<p>The main objective of this study was to identify ways in which transaction costs can be lowered to improve small-scale farmers&rsquo / participation in and returns from agricultural output markets, with specific reference to small-scale mango farmers in Limpopo province. This study hypothesizes that transaction costs are lower in informal spot markets and increase when small-scale farmers sell in more structured markets (formal markets). This study builds on transaction cost economics (TCE) to demonstrate how to overcome transaction cost barriers that small-scale mango farmers face in the agro-food markets. The approach to collect primary information was sequenced in two steps: first, key informant and focus group interviews were conducted and, secondly, a structured survey instrument was administered in two districts of Limpopo. A total of 235 smallscale mango farmers were interviewed. A binary logistic regression model was used to estimate the impact of transaction costs on the likelihood of households&rsquo / participation in formal (=1) and informal (=0) agro-food markets. STATA Version 10 was used to analyse the data. This study found that a larger proportion of male than female farming households reported participation in the formal markets, suggesting deep-seated gender differentiation in market participation. The average age of small farmers participating in formal markets is 52, compared to 44 for those in informal markets, implying that older farmers might have established stronger networks and acquired experience over a longer period. Farmers staying very far from the densely populated towns (more than 50 km) participate less in the formal markets than those staying closer (0 &ndash / 25 km and 26 &ndash / 49 km), which implies that the further they are from the towns, the less the likelihood of farmers selling in the formal markets. Farmers who own storage facilities and a bakkie (transportation means) participate more in formal markets compared to those who do not own these assets, which suggests that these farmers are able to store mangoes, retaining their freshness and subsequently delivering them to various agro-food markets on time. Households that participate in formal markets have high mean values of income and social grants. However, this study found that the likelihood of a household&rsquo / s participation in the markets is less as income and social grants increase. This suggests that households do not invest their financial assets in order to overcome market access barriers. A large proportion of households that own larger pieces of arable land participate in the formal markets, which implies that they are able to produce marketable surplus. Households that have a high mean value (in Rand) of cattle participate more in formal markets than in informal markets. However, this study found that the likelihood of a household&rsquo / s participation in the markets does not change with an increase in the value of its livestock. These findings suggest that households do not sell their cattle in order to overcome market access barriers. Reduced transaction costs for small-scale mango farmers in Limpopo should improve their participation in and returns from the agro-food markets. Policy interventions to support this need to focus on: access to storage and transportation facilities, enforcement of gender equity requirements in existing policies, and better access to information about markets.</p>

In this research work's we give an information about land's usage ranges in Marijampole's region for 2000-2005 years. In research project we also analyse land's user's using ranges tendencies and reasons. Marijampolė‘s vicinity territories of landed properties is changing, the reason – human‘s economy‘s proceeding and economical‘s subject variation. The number of private land holder‘s properties are growing, and the number of agricultural‘s comanies and others agricultural‘s corporations and their using land‘s territories are diminished. The reason – some of the corporation elimitates and the new ones ar enot into being. Number of Individual property‘s users also is not growing because retrieved or purchased the land they are subsumed into private‘s landed proprietor‘s group.

<p>This study identifies the determinants of sheep prices for small-scale sheep farming households in two districts of the Eastern Cape, namely Amathole and Ukhahlamba (Joe Xabe). Output prices that small farm households receive for their sheep affect their incomes from agriculture (knowing that revenue is a product of quantity and price), which, in turn, influence their living standards. The study isolates three sets of determinants of price formation in local agricultural markets - structural drivers, institutional factors and livelihood shocks - to account for the variations in prices that smallholder farmers receive. Data were collected from 134 households that were selected using purpose sampling and preceded by key informant and focus groups interviews with actors along the sheep value chain. A questionnaire consisting of both open-ended and quantitative questions was used. The relationship between output price formation and clusters of determinants is a typical hedonic pricing framework, which is fitted using a backward stepwise econometric technique that is a widely used experimental tool to identify significant determinants.</p>

<p>Poverty and inequality are deeply entrenched in Kenya, with the country being one of the most unequal countries in the world. To eradicate poverty and inequality, enhance the achievement of social justice, fast-track human development, as well as to entrench participatory democracy<br /> and a culture of justification in governance, Kenya has, for the first time, entrenched justiciable socio-economic rights (SERs) in its 2010 Constitution. In this thesis, I undertake a critical analysis of the prospects for the implementation and enforcement of the entrenched SERs as well as the probable challenges that Kenya may face in their realisation. In this endeavour, the thesis develops a theoretical and interpretive approach for the realisation of these entrenched SERs. It entails an expansive analysis of the nature, scope, content and extent of the SERs entrenched in the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, and especially the place of international human rights obligations contained in customs and ratified international human rights treaties due to the provisions of the 2010 Constitution which espouse the direct application of international law in Kenya&rsquo / s domestic legal system. It is submitted in this thesis that in order to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups in Kenya, there is a need for their socio-economic as well as political empowerment to enable them to effectively take part in societal decision-making in both the public and private spheres with regard to resource (re)distribution. The theory of dialogical constitutionalism, based on the constitutionally entrenched principle of popular participation in governance and public decision-making, is aimed at the realisation of both political and socio-economic empowerment of these groups. Even though the theory of dialogical constitutionalism underscores the importance of litigation in the achievement of the transformative aspirations of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution contained in the entrenched SERs, it acknowledges that litigation is not the panacea of SER enforcement, and that other political and advocacy strategies play an important role in the emancipation of the socio-economically deprived groups in society. The thesis thus advocates a multi-pronged strategy which espouses the equal participation of all sectors of society in a collaborative and cooperative deliberative effort aimed at the full realisation of the entrenched SERs. To accompany the above theoretical framework for the interpretation and implementation of the entrenched SERs, the thesis further proposes a transformative and integrated approach which combines the progressive aspects of the minimum core approachand the reasonableness approach. This is an approach of purposive interpretion which, in the first instance, envisages the courts undertaking a strict and searching scrutiny of the SER implementation framework developed by the political institutions of the State to ensure that sufficient provision has been made for the basic necessities of the most poor and vulnerable groups in society, basically the espousal of a minimum core content approach. The approach entails the requirement that should the SER implementation framework fail to provide this basic minimum to vulnerable groups, and the political institutions do not provide a substantive justification as to the failure, then the courts should find the relevant SER implementation<br /> framework per se unreasonable and thus invalid. However, should the implementation framework provide sufficiently for the basic essentials for vulnerable groups, the courts should then proceed to review it using the reasonableness standards that have been developed by the<br /> South African Constitutional Court. The rationale for this searching analysis is the acknowledgement that if the needs and interests of the most indigent and marginalised in society are not catered for, the entire corpus of rights in the Bill of Rights becomes redundant. The thesis then undertakes a case study of two rights, the right to food and the right to housing, using the theoretical and interpretive approaches developed in the previous chapters of the thesis. On food security, the thesis finds that Kenya is a food insecure country with a declining food production capacity. This is basically due to a lack of subsidy to farmers, global warming leading to intermittent rainfall, lack of investment in sustainable agriculture as well as a fragmented and contradictory legislative and policy agenda. In response to this situation, the thesis proposes the adoption of a livelihoods approach to food security in Kenya, based on the constitutionally entrenched right to food and other supporting rights. This approach advocates the enhancement of the food entitlements of the different sectors of the Kenyan society to ensure their access to adequate and nutritious food, be it through self-production or through the market. On the right to housing, the thesis finds that housing plays a crucial role in ensuring that people are able to have a holistic, dignified and valuable existence. However, Kenya faces a dire housing situation, with the majority of Kenyans, both in rural and urban areas lacking adequate shelter and sanitary conditions, evidenced by the large informal settlements in urban areas and the squatter phenomenon in rural areas. With the entrenchment of a justiciable right to adequate housing in the 2010 Constitution, the study finds that several legislative and policy reforms are underway to improve the housing situation, with efforts being made to draft theLandlord and Tenant Bill 2007, the Housing Bill 2011, the Evictions and Resettlement Guidelines and the Evictions and Resettlement Procedures Bill, 2012, among others. The thesis proposes that these legal reforms must be undertaken within an environment of cooperative and<br /> collaborative strategic partnership involving all sectors of society so as to ensure that the housing concerns as well as interests of all are catered for.</p>

<p>The main objective of this study was to identify ways in which transaction costs can be lowered to improve small-scale farmers&rsquo / participation in and returns from agricultural output markets, with specific reference to small-scale mango farmers in Limpopo province. This study hypothesizes that transaction costs are lower in informal spot markets and increase when small-scale farmers sell in more structured markets (formal markets). This study builds on transaction cost economics (TCE) to demonstrate how to overcome transaction cost barriers that small-scale mango farmers face in the agro-food markets. The approach to collect primary information was sequenced in two steps: first, key informant and focus group interviews were conducted and, secondly, a structured survey instrument was administered in two districts of Limpopo. A total of 235 smallscale mango farmers were interviewed. A binary logistic regression model was used to estimate the impact of transaction costs on the likelihood of households&rsquo / participation in formal (=1) and informal (=0) agro-food markets. STATA Version 10 was used to analyse the data. This study found that a larger proportion of male than female farming households reported participation in the formal markets, suggesting deep-seated gender differentiation in market participation. The average age of small farmers participating in formal markets is 52, compared to 44 for those in informal markets, implying that older farmers might have established stronger networks and acquired experience over a longer period. Farmers staying very far from the densely populated towns (more than 50 km) participate less in the formal markets than those staying closer (0 &ndash / 25 km and 26 &ndash / 49 km), which implies that the further they are from the towns, the less the likelihood of farmers selling in the formal markets. Farmers who own storage facilities and a bakkie (transportation means) participate more in formal markets compared to those who do not own these assets, which suggests that these farmers are able to store mangoes, retaining their freshness and subsequently delivering them to various agro-food markets on time. Households that participate in formal markets have high mean values of income and social grants. However, this study found that the likelihood of a household&rsquo / s participation in the markets is less as income and social grants increase. This suggests that households do not invest their financial assets in order to overcome market access barriers. A large proportion of households that own larger pieces of arable land participate in the formal markets, which implies that they are able to produce marketable surplus. Households that have a high mean value (in Rand) of cattle participate more in formal markets than in informal markets. However, this study found that the likelihood of a household&rsquo / s participation in the markets does not change with an increase in the value of its livestock. These findings suggest that households do not sell their cattle in order to overcome market access barriers. Reduced transaction costs for small-scale mango farmers in Limpopo should improve their participation in and returns from the agro-food markets. Policy interventions to support this need to focus on: access to storage and transportation facilities, enforcement of gender equity requirements in existing policies, and better access to information about markets.</p>

<p>Poverty and inequality are deeply entrenched in Kenya, with the country being one of the most unequal countries in the world. To eradicate poverty and inequality, enhance the achievement of social justice, fast-track human development, as well as to entrench participatory democracy<br /> and a culture of justification in governance, Kenya has, for the first time, entrenched justiciable socio-economic rights (SERs) in its 2010 Constitution. In this thesis, I undertake a critical analysis of the prospects for the implementation and enforcement of the entrenched SERs as well as the probable challenges that Kenya may face in their realisation. In this endeavour, the thesis develops a theoretical and interpretive approach for the realisation of these entrenched SERs. It entails an expansive analysis of the nature, scope, content and extent of the SERs entrenched in the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, and especially the place of international human rights obligations contained in customs and ratified international human rights treaties due to the provisions of the 2010 Constitution which espouse the direct application of international law in Kenya&rsquo / s domestic legal system. It is submitted in this thesis that in order to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups in Kenya, there is a need for their socio-economic as well as political empowerment to enable them to effectively take part in societal decision-making in both the public and private spheres with regard to resource (re)distribution. The theory of dialogical constitutionalism, based on the constitutionally entrenched principle of popular participation in governance and public decision-making, is aimed at the realisation of both political and socio-economic empowerment of these groups. Even though the theory of dialogical constitutionalism underscores the importance of litigation in the achievement of the transformative aspirations of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution contained in the entrenched SERs, it acknowledges that litigation is not the panacea of SER enforcement, and that other political and advocacy strategies play an important role in the emancipation of the socio-economically deprived groups in society. The thesis thus advocates a multi-pronged strategy which espouses the equal participation of all sectors of society in a collaborative and cooperative deliberative effort aimed at the full realisation of the entrenched SERs. To accompany the above theoretical framework for the interpretation and implementation of the entrenched SERs, the thesis further proposes a transformative and integrated approach which combines the progressive aspects of the minimum core approachand the reasonableness approach. This is an approach of purposive interpretion which, in the first instance, envisages the courts undertaking a strict and searching scrutiny of the SER implementation framework developed by the political institutions of the State to ensure that sufficient provision has been made for the basic necessities of the most poor and vulnerable groups in society, basically the espousal of a minimum core content approach. The approach entails the requirement that should the SER implementation framework fail to provide this basic minimum to vulnerable groups, and the political institutions do not provide a substantive justification as to the failure, then the courts should find the relevant SER implementation<br /> framework per se unreasonable and thus invalid. However, should the implementation framework provide sufficiently for the basic essentials for vulnerable groups, the courts should then proceed to review it using the reasonableness standards that have been developed by the<br /> South African Constitutional Court. The rationale for this searching analysis is the acknowledgement that if the needs and interests of the most indigent and marginalised in society are not catered for, the entire corpus of rights in the Bill of Rights becomes redundant. The thesis then undertakes a case study of two rights, the right to food and the right to housing, using the theoretical and interpretive approaches developed in the previous chapters of the thesis. On food security, the thesis finds that Kenya is a food insecure country with a declining food production capacity. This is basically due to a lack of subsidy to farmers, global warming leading to intermittent rainfall, lack of investment in sustainable agriculture as well as a fragmented and contradictory legislative and policy agenda. In response to this situation, the thesis proposes the adoption of a livelihoods approach to food security in Kenya, based on the constitutionally entrenched right to food and other supporting rights. This approach advocates the enhancement of the food entitlements of the different sectors of the Kenyan society to ensure their access to adequate and nutritious food, be it through self-production or through the market. On the right to housing, the thesis finds that housing plays a crucial role in ensuring that people are able to have a holistic, dignified and valuable existence. However, Kenya faces a dire housing situation, with the majority of Kenyans, both in rural and urban areas lacking adequate shelter and sanitary conditions, evidenced by the large informal settlements in urban areas and the squatter phenomenon in rural areas. With the entrenchment of a justiciable right to adequate housing in the 2010 Constitution, the study finds that several legislative and policy reforms are underway to improve the housing situation, with efforts being made to draft theLandlord and Tenant Bill 2007, the Housing Bill 2011, the Evictions and Resettlement Guidelines and the Evictions and Resettlement Procedures Bill, 2012, among others. The thesis proposes that these legal reforms must be undertaken within an environment of cooperative and<br /> collaborative strategic partnership involving all sectors of society so as to ensure that the housing concerns as well as interests of all are catered for.</p>

The author explores the traditional approaches to interpretation in a constitutional democracy, with specific emphasis on Bill of Rights interpretation. The approaches adopted by the court in India and Canada, are briefly outlined with a view to gleaning from the experience of these countries, a theory which will inform a proper approach to interpretation in a South African context. He concludes that the value-based approach is most appropriate to concretise the rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights, and specifically the so-called second and third generation rights. Addressing the fear that this may lead to an undisciplined judiciary, he concludes that there are sufficient disciplinning mechanisms to ensure that the courts do not encroach upon the other branches of government. / Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law / LL.M.

Wetgewing wat onbestaanbaar is met die bepalings van Wet 200 van 1993 as die hoogste reg is nietig tensy geoorloof volgens die maatstawwe van art 33 (1) 1 en die Konstitusionele Hof en die provinsiale en plaaslike afdelings van die Hooggeregshof is bevoeg om dit ongeldig te verklaar. Die beoordeling van die geldigheid van wetgewing waardeur inbreuk gemaak word op 'n Fundamentele Reg of Vryheid in Hoofstuk 3 verleen 1 vereis in eerste instansie die vertolking van die betrokke bepaling van die Hoofstuk. In die lig van die besondere karakter van 'n grondwet en die gebrek aan omlyning van die verleende regte en vryhede 1 moet die vertolking nie volgens geykte metodes geskied nie I maar wel doelgerig aan die hand van die waardes onderliggend tot die Handves as geheel. Waardes wat nie herleibaar is tot die grondwet self nie en die persoonlike filosofiee van die regters behoort die howe egter nie te beinvloed nie. / Legislation inconsistent with the provisions of Act 200 of 1993 as the supreme law is of no force and effect and the Constitutional Court and the provincial and local divisions of the Supreme Court may declare it invalid, unless it complies with the criteria of a permissible limitation under sec 33(1). Before the validity of legislation impinging upon a Fundamental Right or Freedom conferred in Chapter 3 can be considered, the relevant provision of the Chapter must first be interpreted. In view of the special nature of a constitution and the generality of the conferred rights and freedoms, the ordinary methods of interpretation should not be applied. Chapter 3 must be interpreted purposively taking into account the values underlying the Bill of Rights as a whole. Values not founded in the Constitution and the personal philosophies of the judges ought not to influence the courts. / Private Law / LL.M.

Magister Economicae - MEcon / This study identifies the determinants of sheep prices for small-scale sheep farming households in two districts of the Eastern Cape, namely Amathole and Ukhahlamba (Joe Xabe). Output prices that small farm households receive for their sheep affect their incomes from agriculture (knowing that revenue is a product of quantity and price), which, in turn, influence their living standards. The study isolates three sets of determinants of price formation in local agricultural markets - structural drivers, institutional factors and livelihood shocks - to account for the variations in prices that smallholder farmers receive. Data were collected from 134 households that were selected using purpose sampling and preceded by key informant and focus groups interviews with actors along the sheep value chain. A questionnaire consisting of both open-ended and quantitative questions was used. The relationship between output price formation and clusters of determinants is a typical hedonic pricing framework, which is fitted using a backward stepwise econometric technique that is a widely used experimental tool to identify significant determinants. / South Africa

Doctor Legum - LLD / Poverty and inequality are deeply entrenched in Kenya, with the country being one of the mostunequal countries in the world. To eradicate poverty and inequality, enhance the achievement ofsocial justice, fast-track human development, as well as to entrench participatory democracy and a culture of justification in governance, Kenya has, for the first time, entrenched justiciable socio-economic rights (SERs) in its 2010 Constitution. In this thesis, I undertake a criticalanalysis of the prospects for the implementation and enforcement of the entrenched SERs as well as the probable challenges that Kenya may face in their realisation. In this endeavour, the thesis develops a theoretical and interpretive approach for the realisation of these entrenched SERs. It entails an expansive analysis of the nature, scope, content and extent of the SERs entrenched in the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, and especially the place of international human rights obligations contained in customs and ratified international human rights treaties due to the provisions of the 2010 Constitution which espouse the direct application of international law in Kenya’s domestic legal system. It is submitted in this thesis that in order to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups in Kenya, there is a need for their socio-economic as well as political empowerment to enable them to effectively take part in societal decision-making in both the public and private spheres with regard to resource (re)distribution. The theory of dialogical constitutionalism, based on the constitutionally entrenched principle of popular participation in governance and public decision-making, is aimed at the realisation of both political and socio-economic empowerment of these groups. Even though the theory of dialogical constitutionalism underscores the importance of litigation in the achievement of the transformative aspirations of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution contained in the entrenched SERs, it acknowledges that litigation is not the panacea of SER enforcement, and that other political and advocacy strategies play an important role in the emancipation of the socio-economically deprived groups in society. The thesis thus advocates a multi-pronged strategy which espouses the equal participation of all sectors of society in a collaborative and cooperative deliberative effort aimed at the full realisation of the entrenched SERs. To accompany the above theoretical framework for the interpretation and implementation of the entrenched SERs, the thesis further proposes a transformative and integrated approach which combines the progressive aspects of the minimum core approach and the reasonableness approach. This is an approach of purposive interpretion which, in the first instance, envisages the courts undertaking a strict and searching scrutiny of the SER implementation framework developed by the political institutions of the State to ensure that sufficient provision has been made for the basic necessities of the most poor and vulnerable groups in society, basically the espousal of a minimum core content approach. The approach entails the requirement that should the SER implementation framework fail to provide this basic minimum to vulnerable groups, and the political institutions do not provide a substantive justification as to the failure, then the courts should find the relevant SER implementation framework per se unreasonable and thus invalid. However, should the implementation framework provide sufficiently for the basic essentials for vulnerable groups, the courts should then proceed to review it using the reasonableness standards that have been developed by the South African Constitutional Court. The rationale for this searching analysis is the acknowledgement that if the needs and interests of the most indigent and marginalised in society are not catered for, the entire corpus of rights in the Bill of Rights becomes redundant. The thesis then undertakes a case study of two rights, the right to food and the right to housing, using the theoretical and interpretive approaches developed in the previous chapters of the thesis. On food security, the thesis finds that Kenya is a food insecure country with a declining food production capacity. This is basically due to a lack of subsidy to farmers, global warming leading to intermittent rainfall, lack of investment in sustainable agriculture as well as a fragmented and contradictory legislative and policy agenda. In response to this situation, the thesis proposes the adoption of a livelihoods approach to food security in Kenya, based on the constitutionally entrenched right to food and other supporting rights. This approach advocates the enhancement of the food entitlements of the different sectors of the Kenyan society to ensure their access to adequate and nutritious food, be it through self-production or through the market. On the right to housing, the thesis finds that housing plays a crucial role in ensuring that people are able to have a holistic, dignified and valuable existence. However, Kenya faces a dire housing situation, with the majority of Kenyans, both in rural and urban areas lacking adequate shelter and sanitary conditions, evidenced by the large informal settlements in urban areas and the squatter phenomenon in rural areas. With the entrenchment of a justiciable right to adequate housing in the 2010 Constitution, the study finds that several legislative and policy reforms are underway to improve the housing situation, with efforts being made to draft the Landlord and Tenant Bill 2007, the Housing Bill 2011, the Evictions and resettlement Guidelines and the Evictions and Resettlement Procedures Bill, 2012, among others. The thesis proposes that these legal reforms must be undertaken within an environment of cooperative and collaborative strategic partnership involving all sectors of society so as to ensure that the housing concerns as well as interests of all are catered for.