South Africa is a water scarce country. With the increasing demand of water from other users, irrigation, as the largest water user, has to find ways to produce more per drop and meet the food demands of the growing population. Enhancing the performance of smallholder irrigation schemes (SHI) is one way of saving water since they are fast becoming the largest water users in South Africa and the world over. Performance in the smallholder sub-sector is reportedly below the expectations of stakeholders. However, performance in smallholder irrigation schemes is multi-dimensional and can be looked at from different perspectives. This study assessed the technical performance of the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme (MRIS) from the technical managers` and the farmers` points of view and integrated them into one to derive a comprehensive set of best management practices (BMPs) for the scheme. This was done acknowledging that the farmer is now the water manager in line with Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) and Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT). Three performance indicators related to water supply and delivery: conveyance efficiency, dependability of irrigation intervals between water applications and relative irrigation supply, and two agricultural performance indicators namely, output per unit irrigation supply and output per unit water consumed, were assessed during the spring and summer of the 2010/11 season. The field measurement method was used for the assessment of these indicators as opposed to the faster and more encompassing remote sensing method, due to resource constraints. The Velocity-area method was used to measure flow-rates in canals and crop water demands were estimated from FAO Cropwat 8.0 and Aquacrop 3.1. The results show an overall scheme conveyance efficiency of 86.4%, a maximum dependability of irrigation intervals between water applications of 2.57 in spring and a scheme relative irrigation supply of 1.48. Agricultural performance indicators, output per unit irrigation supply and water productivity per unit crop evapotranspiration (ET), were found to be 0.64 kg/m3 and 5.37 kg/m3 on average for cabbage, respectively. Farmers` satisfaction with taking an irrigation service can be used as a measure of the scheme`s performance. A questionnaire was administered among farmers to gather their views on the performance and to determine the factors that significantly influence their satisfaction status with taking the irrigation service at MRIS. Information collected from the questionnaire include age, gender, irrigation training, timeliness of water delivery, water distribution among the blocks, farming experience, farmer involvement in inspection of irrigation infrastructure and maintenance, among others. Farmers` were also asked for suggestions on improving the performance of their scheme. Their responses were analysed using a multinomial logit model. Results showed that 57% of the farmers are satisfied with using the irrigation service at MRIS, 30% are not satisfied, while 13% are neutral. Eight factors were found to be statistically significant in influencing the farmers` satisfaction status namely: location with respect to the water diversion point, location within a block from the main canal, age of the farmer, education level attained by the farmer, farming experience, the number of plots a farmer owns, fairness of water distribution across the blocks and the number of days a farmer accesses water The technical performance indicators assessed and the suggestions from the farmers on the way to improve performance of MRIS allowed the selection of the BMPs for the scheme. A set of seven BMPs based on farmer suggestions was derived. BMPs used as a guideline. The farmers were also tasked with the ranking of the derived BMPs according to their preference. The collected data was then ranked through an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results show that establishment of and adherence to an irrigation schedule was the most preferred BMP by the farmers, while volumetric measurement of irrigation water used by each block was the least preferred. This study concludes that the performance of MRIS is comparable to other schemes and that farmers are aware of the problems bedevilling their scheme. It is also concluded that the performance of the scheme meets the farmers`, the key stakeholders, expectations and that irrigation scheduling is the most preferred BMP. The study recommends that farmers be more involved in performance assessments and management of their schemes. It is crucial to ensure that the recommended BMPs are acceptable to the farmers in the scheme. The best way to achieve this is by allowing farmers to participate in policy formulation and decision making. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / South Africa has a two-fold agricultural sector consisting of large-scale, industrialised, commercial farmers, as well as small-scale, resource poor subsistence farmers. One of the aspirations of the post-1994 South African Government is to rectify the imbalances in South African agriculture, where less than 20% of the farmers produce more than 80 % of total national agricultural products. In an attempt to improve supply from previously disadvantaged farmers, a land redistribution programme was launched with the goal of transferring 30% of total agricultural land to black farmers by 2014. However, farmers that are beneficiaries of the land transformation and redistribution programme often struggle to sustain the previous levels of productivity of the land. This is due to inexperience in macro-agriculture as well as a lack of resources. In such cases the beneficiaries revert back to subsistence type farming on previously productive and successful commercial farms. This phenomenon can have a devastating effect on the country’s food security, Gross Domestic Product, unemployment rates and the farmer’s prosperity and development opportunities. By reverting to small-scale farming, access to formal marketing chains is also restricted because of the economies of scales required to sustain a competitive supply to these markets. Urgent strategies are therefore required to improve the competitiveness of farmers who farm on a small scale due to restricted resources and inexperience. In this regard two proven theories to analyse industries for improved competitiveness exist, namely value chain analysis and clustering. Both are investigated in this study in order to determine their suitability for application in the emerging farming sector of South Africa. Value chain analysis has been widely applied to production and manufacturing industries (including agricultural production and agri-food manufacturing) to scrutinise production processes. Valuable insight into an industry’s strong and weak points can be gained by studying various factors. These include the inputs required for the manufacturing of the final product, the steps or processes required in the chain of events, the value added in each step, the contributors in the chain, as well as the linkages between the contributors. Knowledge is also gained regarding chain and process optimisation potential for improved competitiveness. The clustering of small firms to improve their ability to compete in formal markets has received a significant amount of academic interest over the past 100 years. In this regard it is important to determine the factors that influence competitiveness, and to develop strategies to improve the potential of small-scale manufacturing firms to compete with larger scale enterprises. The clustering or grouping of small firms to co-operate with each other and to compete against larger firms – as opposed to competing against each other – has resulted in improved competitiveness for many small firms across the world. A number of common key success factors for improving the competitiveness of smallscale, resource poor farmers are identified in this study through the investigation of a host of case studies. The results from these case studies also provide adequate evidence that the analysis and upgrading of value chains, as well as the promotion of collective action by small farmers, are key components for improving competitiveness and market access. This study focuses on the development of a framework to guide the development of strategies for improving competitiveness amongst small-scale, resource poor farming industries, including a production cost analysis sheet to calculate the competitiveness of farmers in this sub-sector. The Framework is also evaluated for its functionality by looking at the implementation thereof amongst a group of emerging farmers in the Western Cape.

In South Africa, maize is grown all over the country under various environments including both dry and irrigated agriculture. The majority of maize farmers are smallholders farming on small pieces of land with low input technologies. Additionally, South Africa`s smallholder maize farmers are characterised by low maize productivity, this is despite of the availability of many improved maize varieties on the market. It is clear that professional maize breeders are continuously developing many superior maize varieties with traits more suitable for the commercial farming sector than the smallholder sector. Against this background, this study used a descriptive statistics approach to find out maize varieties and traits preferred by smallholder farmers. The study also evaluated factors that influence smallholder farmers` maize varietal selection choice using descriptive statistics and multinomial regression. The data used for the empirical analysis was obtained from a survey of 200 smallholder farmers in Mhlontlo Local Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

Lack of knowledge about climate change poses a greater risk to human development in general. This study emerges from the premise that agriculture, and more specifically smallholder farmers, are the most affected by climate variability due to the type of assets they hold. Among other factors, climate change can directly and adversely impact the ability of smallholder farmers to sustain their livelihoods. Taking into consideration spatial differences across Ngqushwa Local Municipality, smallholder farmers in different areas have to understand the constraints they face that emanate from climate change. The study aimed to explore the knowledge that smallholder farmers in Ngqushwa local municipality have on climate change, strategies they utilise to cope and minimise the detrimental effects of climate change. The study also focused on climate change information sources namely, meteorological and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) that smallholder farmers have at their disposal for coping and adaptation to climate change. Furthermore, the study analyses comprehensiveness and usefulness of information that the resource-poor farmers possess. The findings of this study show that smallholder farmers in Ngqushwa local municipality access climate change information through televisions, newspapers and listening to the radio. Their knowledge of the behaviour of birds, moon, wind, and insects is also an important source of forecasting weather patterns. Recommendations from this study include the following: enhancing and widening the sources of climate change information, education encompassing the nature of climate change, networking of smallholder farmers, linking meteorological and indigenous knowledge and supplementing natural water supply.

The democratic government in South Africa has brought about several policies which were initiated for rural development, and one of the government’s strategies was to involve the agricultural sector. Farmer Support Programmes (FSPs) were developed to assist small-scale farmers to become commercial farmers. The study looked at the participation of small scale farmers in the planning and implementation of the FSPs in the Amahlathi Local Municipality. 108 small scale farmers were selected using a non-random purposive probability and twelve farmers’ organisations. Semi-structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection tool and method respectively. The data analysis used was a descriptive analysis and a thematic analysis. The results revealed that the farmers have a positive perception towards the support programmes being helpful in their farming needs. The positive perception was especially on the extension and advisory services, dipping and vaccination programme, and the supply and funding of inputs and assets. However, the results revealed that there was no significant difference between gender and the perception of the farmers when a chi square test of association was performed. The results also revealed that the farmers and farmers’ organisations were not involved in the planning of the programmes by the government. It is therefore recommended that for the success of the FSP and for economic growth in the rural areas, the government has to avoid using a top-down approach when developing these programmes, and instead consult the farmers and the farmers’ organisations to know the specific needs of the farmers in their farming practices.

Enhancement of smallholder production to improve rural livelihood is an important policy goal in developing countries. Research findings indicate that smallholder production can be improved through establishment of new smallholder irrigation schemes, and the rehabilitation of abandoned ones. Smallholder irrigation has a potential to contribute significantly in shifting smallholder farming to commercial farming. Although the roles of irrigating farmers are clearly defined, smallholder farmer’s development results in South Africa have been disappointing. The performance of smallholder irrigation is unsatisfactory. Smallholder irrigation has failed to improve the standard of living and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in South Africa. The majority of farmers are still producing at subsistence level. This study, therefore, aimed to contribute to smallholder irrigation literature in two ways; firstly by evaluating the extent of irrigation participation of smallholder farmers towards commercialization in the study areas. The study also examined the determinants of irrigation participation among smallholder farmers. A sample of 80 households was drawn by random sampling of smallholders in four villages as follows: 40 respondents from Mgxabakazi and Dinizulu villages and 40 respondents from Ncorha flats and Tshatshu. The sample included both irrigators and non-irrigators. Descriptive analysis shows that irrigators had better production and wellbeing than non-irrigators. For the inferential analysis of the data, two models were employed namely, Binary Logistic Regression Model (BRM) and Truncated Regression Model (TRM). The Binary Regression model was used to predict the probability of farmers participating in irrigation schemes. Whether or not a farmer participated in irrigation was introduced as the binary dependent or response variable that could be explained by a range of explanatory or predictor variables such as source of water, land size, ability to sustain business, membership in the scheme, market access, availability of the irrigation system, willingness to irrigate, farming type commercial or subsistence and institutional support services. From these predictor variables, being part of the irrigation, ability to sustain business and market were found to be factors influencing farmer’s decision to participate. The second model required the in-depth investigation of the influence of irrigation participation as reflected by extent of commercialization. In order to do this, the level of commercialization was measured by calculating Household Commercialization Index. Then the truncated regression model (TR) was used to test the factors that affect the level of commercialization for the farmers who are participating in the irrigation schemes.Age, irrigated land, willingness to commercialize and gross value of production were found to exert strong influence on the level of commercialization among farmers participating in irrigation. The study recommends that investments in smallholder irrigation should receive high priority, with emphasis on collective action, promotion of contract farming and strengthening the support services from government and the private sector, and ensuring enhanced access to market to all farmers.

Food security is high on the development agenda in South Africa. A wide range of agricultural interventions exist across the country initiated by various stakeholders at different levels of society. While many interventions focus on production related constraints of food security, there are far fewer that focus on the integration of smallholder farmers in the supply chain. The research subject is the Agricultural Sustainable Community Investment Project (Agri-SCIP), operating on the south coast of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province. As a demand driven alternative market model, the focus of the project is on the integration of local smallholder farmers in the fresh produce supply chain. The main research question is whether the participation of smallholder farmers in the fresh produce supply actually has actually improved for participants of the test case. Existing barriers to entry for smallholder farmers are mitigated in the project. Through a literature review five critical factors for market participation by smallholder farmers are identified, namely transport and distance to markets, product quality, product quantity, the buyer-seller relationship and market information. A literature review and empirical data are applied to test the impact of the Agri-SCIP project on the participation of smallholder farmers in the fresh produce supply chain based on these five critical factors. The data indicate that many of the existing barriers to entry in the fresh produce supply chain for the smallholder farmers are mitigated, and have been shifted to a collectively owned co-operative. Therefore, as an alternative market model, Agri-SCIP has the potential to provide a sustainable solution for smallholder development in South Africa with a strong focus on supply chain participation. The development of a strong smallholder farmers base and the development of smallholder farmers into semi-commercial farmers are potential long term results of the Agri-SCIP alternative market model.

The broad objective of the study was to investigate the limiting factors that prevent a breakthrough of emerging farmers to commercial agricultural farming industry. The research objectives were to describe the demographic characteristics such as age, education, farming skills and experience; determine the required support services needed; and inform the limiting factors that prevent breakthrough of emerging farmers to enter commercial agricultural industry. The study was conducted in King William’s Town area through structured questionnaires administered by the researcher. A sample of 50 emerging farmers was drawn in the area. The majority of households in the area depend on subsistence farming for household survival. Results indicated that emerging farmers are faced with poor physical infrastructure such as implements to better their production as well as low education levels which results as an inability to interpret market information to be used in production planning. It is also clear that the farmers face a lack of market infrastructure, poor roads, lack of market information, lack of transportation to markets and high transportation costs. The majority of the farmers were old and the youth was not engaged in agriculture. The findings showed that there is an insufficient role from government with regards to emerging farmer support and providing the required infrastructure to access markets or improving rural infrastructure. As a result the majority of the farmers are trapped in a cycle of poverty. The following policy recommendations are suggested: Financial services such as credit must be made available to emerging farmers at reasonable interest rates such as low interest rate subsidies to emerging farmers up until commercialisation. The requirements for emerging farmers to access loans, funding or credit should be restructured or adjusted to the ability of the farmer to repay the credit rather than the availability of title deeds or assets as collateral. Extension officers should regularly visit the localities were emerging farmers are farming have a better understanding of their farming areas, farming methods and improve their communication with the farmers. Lastly the land reform initiatives should be re-organised or developed if necessary to ensure efficient re-allocation of land. The policies should be developed to focus on both the individual farm plots and the collective rights.

Thesis (M. Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Small-scale farmers are the drivers of many countries in Africa and play an important role in livelihood creation among the poor in rural areas (DAFF, 2012). The efficient use of scarce resources in promoting agricultural production has encouraged a considerable amount of research in determining efficiency differentials of small-scale farmers (Chiona, 2011); especially those engaged in maize as a staple commodity in many parts of the world. The study examined the effect of access to tractor service on technical efficiency of small-scale maize farmers following the implementation of the Masibuyele Emasimini programme in the Mpumalanga province. The objectives of the study were to: (i) Compare and identify the socio-economic characteristics of small-scale maize farmers in the three selected districts of the study, (ii) analyse the socio-economic factors influencing small-scale maize farmers’ access to tractor service, and to (iii) measure technical efficiency of farmers who have access to tractor service. The data collection was carried out in three districts of the Mpumalanga province, that is, Ehlanzeni, Nkangala and Gert Sibande. Farmers producing maize were purposively selected for the study because maize is the most staple food produced in the province, especially on a small-scale level. To effectively cover the study area, a simple random technique was used for sampling with a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 101 farmers. The three districts are heterogeneous in technical aspects, and were therefore treated separately in terms of data collection, analysis and report of findings. The data were further analysed using descriptive statistics, the logistic regression and Cobb-Douglas production function model to address objective one, two and three mentioned above, respectively. The results of the logistic regression model indicated that out of the 9 (Nine) socio-economic variables included in the analysis, 6 (Six) of them (Farmer’s association, irrigation, farmer’s level of education, gender, ownership of land and household size) were found to be significant and influencing access to v tractor service by small-scale maize farmers. Technical efficiency levels revealed that farmers with access to tractor service were more technically efficient than those without access in all districts of the Mpumalanga province. For example, the average technical efficiency for small-scale farmers with access to tractor service in the Ehlanzeni district was 0.68; about 41% higher than those without access with an average technical efficiency of about 0.27. The Cobb-Douglas results on the other hand, revealed that farmers in the Mpumalanga province are experiencing technical inefficiency in maize production due to decreasing returns to scale. Access to tractor service was also negatively insignificant towards maize production in both the Ehlanzeni and Nkangala district, and was found to have a positive but insignificant effect in Gert Sibande. Policy implications are that to improve the efficiency of tractor service (rendered by the Masibuyele Emasimini programme) towards maize production; government should focus on significant factors influencing the access of the following by small-scale maize farmers and the factors are machinery, irrigation, gender, and ownership of land, farmer’s level of education, farmer’s association, and household and land size per district. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of the North, 2001 / Refer to document