certified organic farming. Farmer perception of certified organic farming is also an important aspect. The more farmers positively perceive the farming enterprise, the higher the rate of participation will be. The same applies to the perceived costs, which have a negative impact on participation. The study finally recommends that government complete and put into practice the South African organic regulations, which may motivate farmers to get involved in certified organic farming and encourage local capacity building in certified organic farming. However, in the meantime, government should place an vi emphasis on self-regulation within farmer groups and cooperatives for organic production, and set up a regulator to monitor the current activities. This would enhance interest from potential farmers, and strengthen consumer confidence. The study further recommends that information on organic farming should be improved by encouraging more research in this area, which will enable farmers, consumers and regulators to access data on socio-economic, production and trade in the industry. Government should support or create a partnership between farmers and processors to establish cost effective processing of organic products and to increase the availability of processed products for market. Government should assist non-certified smallholder organic farmers to become certified, potentially resulting in a price premium for their products and enhancing export capabilities. / Dissertation (MSc Agric)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Access to financial services from financial institutions has often proved to be one of the major constraints to rural and smallholder agricultural development in Zimbabwe. However, the ICT revolution across the world leading to the development of branchless banking options has brought new financial inclusion opportunities in the rural areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of branchless banking in smallholder agriculture through investigating the user patterns and adoption rate of mobile banking by rural farmers in Zimbabwe. Zvimba District was used as the case study while mobile banking was the branchless banking option investigated. The study also sought to investigate the barriers to adoption of mobile banking, in addition to laying out the difference between traditional banking channels and mobile banking. A survey through a structured interview with rural smallholder farmers was the main means of data collection. The data collected was then used to quantify the adoption of mobile banking, the barriers to adoption, and the alternative financial service providers used in rural areas, making it possible to draw conclusions for the purposes of policy formulation. The findings from the study revealed a high rate of adoption of mobile banking among the rural people. According to the study, even though mobile banking was cheaper and more accessible, traditional banking channels were still cited as being an important need for rural people. The significant factors investigated as creating barriers to adoption of mobile banking included age, education, income, marital status and farming experience, while factors such as gender and farm size proved to be insignificant. In light of the findings, it was recommended that besides transactional uses, branchless banking should be further developed and enhanced to provide other services such as insurance services and credit needed by smallholder farmers. Furthermore, in order to enhance customer uptake, mobile network operators (MNOs) were recommended to consider a segmentation approach when extending services to appropriate segments in rural areas. / Dissertation (MInst (Agrar))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MInst (Agrar) / Unrestricted

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development / See the attached abstract below

Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS) / As a means to assuage historical land inequities, resultant socio-economic disparities and poverty alleviation, the Namibian Government undertook to reform the land sector. Guided by the Constitution and the Resolutions of the 1991 Land Conference policy and legal framework, a fractured consensus is built on the rationale to redistribute land to a targeted group. Parallel to the reform agenda, systemic challenges to the resettlement process are growing amid questions on Government’s ability to respond to sustainable programme objectives embedded within land reforms. Literature coalesces on the issues of land-reform programmes having lost direction, being skewed in favour of a few, being biased towards commercial agriculture, and requiring review and re-configuration to be inclusive and to satisfy equity and povertyalleviation concerns. This study seeks to understand who has been benefitting from land reform by analysing the processes and procedures of identifying beneficiaries prioritised for land allocation, and institutional structures for implementation, while analysing how they produce and reproduce class differentiation and the attendent livelihood trajectories. Using qualitative research conducted in one case study site (Okarukambe constituency) the views of the smallscale farmers who benefitted were solicited. Additionally, the experiences and views of institutions and officials involved in land allocation at regional and national levels are taken into account. Theoretically the study draws from the livelihoods approach to find out the different categories of the small-scale farmers who have benefitted.

Land reform is important as it serves as a means to redress the imbalances created by apartheid. Evidence revealed that the land reform programme in South Africa has not been fully effective. This is partly because of lack of focus on the post-settlement support by Government or other interested stakeholders such as the private sectors, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as well as government entities. Lack of skills amongst land reform beneficiaries is one of the critical elements identified to be problematic in South Africa and leads to failure of these emerging farmers. The South African government has introduced programmes, such as the Recapitalization and Development Programme (RECAP), the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP), and the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP), to address the issues of post-settlement support. Skills transfer to land reform beneficiaries was one of the issues that RECAP tried to address. The Department of Agriculture introduced extension services to the land reform beneficiaries as a means to transfer skills to land reform beneficiaries. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform also played its part through RECAP by introducing strategic interventions (strategic partners and mentors) to ensure that necessary skills are transferred to farmers. Other than government departments, NGOs, commodity organisations, and private sectors have been participating in ensuring that the skills of the land reform beneficiaries are developed. Despite this, evidence shows that the efforts made by both government and other involved stakeholders are not really effective in all the provinces across South Africa. The main objective of this study was to identify an appropriate skills transfer model for land reform beneficiaries in South Africa. Successful models that exist in Brazil, Kenya and China, were studied to identify and propose a skills transfer model that could best suit South Africa. In addition, the study used data and information from secondary sources such as government, NGOs, private sector, and reviewed existing literature on issues around skills transfer to emerging farmers and land reform beneficiaries. A comparative analysis was done on the existing skills transfer models from the three countries and South Africa. The analysis revealed certain common characteristics in the skills transfer models that exist in China, Kenya and Brazil, and also revealed how these models differ from the existing models in South Africa, thereafter distinguishing the success of these models from the failures. Over and above the most-used and successful model in the three countries, is the pluralistic type of model that involves working together of government, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector. What is much more appealing with this latter model is the fact that it takes into account the participatory, bottom–up approach, where farmers are engaged in whatever skills needs that have to be transferred to them. Literature revealed that the differences between the models that exist in South Africa relate to the involvement of research in skills transfer, unclear policies on skills transfer. The policies are not clear in explaining the institutional arrangements, roles and responsibilities of the different parties that have the ability to assist farmers or transfer skill and the monitoring and evaluation framework of skills transfer. The pluralistic approach, if well designed and taking into all aspects mentioned above, could be very effective for South African land reform beneficiaries. / Dissertation (MAgric (Rural Development))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MAgric (Rural Development) / Unrestricted

Masters of Art / In black societies, 'cattle were used for religious ceremonies and also for lobola, which was an important part of the economy. Lobola. was an exchange of cattle for a fruitful marriage. If the This volume is the first in wife proved infertile, her family would be obliged to give in marriage a second daughter. Lobola also enabled the bride's brothers in turn to afford the lobola for marriage and children themselves. Lobola circulated wealth and helped to build up the population and labour power of the family. A man's wealth and power were therefore measured by his cattle. Because of people's close ties to the land. in subsistence society, it was important to have enough labour to work it. More labour produced more food. This labour came from the family. Families in subsistence societies were large they usually consisted of the father, his wives and children, plus any unmarried relatives who might be needing a home. The members of the family worked together to produce their basic needs. They shared many of the daily tasks. At the same time, each member of the family had his or her own job. The women would usually grow the food and prepare it. They also raised the children. The older girls helped the adult women in their tasks. The men hunted and supervised the older boys, training them to look after the animals. In time, a man became the head of a family, with a duty to protect it in times of danger.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the suspected endocrine disruptive effect of molasses included in cattle feed. During the mid 1990's a potentially serious, chronic syndrome was reported in well-managed beef and dairy herds from unrelated parts of South Africa. Farmers reported that it manifested as various combinations of seriously decreased production, increased reproductive disorders, apparent immune incompetence in previously immune competent animals, various mineral imbalances in non¬deficient areas and goitre, perceptible by enlarged thyroids. Farmers related this syndrome to certain batches of sugarcane molasses and molasses¬based products. Their opinion was based on observations that dramatic improvements in health and productivity often followed the withdrawal of the molasses component of the diet. The syndrome had all the characteristics of an "endocrine disruptive syndrome". Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are exogenous substances that have the potential to alter the functions of the endocrine system and consequently cause ill health. The EDCs comprise a diverse group of compounds that are widely used in detergents, in the paint and plastics industries and as wetting agents in agricultural remedies. Contamination of molasses with these compounds could occur as a result of uptake of chemicals by growing sugarcane or by the use of contaminated river water in the extraction of sugar from chopped sugarcane. It was essential to investigate the safety of molasses, currently available as stock feed in South Africa and the rest of the world, to allay any fears created by the farmers. Four batches of molasses previously collected from four different sugar mills located in different parts of the country were screened for potential endocrine disruptive activity, including oestrogen and thyroid activity and immune suppression. Two batches of molasses were selected to be used in a calf feeding trial. Thirty-two, 4 to 6 week-old Holstein bull calves of approximately the same weight, and supplied by the same rearing facility, were included in a single phase, three treatment, parallel design experiment. Calves from the three experimental groups were housed in the same facilities, under the same conditions and fed diets with similar composition. Two of the groups had molasses (Umzimkulu and Komatipoort) included in their rations and the control group was fed a ration where no molasses was added, but fermentable sugars and minerals were included. The weight gain of the calves was recorded over a six-month study period. Regular clinical examinations were conducted and clinical pathology parameters, immune responses and endocrine effects were evaluated. Even though endocrine disrupting effects were detected in in vitro screening tests, these could not be reproduced in calves under experimental conditions. The two batches of molasses utilized in the calf feeding trial did not induce major differences in any of the parameters measured, except a lower weight gain in the Umzimkulu molasses fed group which tended towards significance. It appears improbable that these two batches of molasses had any endocrine disruptive or immunosuppressive effects. Therefore, these two batches of molasses per se were not deleterious when fed to calves. / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

The number of women farmers in the US continues to grow even at a time when the number of men farmers is decreasing. But even as women are experiencing growing representation in this historically men-dominated occupation, they are more likely to operate smaller farm operations, own less land, and earn less than men farmers. Additionally, there are barriers to accessing the full farmer identity due to their invisibility in the largely patriarchal structure of agriculture. In this dissertation, I endeavor to learn more about how women farmers navigate the gendered structure of farming, including barriers to accessing occupation-related resources and their farmer identity, and how women farmers are “doing” or “undoing” gender. Utilizing in-depth qualitative interviews, I interviewed 32 women farmers from 11 states and the country of Italy. I find that three main gendered structural barriers were experienced by the women farmers in this study, including access to capital-related resources, learning how to farm, and the women’s perception of conventional agriculture as a masculine occupation. I contributed to the growing “doing and undoing gender” literature by showing that the women in this study were actively engaged in interactions within and outside of their occupation that both conformed to and resisted traditional gendered expectations, demonstrating that doing and undoing gender is contextual and more of a spectrum than mutually exclusive categories of either/or. I also contributed to the “doing difference” literature by including women farmers of color, whose perspectives have been absent from previous research of women farmers. Their narratives included examples of discrimination and unequal treatment due to their race and gender, demonstrating a clear need for an intersectional analysis of women farmers. I conclude with a discussion of these implications and make policy recommendations based on knowledge gained from this research and offer suggestions for future research.