The objective of this study is to explore the role of aspirations on changing livelihood strategies of rural households of Ndabakazi villages in the Eastern Cape. A sample of 80 respondents was chosen randomly for the household survey and semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. Focus group discussions were also used to supplement the household survey. The data was descriptively analysed using a triangulation method. The findings show that social grants, mainly pensions and non-farm employment, and child support grants are the major sources of income. The majority of the households own five hectares of land and more, in which they grow crops only in gardens adjacent to their homes. However, 29 percent do not produce any crops at all. Farming contributes a small portion to the household income. The choice of farming is more powerful than the external factors. Interest in farming is minimal and can be related to the declining farming activities; therefore, household aspirations have an influence on changing livelihood aspirations. In the case of the rural areas of Ndabakazi – as indeed in many other parts of South Africa - policies of rural development mostly take a top-down approach; as a result most of these policies do not become effective in achieving the intended outcome. Development practitioners should incorporate beneficiaries when planning so as to tailor the development initiatives with the aspirations of local people for them to be effect and achieve intended goals thus a bottom-up approach. The notion that rural household farming activities have declined because they lack inputs, farming implements other necessary support is not always true. Some households are not interested in farming and they cannot be forced.

Orientador: Miguel Juan Bacic / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T07:48:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vieira_EmersonMorais_M.pdf: 2225654 bytes, checksum: 1a488c102c641e4a30c58c2de8195f39 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: A região do Alto Tietê (SP) possui uma complexa produção agrícola, formada principalmente pelo cultivo de hortaliças, caqui, nêspera, flores e cogumelos, produzida em sua grande maioria por pequenos produtores. Essas cadeias produtivas têm como características comuns a fragilidade na coordenação dos elos e o surgimento de novas regiões produtoras. Diante desse cenário, em 1999 foi criado o Programa AGROALT com o objetivo de desenvolver e fortalecer as cadeias agrícolas da região e promover novas oportunidades no território rural da região do Alto Tietê. Por meio de um trabalho articulado entre diversas instituições, houve um grande avanço na formação de redes de cooperação entre diversos elos e cadeias, o fortalecimento da visão integrada do rural e agrícola da região e a possibilidade de implantação de políticas públicas voltadas para o desenvolvimento territorial / Abstract: The high Tietê region shows a very complex agriculture production, especially by the horticulture, khaki, medlar, flowers and mushrooms production, most of them harvested by small agricultures. These productive chains have in common a weak coordination among their links and new coming regions that play a hole of competitor regions. So, in this scenery, in 1999 was established the AGROALT Program, aiming to develop, become stronger the regional productive chains and look for new opportunities to the rural areas form the high of Tietê region. Through an integrated work among several institutions, there was a great development in nets of cooperation among many links and productive chains, the strengthening of the real necessity to integrate the rural and agricultural aspects of the region and the possibility to introduce public politics that worry about the territory development / Mestrado / Economia Agricola e Agraria / Mestre em Desenvolvimento Econômico

This study, evaluating income generating projects was conducted on four projects, of which two are in Middleburg that is forming part of Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality and another two are in Hofmeyer that is forming part of Tsolwana Local Municipality. Both these municipalities are in Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. Two of these projects are bakery projects and the other two are poultry projects. The study was explorative in nature as it was aimed at finding the reasons for the non-sustainability of income generating projects in this district municipality. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied. Both the explanatory and a multigroup post-test-only design research designs were used when conducting this study. This was due to the fact that the researcher was interested in evaluating income generating projects with the aim of finding out what leads to their failure, and also of finding out how can they be assisted to be able to sustain themselves. Five respondents from each project were willing to take part in the study and this led to a total of 20 respondents who participated through answering questions that were asked to them by the interviewers guided by the questionnaire which is appendix A of the paper. The results of the study indicated the following factors as the ones that are contributing to the non sustainability of income generating projects: Lack of market for the products; Lack of passion to volunteer from project members; Unnatural causes like storms, that ended up delaying the implementation of the projects; Minimal support from communities by buying their products mostly on credit or not abiding by credit terms when credit is given; Non payment of the project members; Lack of transport for the projects to transport their products to market. The key recommendation that was made was that another study needs to be conducted to verify as to whether these findings can be generalised to other projects in the same district. Additional recommendations are that project members need to be skilled on an ongoing basis, the funders should avail funding for the payment of the beneficiaries, beneficiaries need to be encouraged to volunteer and participate in all the activities of the project, all stakeholders need to ensure the availability of resources before the projects are implemented, and the projects need to have project committees that are made of knowledgeable people who are committed in seeing to it that the projects are sustained.

The fight against poverty is one of South African government priorities and challenges. Despite the large amounts of funds donated by government to poverty alleviation in South Africa almost half of the population still continue to live below the poverty line. There have been many government interventions towards projects. These projects are established in an effort to reduce poverty. However, most of these projects have had a minimal impact on the poverty level of the country. In this study, the researcher illustrated the impact of community development projects on poverty alleviation in Lubala village in Ingquza Hill Local municipality. The research methodology for the study is descriptive, sourced from available literature.

The problem that is researched relates to the tendency of rural people to abandon agriculture in favour of wage employment and non-agricultural informal activities, and the existence of large areas of underutilized arable land in rural communities. This study explored the specific role of agriculture in the rural communities. The need to improve the quality of life of rural households through the promotion of agriculture and industry gave rise to the implementation of the Siyazondla Homestead Food Production Programme. In this strategy it is envisaged that vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security for all will be achieved. The main research question underpinning this study relates to the role of rural agriculture in Nkwalini-Bafazi in meeting the set objectives of the project; such as improving household food security; equipping farmers with necessary skills in order to promote agricultural productivity. The research question can further be captured in these two queries: i) other than the reasons already known for the decline of agriculture in rural areas of South Africa (e.g poor extension services, poor soils, lack of market and so forth); what other fundamental reasons may be there for the poor performance of agricultural production in the communal areas? ii) What role, positive or negative has the government and its agencies played in respect to agricultural development in communal areas. The study, through qualitative methodology, sampled households in Nkwalini-Bafazi who are part of the Siyazondla Food Production Programme. The study investigated the role of agriculture in improving the livelihoods of rural people; and what strategies are required to promote agriculture so as to make contributions for future policy directions. Although this programme has been successfully initiated, from the findings of the study it is evident that beneficiaries are facing many challenges. It is crucial for the South African government to implement mechanisms to ensure that farmers will obtain incentives for farming activities, promotion of food security and rural local economic development, in order to redress the imbalances of the former apartheid regime.

Traditional methods of providing public services to disadvantaged rural communities in South Africa have, over the years, proven to be inefficient and in most such communities, simply non-existent. Although the South African government has taken initiatives to make these public services cheaply and conveniently available online at national level, access at local municipal level is still lacking. The goal of this study is to develop a cost-effective e-government system that will contribute to improved provision of public services to the Dwesa area, a rural community in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, by the government. A prototype construction approach was used, to develop a cost-effective four-modular web application. Interviews were conducted in the field, resulting in four e-government system modules, based on open-source software, developed and integrated to form a single, dynamic web component that will act as a one-stop shop for Dwesa community members. These are the Dwesa Online Application Centre (DOAC) to apply for important government documents and grants, the Dwesa Online Reporting Centre (DORC) to report various grievances to the responsible agencies, the Dwesa Forum Corner (DFC), a digital community, and the management back-end module. The Dwesa e-government portal was developed using Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP (LAMP) technology, a Zoop framework to model the individual components and a JQUERY JavaScript library to increase the responsiveness of the user interfaces. The most significant contributions of this thesis have been the development of a cost-effective, integrated e-government functionality, applicable to disadvantaged communities, and the greater understanding this has given of the tools and methodologies that can be used to deliver public services efficiently to citizens. The final evaluation of this e-government system gives significant evidence that the e-government portal provides a solid foundation that will allow e-government implementation to raise the provision of public services to a higher level.

South Africa has less than 1 percent of the global land surface, yet it is ranked highly in terms of remaining mineral resources. Mineral wealth has not translated into a better life for all. Poverty, however, abounds; particularly in the rural areas and this study seeks to identify a solution or partial solution to this situation. The study combines two critical areas, Mineral Based Rural Development, and Mineral Based Enterprise Development and draws from it a model for Mineraldriven Rural Economic Development viable for all parts of South Africa. This study comprised research on a national scale and thus covered a section of each of South Africa‟s nine provinces. It investigated the conditions in rural and urban centres, and geologically, it traversed examples of Archaean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic formations. The field visits deliberately set out to look at some of the lowest value commodities; typically the only minerals available to the surrounding rural communities. This was done to see if a case could be made for even the lowest value commodities which are often found furthest from the large markets. This study indicates that for a rural area to be able to compete nationally or internationally, it is important to be competitive so that the area can participate in the economy. The creation of regional competitive areas allow for the focusing of strategies and funding for targeted rural projects. Enterprises, typically the product of entrepreneurial activity, are required to increase economic intensity and activity. xxvii The goal of poverty reduction, has been identified by government so that enterprises, as products of economic development, can be focused on the situation. Interviews conducted by the researcher indicated that part of the problem to overcome is the bureaucracy created by government which hinders enterprise development. Recommendations are made that government should exempt rural enterprises from some of the compliance hurdles. This will serve to accelerate rural development. An important aspect of urban enterprises is that they have access to labour without too many problems. Thirteen developed or developing corridors were visited of the five types of development corridors identified. It was found that those in areas of high poverty (for example the corridors of the Eastern Cape) are difficult to develop and make self-sustaining. The corridors linked to any point of Gauteng (Johannesburg or Pretoria) are more robust, although the relatively short length of the corridor is not an indicator of effectiveness. The key recommendations made include the completion of a national rural mineral-asset audit; the use of the information to demarcate rural-regions that can be developed as nationally and internationally competitive regions; the establishment of a rural Resource and Training Academy(ies) so that skills are developed close to areas where they will be deployed; provision of an easier way to launch mineral-based rural enterprises and incentivise these for accelerated development; and the development of an indigenous body of knowledge to mine small scale deposits

The chief purpose of this study was to determine the role of the rural communities in the food security initiatives of the government in alleviating food shortages in the Marange communal area of Mutare district in Zimbabwe. The focus was on local community empowerment; ownership of food security initiatives by the communities; communities‟ independent analysis of needs and priorities; their involvement in designing food security programmes and the role of the government in linking with the communities. The data was gathered using a case study research design with the qualitative method being the main research approach. The primary data was obtained from focus group discussions held in three wards of Marange area and some in-depth interviews conducted with selected key informants. The findings indicate that the government designs food security strategies without considering the input of communities. The communities are introduced and expected to adopt these pre-conceived food security plans at the implementation stage. The results also show that poor community participation in the food security initiatives of the government, specifically during the initial stages, is a significant contributing factor to the continual shortages of food in the communal lands of Marange. It is the view of this study that unless community input in decision making at the planning and designing phases is given preference in the food security interventions of the government in rural Zimbabwe, food security will seldom be achieved. While the government has a significant role to play in food security measures, such interventions can make an important contribution if the use and development of community participation is made central to food shortage alleviation strategies. The principal conclusion of this study is that if food security is an intended ultimate goal in rural Zimbabwe, the communities must participate fully in the conceptualisation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the government-initiated food security programmes.

The aim of this study was to determine the role of tourism, empowerment and participation in the socio-economic upliftment of the community of Umgababa. The research examines the views of the community on their socio-economic conditions, their willingness to participate in tourism business ventures and their perceptions and attitude towards communicating with other rural communities on tourism development. The study concludes that the socio-economic living conditions of the community of Umgababa are very poor and that empowerment and participation of the community in tourism could be an answer to their problems. Given the opportunity, the majority of the people were willing to participate in a tourism business venture. Investigation revealed that there is an abundance of natural and human resources in Umgababa to start a tourism business. The community also felt that by communicating their knowledge and experience they would be able to help other communities in their own development. / Geography / MA (Geography)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The historical significance of the socio-political changes in South Africa since 1994 cannot be disputed. The challenge is to place the redress agenda within a macro-framework geared to promote competitiveness that positions South Africa as a credible and valued player within the continent and globally. Of concern here is the plight of the rural poor and the neglect of rural space, viewed as central in redressing imbalances and competitiveness. This study posits that the marginalisation of the rural poor results from the deliberate, structural and systemic exclusion evident in previous regimes and perpetuated by the reigning neoliberal policies and the rural development paradigm. It provides an indepth analysis of the rural poor’s spiral of deprivation. The spiral is viewed to perpetuate “dependent survivalism” with reliance on unsustainable hand-outs and oppressive paternalistic relationships between those with, and those without resources. The argument is that the emergence of the poverty eradication agenda has not focused attention and effort on the treatment of the causes of poverty. The study objective is to offer alternative approaches for addressing these structural constraints, enabling rural household participation in viable and sustainable rural economic development programmes. To this end transdisciplinary methods premised on the view of the household as the nucleus of sustainable development are used. The study challenges the general economic theory that limits a household to only a source of labour and capital, with emphasis on household consumption. It shifts focus from the consumptive “dependent survivalism” mode to households as owners of productive assets, producers and suppliers, termed the “productive perspective”. To achieve this, an inclusive and sustainable development conceptual framework is proposed with an alternative rural development policy perspective. The framework emphasises the deployment of capital assets and rural economic development strategies based on the theory of value chains. The comparative analysis of marula commercialisation case studies is used to conceptualise the framework and formulate alternative approaches. Primary research focused on the Distell/Mirma Amarula Cream processing plant in Phalaborwa and the Marula Natural Products initiative at Thulamahashe, Bushbuckridge, South Africa. The findings demonstrated that marula supplying households are value chain actors with an objective function to maximise benefits and participate in the mainstream economy, but are structurally constrained. The profiles of the marula suppliers indicate that the majority are women who as heads of households bear the brunt of unpaid labour and the burden of care. The case study exposed the failure of the local and global economic systems to afford them their deserved opportunities and benefits as value chain actors. The study thus proposes a sustainable benefit-maximising system that is rooted in the value chain-based re-organisation of production, emphasising mainstreaming through institutional and systems change. The role of the state is emphasised as central in creating an enabling environment with regulatory frameworks that ensure sustainable resource use and sharing in value created. The study calls for the courage to turn the 2008/9 global financial crisis into an inclusive and sustainable development agenda. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die historiese betekenis van die sosiopolitieke veranderinge in Suid-Afrika sedert 1994 is onbetwisbaar. Vandag se uitdaging is om die regstellingsagenda in ’n makroraamwerk te plaas wat daarop gerig is om mededingendheid te bevorder en Suid-Afrika sodoende op die kontinent en wêreldwyd te vestig as geloofwaardige en waardevolle speler. Die lot van plattelandse armes en die verwaarlosing van die landelike ruimte is sentrale kwessies in die herstel van wanbalanse en mededingendheid. Hierdie studie voer aan dat die marginalisering van plattelandse armes spruit uit die doelbewuste, strukturele en sistemiese uitsluiting wat in vorige regimes voorgekom het en voortgesit word deur neoliberale beleid en die paradigma van landelike ontwikkeling. Dit bied ’n indringende ontleding van die plattelandse armes se benadeling, wat beskou word as die voortsetting van “afhanklike oorlewing”, met afhanklikheid van onvolhoubare aalmoese en verdrukkende paternalistiese verhoudinge tussen diegene met hulpbronne en diegene daarsonder. Daar word betoog dat die agenda vir die uitroeiing van armoede op die tafel geplaas is sonder dat dit die aandag en energie op die behandeling van die oorsake van armoede toegespits het. Die doelwit van die studie is om alternatiewe benaderings te bied om strukturele beperkings die hoof te bied en plattelandse huishoudings in staat te stel om aan lewensvatbare en volhoubare ontwikkelingsprogramme vir die landbou-ekonomie deel te neem. Hiervoor word transdissiplinêre metodes aangewend wat voortbou op die siening van die huishouding as die kern van volhoubare ontwikkeling. Die studie betwis die algemene ekonomiese teorie wat ’n huishouding tot ’n blote arbeidsbron reduseer en kapitaal aan verbruik vasknoop. Die fokus word dus verskuif van “afhanklike oorlewing” na die huishouding as eienaar van produktiewe bates, en as produsent en verskaffer, te wete die “produktiewe perspektief”. Die primêre navorsing is toegespits op Distell/Mirma Amarula Cream se verwerkingsaanleg in Phalaborwa en die Marula Natural Products-projek in Thulamahashe, Bosbokrand, Suid-Afrika. Die maroela-gevalstudie het die nood van huishoudelike produsente en verskaffers blootgelê tesame met die onvermoë van plaaslike en wêreld-ekonomiese stelsels om hulle die geleenthede en voordele as waardekettingspelers te bied wat hulle toekom. Die profiele van die maroelaverskaffers toon dat die meerderheid vroue is wat as huishoofde die las van kwesbaarheid, onbetaalde arbeid en versorging moet dra. Die navorsing se ontleding het ook die sleutelelemente uitgewys vir die verbetering van prestasie en voordele aan die arm verskaffers sonder dat die lewensvatbaarheid en volhoubaarheid van ondernemings ingeboet word. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat behoorlik uitgewerkte en ondersteunde programme vir plattelandse ekonomiese ontwikkeling die handelsgeleenthede van natuurlike hulpbronne kan maksimaliseer vir bedryfsgroei en voordele vir plattelandse gemeenskappe. ’n Alternatiewe, volhoubare stelsel vir die uitbou van voordele word dus voorgehou wat gesetel is in die reorganisasie van produksie volgens waardekettings, met die klem op hoofstroming deur institusionele en stelselverandering. Die rol van die staat is sentraal in die skepping van ’n bemagtigende omgewing, met reguleringsraamwerke wat volhoubare hulpbrongebruik en waardedeling verseker. Die studie bepleit moedige optrede om die wêreldwye finansiële krisis van 2008/9 om te skep in ’n inklusiewe en volhoubare ontwikkelingsagenda.