Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016. / The study was conducted to investigate the impact of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme on poverty alleviation in the Muyexe village of Greater Giyani Municipality in the Limpopo Province. The objective of the programme was to alleviate poverty in the village. The researcher collected data in and observed the projects which were being executed there. The methodology involved interviewing community members who are projects beneficiaries of the programme as well as the implementers of the programme. As such, the sample consisted of 33 project beneficiaries, three implementers and six participants from the food security wing of the CRDP. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to explore, describe and understand the nature of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme in poverty alleviation. The study found out that the project beneficiaries do not have skills to mobilize funds from other organisations as they depend on the budget which is specifically earmarked for the community. The same budget is also meant to sustain the infrastructure after the handing over of the programme. The study recommends the re-alignment of the timeframe for the programme to be successfully implemented and for the district departments to be the ones responsible for implementing the programme at the local level. This will also assist the government to implement projects in a longer timeframe and to have implementers who have in-depth knowledge about the area. The CRDP has also changed the livesof the community members from depending on social grants to monthly wage income and they no longer travel long distances for basic services. The food security situation of the households which were participating in the food security project has improved. The study also recommends that the CRDP must be implemented in other areas which are struggling from poverty as the CRDP has alleviated poverty in Muyexe village.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MENVSC / Department of Geography and Geo-Information Sciences / Department of Geography and Geo-Information Sciences

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

MSCAGR (Agricultural Economics) / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness / See the attached abstract below

MPM / Oliver Reginald Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / Community participation is a concept which is meant to ensure that community members are an integral part of processes that determine their destination in relation to their development needs. It is a means of empowering people by developing their skills and abilities to enable them to negotiate and make appropriate decisions for their development. Community participation, however, is not without its challenges. In most development projects initiated by local municipalities and other government departments, community participation appears to be an afterthought. In this regard, the study aimed to investigate challenges of community participation in Tickyline. The research methods used for this study were both qualitative and quantitative and data was collected from twenty-two (22) research participants using open-ended interviews and questionnaires. Data was analysed using thematic method and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Findings The study revealed that majority of the participants do not participate in development projects because some meetings are arranged during odd times, particularly during the initial phases of the projects. The study further revealed that these challenges of participation are influenced by officials who take decisions on behalf of communities as they regard the participants as less capable of taking independent decisions regarding their own projects. It was found that community projects are literally imposed to the communities and therefore, participation and community involvement is very minimal which consequently collapses the projects. Recommendations Consequent to the findings, it is recommended that community leaders should make community meetings open to all community members. There should be regular community gatherings to discuss issues affecting the community; and there should be inclusion of community members in every phase of projects by municipal and government members to ensure maximum participation in relation to development projects. The officials should regard the participants as important stakeholders in the development of the projects in the area. Community members should be literally made ii sole beneficiaries of development projects from the inception to the hand-over phase. By so doing, they will be able to sustain both themselves and the development projects within their area. / NRF

This study arises from a preliminary environmental impact assessment of a proposal by the Natal Parks Board to develop a 200 bed ecotourism facility at Cathedral Peak in the Natal Drakensberg Park. The author of this study was one of a team of five postgraduate students1 from the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town, hereafter referred to as the Masters Group, commissioned to undertake this assessment by the Natal Parks Board (NPB) in January 1995. The preliminary environmental assessment included a scoping exercise to identify all Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs), as well as a socio-economic survey to identify potential positive and negative impacts of the proposed development on neighbouring communities. In addition, this social investigation served to identify opportunities for community involvement in the project, both in the construction and post-construction phases. The complete terms of reference for this preliminary environmental assessment are contained in Attachment 1.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Community Work) in the Department of Social Work in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2006. / This study examined aspects and strategies the communities adopt to manage the production and the distribution of agricultural commodities. The research also focused on problems experienced by small - scale farmers in the production and management of their produce. The food security of the communities relies on the good management of natural resources and production. It would appear that communities need to utilize and manage natural resources properly and appropriately if future generations have to sustain good produce for their livelihood. The study further found out that small-scale farmers live in conditions that are intolerable in terms of their access to water, market and land. The identified problems limit the access of farmers to produce good quality agricultural commodities, which could be acceptable to market retailers and wholesalers. Agriculture cannot be neglected as the backbone of community survival. Empowering communities about agricultural production management is a development strategy that is aimed at facilitating economic growth. In conclusion the researcher recommends that communities need to be provided with inputs like irrigation facilities so that their production could not be seasonal but could be able to produce throughout the year.

Thesis (Ph.D. Agricultural (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Regardless of the various measures implemented by the South African government to curb food insecurity, majority of rural households are still experiencing food insecurity at the household level. This could be because of the high unemployment rate that the rural households are experiencing, especially in the Limpopo Province. Despite rural household members exerting frantic efforts to acquire education, most of them still find it difficult to secure jobs, which results in them depending on social grants for a living. Still, social grant money alone is not enough to meet their entire families’ needs, including food acquisition. The aim of the study was to analyse food security looking at four dimensions, namely, food availability, access, utilisation, and stability among rural households of Capricorn and Mopani Districts in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Only two district municipalities in the Limpopo Province, namely, Mopani and Capricorn Districts, were chosen as areas of study. The two district municipalities were chosen because, previous studies and reviews reported that these municipalities are the most affected districts by food insecurity shocks in the Limpopo Province. The study used a cross-sectional survey, where a Multistage sampling procedure was employed. The villages were selected based on probability proportionate to size. The study considered a total of 346 rural households, comprising 173 rural households in each district municipality. A structured questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data from rural households in the study area. In addition, the collected data was captured using Excel 16. Thereafter, the data was exported to SPSS Version 27 for analysis. Furthermore, to profile the socio-economic characteristics of households, assess food consumption patterns and identify the strategies employed to enhance household food security, descriptive statistics was used. To determine the food security status of rural households in the study areas, the four dimensions of food security were analysed separately. For instance, food availability was analysed using descriptive statistics whereas food accessibility was analysed using Household Food Insecurity Access Scale [HFIAS]. The HFIAS was also used to identify the food security status while Household Dietary Diversity Score [HDDS] was used to measure food utilisation. To measure food stability, a Likert Scale [LS] and descriptive statistics were used. Multiple Linear Regression Models [MRM] were used to determine the factors that influenced rural households’ food security status. On the other hand, the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model [MLRM] was used to examine the determinants of food security among rural households of Capricorn and Mopani district municipalities. The descriptive results established that most rural households from both Mopani District Municipality [MDM] and Capricorn District Municipality [CDM] consume different food groups. In this regard, a minority of rural households are classified as dietary diverse whereas a majority of rural households are still characterised as less dietary diverse due to the limited consumption of different food groups. This reveals that these households range from less food secure to moderate food secure, as illustrated by the food security results. Moreover, the descriptive results also indicated that a majority of rural households in MDM are classified as severely food insecure and that food stability was the component contributing to these households being severely food insecure. As for CDM rural households, the results showed that a majority of these rural households were moderately food insecure with food availability and food stability being the contributing component at CDM. The Multiple linear Regression Model [MRM] results in MDM revealed that the age of the household head, remittances, and access to credit positively influenced food security status. On the other hand, the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model [MLRM] results in MDM revealed that the age of household head, household income greater than R1000, household income between R1099 to R1999, household income between R4000 to R4999, income from salary and access to credit, negatively influence food insecurity status. The Multiple Linear Regression Model confirmed that the male headed households, age of household head, wages, employment status and household income negatively influence food security status in CDM. On the contrary, MLRM results revealed that gender of household head, income from wages, income from salary, old age pension grant, child support grant, household income above R1000 and access to credit for borrowing money positively influenced the food security status of rural households in CDM. In light of this, the study recommends that health practitioners should educate rural households about healthy eating habits and that having a variety of nutritious food type may increase food security. The Department of Agriculture should advise rural households to participate primarily in subsistence farming and that they should focus their agriculture on crops and livestock. This will enable them to enjoy diverse and balanced diets. In addition, the government should empower rural households to participate in development programmes. This may assist households to improve their livelihoods and may also lead to diverse sources of income, which may enhance food security. Furthermore, the government can further assist rural households by providing production inputs (such as seeds/seedlings, fertilizers, and water for irrigation), which may promote food availability, utilisation and accessibility. / NRF-DAAD