Thesis (M. Dev.)-- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study was an attempt to evaluate the results of the revitalization of the smallholder irrigation schemes programme which was introduced by the Limpopo Department of Agriculture. The focus area was the Krokodilheuwel Irrigation Scheme in Makhuduthamaga Municipality which falls under the jurisdiction of Sekhukhune District. The nature of the study was qualitative and was conducted on farmers and technical staff as respondents within the irrigation scheme. The research findings indicated that the majority of the farmers noted some improvements, especially on the management of irrigation schemes by farmers, provision of technical support from staff of the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and in terms of the frequency of training provided to smallholder irrigation schemes. On the other hand, a problem was also observed on the side of management of income and expenditure which was not transparent and inclusive. Farmers were not involved in the management of income and expenditure, but only the strategic partner. Farmers were only told that they did not make any profit as the produce failed to cover for the expenditure incurred for that season. Farmers suggested that the Limpopo Department of Agriculture should be represented on the management of the irrigation scheme to monitor the running of the scheme. The researcher also recommended that the Limpopo Department of Agriculture should put up measures to monitor and evaluate the activities within the irrigation scheme to ensure that the revitalization programme is implemented according to the plans so that intended goals are realized.

Thesis(MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Nwanedi Irrigation Scheme (NIS) is situated at the far north of Limpopo. It is comprised of both livestock and crop farmers. Currently, the total number of farmers in the scheme is 160. Noteworthy is that the majority of farmers grow and harvest crops. The dominant crop produced in the area is jam tomato with a few of people who cultivate table tomato and other vegetables such as cabbage and eggplant (Mashala, 2013). The irrigation scheme covered an area of about 2000 hectares land, which belongs to the state and part of it belongs to the Communal Property Association (CPA). Moreover, agriculture is considered as one of the most sensitive to weather and climate variables, which include temperature, precipitation, light and weather extremes such as droughts, floods and severe storms. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact brought about by climate change on farming business. Moreover, to evaluate the problems that were associated with climate change that affected farming, crop production and eventually the profit generation at NIS. Considering greenhouse gas emissions, it is believed that they are one of the causes of the change in global climate. Again, most food production means rely on inputs to some or all tillage, seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, feed for animals, pest and disease control. Henceforth, the study has collected primary data. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative paradigms. The 160 crop farmers, as a sample size of 32 (20% of the population) respondents, were randomly selected and interviewed. The study found out that drought was real and had been experienced in NIS. Meanwhile, in crop farming, water is more important just as a growth media such as fertilised soil. Without water, no farming activity could take place. The drought experienced had led farmers not to plant anything on their farms, which meant that no income was generated in the entire drought period. Furthermore, most of the farmers in the area had no alternative means of acquiring water to irrigate their crops. Few farmers who managed to plant had used a very small scale than usual because there was not enough water. Drought affected job loss in the farming business where many employees had to be ceased from coming to work. The study also found that NIS had experienced high temperature, which were never experienced before. Musina is best known for its excessive heat, but the recent heat wave that has been experienced in the area of the study was extreme to a point that crop farming was very difficult because the little moisture in the soil had quickly depleted. Crops could no longer absorb it as it dried up rapidly. Usually, when it is extremely hot, the condition favours pests and diseases. Later, it was found that a new pest referred to as Eelworm (Tuta Tundra), which was not found in the area before had been discovered. Consequently, the introduction of the new pests in the area was a challenge because farmers did not know which insecticides to apply in order to control the manifestation and prevent the damage it caused on the crops, tomato in particular. Eelworm has affected the tomato crop as it damaged the leaves of their plants. That had negatively affected the fruit production. Most farmers who have experienced Eelworm in their tomato fields, had their fruits severely attacked to be unusable.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Various types of management practices/institutional arrangements of the irrigation schemes exist in the world. According to the principles delineated in literatures, these irrigation schemes are categorized in terms of their management practices. The study was designed to compare the level of technical efficiency of farmers at different management practices of the irrigation schemes (i.e. integrated, specialised and multipurpose water management practices of the irrigation schemes) in Limpopo Province. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire which was administered on 200 farmers at different irrigation schemes. Stochastic frontier production function of Cobb-Douglas type was employed to analyse the data and thereby ascertain the level of technical efficiency and its determinants. The results indicated the mean technical efficiency of 0.74, 0.72 and 0.76 for the integrated, specialised and multipurpose water management practices of the irrigation schemes respectively which implied that, there is a greater scope to increase maize, tomato, onion and spinach production with the current technology and resources available at the irrigation schemes. The most important contributors in maize, tomato, onion and spinach production efficiencies were seed, fertilizer, capital and land. Thus an appropriate amount of seed, fertilizer, capital and land could increase the productivity of maize, tomato, onion and spinach. The results further revealed that education level of farmers, age of the farmers and land size were negatively significant toward the technical inefficiency of farmers at different irrigation schemes, which imply that an increase in any of the three variables will reduce the inefficiency and enhance the efficiency. While the family size of the farmer was positively significant, which implies that the bigger the family size, the higher the inefficiency farmers would become for the production of maize, tomato, onion and spinach. Gender and income level of the farmers at different irrigation schemes were revealed to be insignificant toward the inefficiency. The institutional arrangements or the management practice of the irrigation schemes showed slight differences in affecting the efficiency of farmers at different irrigation schemes. Policies designed to educate famers at different irrigation schemes through proper agricultural extension services could have a great impact in increasing the level of efficiency and hence maize, tomato, onion and spinach productivities. The Department of Agriculture should allocate more funds to strengthening the extension directorate and expanding the delivery of extension services to farmers at different irrigation schemes. Irrigation schemes were established in order to insure food security, alleviate poverty, job creation, among others. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for the government of South Africa in collaboration with the private sector to revitalise the irrigation schemes in Limpopo Province irrespective of the institutional arrangements. It is of vital concern for the policy makers to focus on the benefits of economies of scale in agricultural farming system. Therefore, land size should be increased for the farmers in integrated water management practice of the irrigation schemes to an optimum level in order for them to improve the level of technical efficiency.

Thesis(Ph.D. Agriculture (Soil Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Due to high incidents of drought in the semi-arid regions of Limpopo Province, South Africa, the potential feasibility of using treated wastewater for irrigating vegetable crops had been researched and developed under the best practices of Natuurboerdery farming system. The investigation aimed at the development of soil and plant health management strategies for crops irrigated with treated wastewater that could ameliorate the ever-increasing demand for fresh irrigation water in the Province. Seven specific objectives, reduced to three overall objectives under Natuurboedery farming system were intended to investigate (1) the chemical and biological quality of treated wastewater used in irrigation with respect to disposal points and sampling period, (2) the responses of soil physico-chemical properties, heavy metal distribution and biological-soil-health indicators to irrigation with treated wastewater under field conditions and (3) the partitioning of cations and heavy metals in root, stem and leaf tissues of onion, tomato and a selected weed plant irrigated with treated wastewater. In each objective, unless otherwise stated, treatment effects were described at the probability level of 5%. In Objective 1, relative to the borehole water, treated wastewater had lower concentration of Ca, Mg, K, Na, Cl, HCO3 - , SO4 - , Zn, Cr and Pb, with temporal and spatial tendencies in accumulation of certain elements. In contrast, the treated wastewater had higher loads of pathogenic microbes that included bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Vibrio spp.), protozoa (Entamoeba histolytica) and two helminths (Schistosoma mansoni; Ascaris lumbricoides), with temporal and spatial tendencies. In Objective 2, Al and Cr tended to be high in deeper soil layers (60-100 cm), whereas most essential nutrient elements and essential heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, As, Cr and Pb) were contained in the upper soil levels (0-40 cm). The upper soil levels were also characterised by having substantial attributes of root health, namely, soil organic carbon, active carbon and potentially mineralisable nitrogen. In Objective 3, root, stem and leaf tissues of horseweed (Conyza canadensis L.), onion (Allium cepa L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants had different accumulation abilities for different metals, except for As. Contrary to the expectation, the onion bulb contained less test cations and heavy metals. In conclusion, in terms of chemical component at the time of sampling, as depicted from the water and soil samples, the treated wastewater was suitable for irrigation. However, in terms of pathogenic microbes, the treated wastewater was not suitable for irrigating crops intended for human consumption due to significantly higher loads than the permissible standards. Amongst all observed challenges, the reduction of pathogenic microbes should be given priority since it contravened existing national and international standards for using treated wastewater for in irrigation of crops intended for human consumption. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Thesis (M. Com. (Accounting)) -- University of limpopo, 2022 / Water scarcity is a problem for many countries across the world. Limpopo Province is no exception, as the province has regions that are arid and/or semi-arid. The accessibility of water and the management of water is amongst the critical issues faced by some of the rural farmers in the Limpopo Province. The challenge of inappropriate and inefficient use of modern irrigation technologies is associated with the exorbitant investment and operation costs, resulting in poor irrigation practices by smallholder farmers in the province, mainly affecting the production of citrus, avocado, nuts, potatoes and tomato production resulting in reduced yields and revenues. The study conducted a case study on the selected crop in the Limpopo Province, which included crops such as citrus, nuts, avocados, potatoes and tomatoes. The objectives of the study are to examine the influence that investments in water irrigation infrastructure has on the volume of farm yield, as well as to examine the influence of the cost of water irrigation systems on the volume of farm yield on the selected crops. The study used a survey research design, together with a mixed-method approach, whereby 50 farmers were purposively sampled in the Limpopo province. Primary data were collected from a focus group discussion and the administration of a questionnaire. A multivariate analysis was used to analyse the data. Out of 50 farmers, only 48 responded, which is a 96% response rate. From the analysis, the study found that investment in water irrigation has a positive and significant influence on the farm yield at a 0.01 confidence level. Furthermore, the OLS regression shows that a positive and significant relationship exists between the total cost index for Citrus and the farm yield. The total cost index has a varying effect on the distribution of farm yield. It is expected that an increase in the level of education will increase revenue. Overall, the industry may also need to look at the introduction of hybrid systems that are more cost-effective, that take advantage of solar and wind energy. Future research can look at the different crops in different provinces of South Africa. / Kagiso Trust

MENVSC / Department of Geography and Geo-Information Sciences / Agricultural abandonment is a challenge in areas of South Africa more especially in rural areas. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods of in sampling and collection and analysis. It adopted a case cross-sectional study design. This design is a case study in nature, hence this study compared the active and none active farmers in identifying the causes and effects of the phenomenon studied. Comparatively, the study sought to find out if there are factors influencing farm abandonment and its consequences in Tshiombo village. The study was based on field surveys allowing for observation and with respect to agricultural abandonment. In addition to observation open ended questions together with questionnaires were administered to extension officers. The data collected from open ended questions and questionnaires was recorded and subjected to descriptive analysis. Several factors have been identified influencing farm abandonment. The challenges ranges from needs prioritization, infrastructure and capacity. It was recommended that government should reinstate its support to small scale farmers prioritize the maintenance of irrigation canals. The prioritisation of agriculture will attract many into agricultural practice with the aim of reducing poverty and starvation in rural communities. / NRF