Backyard gardens has been identified as one of the possible solutions to some of the issues surrounding poverty alleviation in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality. The main objective of the study was to determine the economic contribution of backyard gardens in alleviation of poverty in rural communities of Bojanala Platinum District Municipality in the North West Province, South Africa. The study used purposive sampling for data collection from the study respondents which enabled the researcher to select a sample with experience and knowledge about the study variables. The questionnaire used as data collection instrument was pretested, validated and subjected to reliability test to improve the efficiency of the use of the questionnaire. The collected data was sorted, coded and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 23.0 software. Frequency count and percentage were used to summarize the data into tables and graphs. The linear multiple regression model specification was employed to examine the demographic and socio-economic factors (predictors) that influence the generation of income from backyard gardens. Multinomial logistics regression model was also used to determine factors influencing the respondents’ objectives for the Backyard gardens, while the logit regression model was used to analyse determinants of the proportion of backyard land used for backyard farming by respondents/growers. The findings of the study are that: more females (68.2%) were involved in the study than males (31.8%); youth involved in the study were 27.7%; the majority (60.4%) of respondents are in the age group of 41-70 years of age; majority (69.5%) of respondents had matric education, 20.9% had tertiary education, and 3.6% had below matric education whilst 5.9% had no formal education; most of respondents are unemployed (86.6%); 32.2% of respondents are dependent on pension as their source of income, 12.3% depend on grant, 15% depend on monthly salaries, 0.5% depend on investments, 2.3% depend on remittance, and 18.6% depend on piece jobs, whilst 19.1% reported other source of income; majority (99%) of respondents reported that backyard garden contribute a significant proportion to both household income and food security, whilst 1.0% did not agree; 40% of the respondents could not manage to farm the whole garden area, while 60% were able to farm the entire garden area; the majority (70.9%) of respondents provide own solutions to their backyard garden challenges; majority (53.7%) of respondents reported that extension officers never visited their gardens, whilst 46.3% had extension visits on weekly, monthly and quarterly bases; 23.2% of the respondents created permanent employment while 34.1% of them created seasonal employment. The results of the OLS regression analysis showed that gender of respondents, with formal employment, ownership of a farm besides the Backyard garden (BYG) by respondent, farmers’ years of experience in farming and annual income from the sale of livestock by respondent had positive and statistically significant influence on the annual income from Backyard garden with all other factors held constant. The results of the multinomial regression analyses show that a unit change in number of years involved in backyard gardening (YRSBG) does not significantly change the odds of being classified in the 4th category of the outcome variable (Produce to help the needy, the poor, to feed the orphans, and for home based-cares around their communities = 4) relative to the first or second or third categories of the outcome variable, while controlling for the influence of the others. On the other hand a unit change in being employed (EMPLO) and involved in non-farm activities (NFA) do significantly change the odds of being classified in the 4th category of the outcome variable relative to the second or third categories of the outcome variable, while controlling the influence of the others. The Logit coefficient estimate associated with Age, Income per month from BYG, Engage in non-farm activities, Years of experience in gardening, Proportion of produce consumed, having a business plan, Own a farm besides BYG and to lease your backyard have statistically significant impact on respondents area of cultivation for BYG with other factors held constant. Policies to improve BYG in the district should be informed by the aforementioned variables from the results of the inferential analyses. / Agriculture / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

Wild foods are an integral component of the household food basket, yet their quantified contribution to food security relative to other sources in the context of HIV/AIDS, climate change and variability remains underexplored. This study was carried out in Willowvale and Lesseyton which are rural communities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Willowvale is a relatively remote, medium-rainfall coastal community, while Lesseyton is a peri-urban low rainfall inland community. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data from 78 HIV/AIDS afflicted households with 329 individuals and 87 non-afflicted households with 365 individuals in the two study sites. Households were visited quarterly over 12 months to assess food acquisition methods, dietary intake and quality, and levels of food security, and to determine strategies employed by households to cope with droughts. The wild foods investigated were wild meat, wild birds, wild fish, wild mushrooms, wild leafy vegetables and wild fruits. Diets were moderately well-balanced and limited in variety, with cereal items contributing 52 % to total calorie intake. Mid-upper arm circumference measurements showed that all respondents were adequately nourished. The bulk of the food consumed by households was purchased, with supplementation from own production, wild vegetables and wild fruits. In Willowvale, wild vegetables comprised 46 % of overall vegetable consumption for afflicted households and 32 % for non-afflicted households, while own fruit production comprised 100 % of fruit consumption. In Lesseyton, wild vegetables comprised only 6 % and 4 % of vegetable consumption for afflicted and non-afflicted households, while wild fruit comprised 63 % and 41 % for afflicted and non-afflicted households. More than 80 % of respondents from both afflicted and non-afflicted households had sufficient daily kilocalories, although the majority of afflicted households felt they were food insecure and sometimes collected wild foods as one of their multiple coping strategies. Hunting and gathering of wild foods was associated with site, household affliction status, gender, age and season. More than 80 % of respondents ate wild vegetables and said they were more drought tolerant than conventional vegetables, making them the most consumed wild food and approximately 16 % of respondents ate wild birds, making them the least consumed wild food. Approximately 14 % of respondents from afflicted households in Willowvale sold wild fish, whilst 34 % of respondents from afflicted households and 7 % from non-afflicted households sold wild fruits in Lesseyton. Strategies adopted by households to cope with droughts were different between the two study sites, and households in Willowvale used a wider range of strategies. Given the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS coupled with the drawbacks of climate change and variability on food security, wild foods represent a free and easy way for vulnerable households to obtain food.

How should the impact of HIV and AIDS on rural livelihoods be factored into efforts to monitor and stabilise household food security? With both HIV and AIDS and food security at the top of the global development agenda, this is a question posed by many scholars, practitioners, donor agencies and government departments. However, while there is an excess of discourse outlining the theoretical bases for how HIV and AIDS can, and is, radically transforming household food acquisition; there is a lack of empirical evidence from the South African context that demonstrates if, and how, HIV and AIDS changes household-level strategies of food acquisition and intake. This thesis explores the association of household-level mortality, chronic illness and additional child-dependent fostering with household experience of food security and food acquisition strategies, in three rural villages in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative methods of data-collection were applied to 307 households in the three sites. For twelve months, both HIV and AIDS-afflicted and non-afflicted households were repeatedly visited at 3-month intervals, in order to be assessed for levels of food security, dietary intake and method of food procurement (purchased, cultivated, wild or donated). Overall, HIV and AIDS-afflicted households showed a significantly higher experience of food insecurity, probably attributable to shortages in food quantity. Dietary composition and overall diversity, however, was not significantly different. Although households with chronic illness and recent mortality showed a heightened investment in cultivation sources, the success of these strategies were to a great extent mediated by household income, and the level of medical treatment received by those who were chronically ill. Chronic illness was also associated with more donations, but these required considerable investments in social capital networks. Finally, use of wild leafy vegetables was not associated with household HIV and AIDS status, despite the financial, nutritional and labour-saving properties of these foods. Overall, the study suggests that there was little evidence of long-term planning and strategy in household food security responses. There was no evidence for shifts to labour-saving crops or foods and, in some instances, child labour was being used to ameliorate prime-adult labour deficits. Moreover, given that the vast majority (89.2%) of food groups were sourced through purchase, it is questionable whether investing in diverse food acquisition strategies would be advisable. Unless supported by medical treatment and steady earned household income, policies to promote intensified household agricultural subsistence production in the wake of HIV and AIDS are unlikely to provide households with anything more than short-term safety-nets, rather than long-term, sustainable food security solutions.

This study examines the extent to which the Siyazondla food programme, which is a woman based project, empowers women with agricultural skills and knowledge to alleviate poverty and improve their quality of lives in Ducats North area in East London. The investigation is based on the argument that when a woman is empowered, poverty will be reduced and the quality of life will improve. Through the use of qualitative research methodology, all women who are the main beneficiaries of the Siyazondla programme in Ducats North village were interviewed. Findings seem to indicate that although women in the project manage to produce good crops to feed their families, they are still not sufficiently empowered with skills and education to improve their quality of lives. This was found to be exacerbated by the fact that the officials assigned for the programme are to a greater extent inefficient and lack relevant knowledge to support beneficiaries. Most importantly, it was revealed that there is lack of monitoring and evaluation of the programme by government and this was considered to be the major constraint to successful implementation of the programme and in ensuring that poverty is alleviated in the area. It is on the basis of these findings that the study recommends that in order to yield positive results and ensure that women in the programme are empowered, there is a need to change the deeply embedded patriarchal perceptions and discriminatory practices and attitudes that seem to undervalue women‟s work. This will require greater awareness of women‟s contribution to agriculture, and the recognition of the role played by women in food security and poverty alleviation, coupled with a strong commitment from the government to empower rural women in agriculture.

The study was conducted in Mbozi and Ciko villages in Mbhashe Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Two irrigation projects in the area were studied. Consumers and agricultural commodity traders in Willowvale Town, Dutywa, Butterworth and East London were also interviewed. The major objective of the study is to profile and map cabbage, maize and cattle food value chains broadly, and to understand their nature, constraints and opportunities in smallholder agriculture. A multi-stage random sampling procedure was used in which the first stage involved selecting the local government areas. This was followed by the selection of the district and then the respondents. A total of 168 participants were sampled in the proportion of 82 smallholder farmers, 41 consumers, 26 hawkers and 20 agricultural commodity traders. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also used during the data collection process. Value Chain mapping was done using the commodity based approach. All value chains under study indicated that they are short and commodities were transacted in unprocessed form. As cabbages and maize move from the farm to retail outlets, value addition start to take place through transportation to the market and processing in supermarkets. The cattle value chain however does not have a forward linkage beyond the two administrative boundaries of the two communities. Less than 3% of the farmers traded livestock, and this was mostly through private sales to neighbours. The farmers‘ major goal in agricultural production is assumed to be an important aspect in lengthening the value chain. As such, results of a Pearson‘s correlation exercise indicated that there is a significant relationship at 0.05% level between goals of the farmers and the village of origin. Some factors that showed significance (p=0.05) in influencing farmers‘ goals are membership of an irrigation project and household sources of income. An analysis of determinants of technical efficiency at farm level was performed using the stochastic frontier model for cabbage, maize and cattle enterprises. The results showed that rainfall adequacy, input costs, market channels and quantity sold are important determinants of cabbage production efficiency. On the other hand, maize production efficiency is positively determined by market price, area under production and rainfall adequacy. Market related variables are major drivers of the cattle value chain efficiency and these include cattle prices, market satisfaction, market channel and farm labour.

Institute for Rural Development / MRDV

MRDV / Instutute for Rural Development / Health and wellbeing of humans is affected by their eating habits, patterns and choice of meals. This research discusses food consumption patterns of selected households of Mbilwi and Matavhela villages in Thulamela Municipality, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study identified types of food consumed and the nutritional knowledge of households living in the study area. In addition, the study assessed the knowledge of households on how food choices affect their health. Lastly an analysis of socio-economic factors that influence food consumption patterns in households living in Mbilwi and Matavhela villages was investigated. Using purposive sampling, qualitative and quantitative inquiry were used to explore the research objectives. A sample size of 50 and 47 households from each village were selected respectively and the heads of each household were interviewed. Thematic content analysis was used to categorise data into themes, to address and interpret qualitative data. Themes were generated as the units for analysis based on the objectives of the study to enable interpretation of qualitative information. The quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. The findings indicated that there was no variety in foods consumed by households in both the weekly food consumption pattern and 24-hour food recall. There was also limited nutrition knowledge of the foods consumed in households of both villages. Households usually consumed energy giving foods such as carbohydrates and body building foods such as proteins. There was low consumption of milk and milk products, fruit and vegetable food groups. Various socio-economic factors such as income, living conditions, health, nutrition knowledge, culture, religion and lack of time to prepare food, affected eating habits. Some foods were recommended or condoned based on religious and cultural factors. Most households were unemployed and relied on government grants and remittances from family members working in the metropolitan centres. The findings in this study provide a better understanding of food access, availability and consumption in rural areas which can also assist in the formulation of policies that would improve quality of food consumption in rural areas. This study presented an opportunity that can be filled by institutions working in rural areas to support and strengthen their activities. Information sharing with households on the benefits of balanced diets can contribute to the health and the well-being of the society. The emphasis must be on strengthening backyard vegetable/fruit gardens and community food gardening programmes for household consumption v and sale, to generate income. These programmes can also offer fruit/vegetable preservation skills to households in order to help improve the shelf life of the produce. Policy makers must encourage provision of nutritional knowledge to households through different media and channels such as television, clinics, hospitals, schools, and newspapers.

The problem that is researched in this study relates to the effectiveness of the extension model applied in the High Value Crop programme in improving rural livelihoods in the Eastern Cape. The extent of poverty in rural areas in the Eastern Cape motivated for the intervention of the Is‘Baya through the introduction of Integrated Village Renewal Programme (IVRP). The need to improve the quality of life of rural households through the promotion of agriculture and industry gave rise to the collaborative effort between the Is‘Baya Development Trust and Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in South Africa. The HVC programme was established to mitigate the effects of food shortage and poverty through the production of fruit trees, herbs and vegetables at household level. Evaluation of the effectiveness of this collaborative effort was carried out in four local municipalities of the OR Tambo District and these included: King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality (Zangci); Nyadeni municipality (Hluleka); Port St Johns municipality (Noqhekwana) and Ngquza Hill municipality (Hombe). An equal number of villages where Siyazondla was implemented by DRDAR were visited for the survey to relate the extension model applied with HVC. The villages visited included: OR Tambo (Mhlontlo local municipality) Xhokonxa village; Amathole (Amahlathi local municipality) Ndakana village, (Ngqushwa local municipality) Mgababa village and (Mbhashe local municipality) Mbanyana village. The broad objective of the study therefore, was to evaluate the effectiveness of the extension model applied on the HVC programme as well as to identify the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders involved in the model. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the HVC based extension model as it is currently organized and implemented in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa in relation to the erstwhile Siyazondla programme, to establish the effectiveness of the extension model in terms of skills transfer and capacity development, to determine the socio-economic impact of the extension model on the livelihood of involved households, to establish the extent to which the extension model has empowered women and youths and to study the factors that has contributed to the sustainability of the extension model. In carrying out this research and in line with the practice of Agricultural Research for Development (ARD), qualitative and quantitative methods of information gathering were applied. Group approach such as the Rural Rapid Appraisal (RRA) and the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods of data collection were used. These tools include semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions, transect walks, seasonal calendars, key-informant interviews, resource maps and secondary data. A sample of 149 respondents was selected from eight villages in the OR Tambo and Amathole districts. The HVC model was analysed using qualitative approach, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The Is‘Baya/ARC extension model is thus said to be effective in meeting the objectives of the HVC programme due to the efficient transfer of skills and technology and its positive impact on the livelihood of the people. There was also an improvement of the income and food security status of the rural dwellers in O.R Tambo district. The regression analysis model was applied and the results of the model were significant to the highest income earned. Out of 22 explanatory variables fitted in the regression model, 12 were significant. The R² and adjusted R² are 73 percent and 68 percent respectively which shows the significance of the fitted variables in the model. The very high F value of 15.427 shows strong significance of the fitted variables to the model. The study therefore concluded that the HVC based extension model implemented by Is‘Baya and ARC was very effective in improving rural livelihoods. The study further recommended investment in infrastructure, market linkages, value adding, public-private partnerships, creation of tenure security, investigation of different funding sources, investment on agricultural research, extension of skills provided and implementation of similar model by the public sector.

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Miljoene mense ervaar voedselonsekerheid en een uit elke 50 hanger mense is woonagtig in Suid­ Afrika. Daar is genoeg voedsel op ons planeet om elke mens van 'n voldoende voorraad voedsel te verseker; dit waarborg egter nie voedselsekuriteit aan almal nie. Dit is die voedselparadoks: ondanks globale surplusproduksie van voedsel, ly miljoene mense wereldwyd aan wanvoeding en honger, maar veral in die ontwikkelende lande. Suid-Afrika is geen uitsondering nie en ten spyte van selfvoorsiening in voedsel, balanseer die voedselgelykstelling nie. Daar bestaan 'n ekstreme gaping tussen die produksie en verbruik van voedsel. Gevolglik is die probleem wat nagevors is in hierdie studie die gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit binne 'n wereldkonteks met voedselsurplusse en hoe dit reflekteer in Suid-Afrika. Teen hierdie agtergrond is daar 'n studie gedoen van die oorsake van voedselonsekerheid en die teoriee en verduidelikings van hongersnood. Die fokus van hierdie navorsingstudie is drieledig van aard. Eerstens fokus dit op 'n konseptuele ondersoek na hanger, armoede, voedselsekuriteit en hongersnood in Afrika. Tweedens is ondersoek ingestel na die oorsake vir die gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit in Afrika. Derdens is daar gefokus op Suid-Afrika en is 'n ondersoek gedoen na die voorkoms van hanger, wanvoeding, armoede en die nasionale konteks van voedselsekuriteit met die doel om vraagstukke daaromheen te identifiseer. Daar is bevind dat voedselsekuriteit bepaal word deur die beskikbaarheid van voedsel (aanbod) en die vermoe van mense om dit te bekom (aanvraag). Dit blyk dat die ontwikkelingsproses, regeringsbeleid, ekologiese omgewing en tegnologie, wetenskap en navorsing 'n direkte invloed het op die voedselsekuriteit van mense, en dat Suid-Afrika nie verskil van ander Afrikalande in hierdie verband nie. Hoewel Suid-Afrika voedselselfvoorsiening bereik het, ly miljoene mense honger weens armoede en die gebrek aan aansprake wat bydra tot 'n gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit. Die studie toon dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regering verskeie beleidsmaatreels in plek het ter bevordering van voedselsekuriteit, maar dat dit nie in die praktyk verwesenlik word nie. / Millions of people in the world experience food insecurity and one out ofevery 50 hungry people lives in South Africa. There is enough food on our planet to assure every person of an adequate supply of food; however, this does not guarantee food security for all. This is the food paradox: despite a global surplus production of food, millions of people experience malnutrition and hunger all over the world, but especially in the developing countries. South Africa is no exception and despite self-sufficiency in food, the food equation is not balanced. An extreme gap exists between the production and consumption of food. Consequently, the problem researched in this study is the lack of food security in a world context with surplus food and how this is reflected in South Africa. Against this background a study was undertaken of the causes of food insecurity and the theories and explanations of famine. The focus of this research study is threefold. Firstly it focuses on a conceptual enquiry intohunger, poverty, food security and famine in Africa. Secondly there is an enquiry into the causes of the lack of food security in Africa. Thirdly it focuses on South Africa and an enquiry is done into the incidence of hunger, malnutrition and poverty, and into the national context of food security with the aim of identifying relevant problems in food security. It was found that food security is determined by the availability of food (supply) and the capability of people to obtain it (demand). It appears that the development process, government policy, ecological environment and technology, science and research directly affect the food security of people, and that South Africa does not differ from other African countries in this regard. Although South Africa has achieved food self-sufficiency, millions of people experience hunger because of poverty and the lack of entitlements. The study shows that the South African government has various policy measures for the promotion of food security in place, but that food security does not materialise in practice. / Development Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Ontwikkelingsadministrasie)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Miljoene mense ervaar voedselonsekerheid en een uit elke 50 hanger mense is woonagtig in Suid­ Afrika. Daar is genoeg voedsel op ons planeet om elke mens van 'n voldoende voorraad voedsel te verseker; dit waarborg egter nie voedselsekuriteit aan almal nie. Dit is die voedselparadoks: ondanks globale surplusproduksie van voedsel, ly miljoene mense wereldwyd aan wanvoeding en honger, maar veral in die ontwikkelende lande. Suid-Afrika is geen uitsondering nie en ten spyte van selfvoorsiening in voedsel, balanseer die voedselgelykstelling nie. Daar bestaan 'n ekstreme gaping tussen die produksie en verbruik van voedsel. Gevolglik is die probleem wat nagevors is in hierdie studie die gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit binne 'n wereldkonteks met voedselsurplusse en hoe dit reflekteer in Suid-Afrika. Teen hierdie agtergrond is daar 'n studie gedoen van die oorsake van voedselonsekerheid en die teoriee en verduidelikings van hongersnood. Die fokus van hierdie navorsingstudie is drieledig van aard. Eerstens fokus dit op 'n konseptuele ondersoek na hanger, armoede, voedselsekuriteit en hongersnood in Afrika. Tweedens is ondersoek ingestel na die oorsake vir die gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit in Afrika. Derdens is daar gefokus op Suid-Afrika en is 'n ondersoek gedoen na die voorkoms van hanger, wanvoeding, armoede en die nasionale konteks van voedselsekuriteit met die doel om vraagstukke daaromheen te identifiseer. Daar is bevind dat voedselsekuriteit bepaal word deur die beskikbaarheid van voedsel (aanbod) en die vermoe van mense om dit te bekom (aanvraag). Dit blyk dat die ontwikkelingsproses, regeringsbeleid, ekologiese omgewing en tegnologie, wetenskap en navorsing 'n direkte invloed het op die voedselsekuriteit van mense, en dat Suid-Afrika nie verskil van ander Afrikalande in hierdie verband nie. Hoewel Suid-Afrika voedselselfvoorsiening bereik het, ly miljoene mense honger weens armoede en die gebrek aan aansprake wat bydra tot 'n gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit. Die studie toon dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regering verskeie beleidsmaatreels in plek het ter bevordering van voedselsekuriteit, maar dat dit nie in die praktyk verwesenlik word nie. / Millions of people in the world experience food insecurity and one out ofevery 50 hungry people lives in South Africa. There is enough food on our planet to assure every person of an adequate supply of food; however, this does not guarantee food security for all. This is the food paradox: despite a global surplus production of food, millions of people experience malnutrition and hunger all over the world, but especially in the developing countries. South Africa is no exception and despite self-sufficiency in food, the food equation is not balanced. An extreme gap exists between the production and consumption of food. Consequently, the problem researched in this study is the lack of food security in a world context with surplus food and how this is reflected in South Africa. Against this background a study was undertaken of the causes of food insecurity and the theories and explanations of famine. The focus of this research study is threefold. Firstly it focuses on a conceptual enquiry intohunger, poverty, food security and famine in Africa. Secondly there is an enquiry into the causes of the lack of food security in Africa. Thirdly it focuses on South Africa and an enquiry is done into the incidence of hunger, malnutrition and poverty, and into the national context of food security with the aim of identifying relevant problems in food security. It was found that food security is determined by the availability of food (supply) and the capability of people to obtain it (demand). It appears that the development process, government policy, ecological environment and technology, science and research directly affect the food security of people, and that South Africa does not differ from other African countries in this regard. Although South Africa has achieved food self-sufficiency, millions of people experience hunger because of poverty and the lack of entitlements. The study shows that the South African government has various policy measures for the promotion of food security in place, but that food security does not materialise in practice. / Development Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Ontwikkelingsadministrasie)