M.Sc.(Geography) / This study aimed at examining the social and economic impact of rural irrigation schemes with a particular focus on the Lower Gweru Irrigation scheme. The general objective of this study was to assess if rural irrigation schemes can act as livelihood security assets in transforming rural livelihoods, reduce poverty and attain food security in light of climate change. Results are based on findings from self-administered questionnaires directed at farmers and irrigation stakeholders, and face to face interviews involving farmers and stakeholders. Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Microsoft excel and Health 24 web BMI calculator it was concluded that; Lower Gweru schemes, is a source of livelihood security securing food security, reduce poverty and creates rural employment. Regardless of various challenges faced by rural irrigation farmers, irrigations act as poverty and climate change buffers, providing an opportunity for communities to raise their Human Development Index and attain sustainable development. / Department of Geography

Although food insecurity is a major problem in South African society, there is limited community level information on what constitutes it and related causative socio-economic factors. This study fills this information gap by analysing food insecurity in Ward 3 of Jozini Local Municipality in uMkhanyakude district in KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Specifically, the study explored the local understanding of food security and its socio-economic causes. A qualitative study was conducted using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques through a four-day workshop, supplemented with stakeholder interviews. The techniques used were historical timeline, seasonal calendar, focus group discussions, transect walk, problem tree analysis, social and resource mapping and semi-structured interviews. A four-day workshop was conducted with 44 participants that included traditional leadership, adult men and women, and young members of the community. The people of Ward 3 of Jozini Municipality regarded food insecurity as hunger that resulted in many socio-economic effects such as collapse of household unity and stability that enhanced erosion of dignity among household members. Hunger was commonly associated with “not eating enough”. Other effects of hunger included household heads, especially men resorting to alcohol and drug abuse as a way of escaping from indignity. The youth were said to be involved in crime, prostitution and alcohol abuse. As result of hunger, sick people defaulted from taking treatment against tuberculosis and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Indicators of food secure households were access to funds, ownership of cattle, possession of arable land and access to water. Very irregular emissions of smoke from kitchens of food insecure households indicated that they had nothing to cook and eat. The people of Ward 3, Jozini revealed the choices made in the context of limited income to buy food. The choices included migration to urban areas in search of employment, women resorting to sex work, livelihoods activities such as gardening and craftwork. In the absence of an adult, many child headed households were said to be food insecure. The socio-economic factors causing food insecurity were poverty, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS pandemic, unemployment, illiteracy, low household food production, limited access to resources such as water and land. The HIV and AIDS pandemic exacerbated food insecurity at household level. Furthermore, poverty forced women into sex work which places them at high risk of contracting HIV and spreading it to their multiple partners. In addition, as a coping mechanism men committed crime such as poaching of animals from game reserves which further expose them to loss of livelihoods and food security options. The socio-economic factors contributing to food insecurity were so intertwined such that an integrated approach is recommended as the best approach for solving the compounded problems. Further local population should be engaged to define solutions to the problems. To enhance self-reliance and self-drive among communities, adult basic education training should be incorporated to reduce the high illiteracy rate. The local leaders should be engaged to bring the large tracts of land owned by old people into full utilisation. The non-government, government and institutions working in the area should strengthen and diversify livelihoods to promote livelihoods sustainability and enable communities to survive shocks by reducing asset poverty. / Thesis (M.Agric)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermarizburg, 2011.

This dissertation looks at the impact of East Coast Fever on African homestead society in Natal in the period 1901-1910. The disease broke out in Natal at the beginning of 1904. With the realization that East Coast Fever was another lethal epizootic, the Natal Colonial Government introduced measures to control the spread of the disease and finally eradicate it. The campaign was, however, not successful. The disease thus spread throughout the colony and led to the loss of many cattle owned by Africans. By 1909 not more than four divisions in the colony remained free of the disease. The death of many cattle deprived Africans of the means of extensive cultivation, the source of income for the payment of rents and taxes, and Ilobolo. Many African males were forced to leave their homesteads for the towns and the mining sector in search of work. This eventually changed the nature of the homestead society. / History / M.A. (History)

This research, has relevance in the wake of dwindling aid channelled to the third world rural poor. This study has explored ways of breaking away from benevolence and economism. The research explores four objectives that are focussed on scanning the boundary, in terms of challenges and possible solutions. This provides some in-depth understanding of challenges that face the process of establishing self-sustaining institutions of development. In the last two objectives, the research explores some programming alternatives that would enhance the establishment of democratic and participatory organisations that maximise social capital and grassroots democratisation. A list of guidelines specific to institutions has been drawn. The results of the survey reveal that sustainability cannot be predicted due to the uncertainties and ambiguities associated with project success. The hypothesis that participation and grassroots democratisation facilitates project success has been validated and there was greater project success in participatory organisations, given the baseline context. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The rapid and sustained development of the rural regions of South Africa continues to pose an extraordinary challenge to the development community of the country. Policy makers continue to be overwhelmed by the lack of development in the rural areas in spite of the various efforts made to develop them. A review of the publications and development plans of the study region indicates that the planners have for long been pre-occupied with taking limited perspectives of the development planning problems. Development plans have been conceived and implemented in terms of individual sectors instead of looking at their relations with other sectors and regions. This study seeks to make a contribution to the solution of the development problems of the rural areas of the former homeland regions by demonstrating how an integrated approach to the research process and to development planning could make a difference to the lives of the rural communities. This theme is illustrated with reference to the rural energy sector and its relations with the broader regional development problems, challenges and plans of the Sekhukhune district municipality of the Limpopo Province. / GEOGRAPHY / MA (GEOGRAPHY)

This study investigates some of the issues affecting participation of the poor in two development projects in Inkosikazi communal lands in Zimbabwe. Recent trends in participatory development are reviewed and discussed in the study. Some definitions of the concept of participation are explored, including its historical background, importance and challenges. Fieldwork was undertaken in Inkosikazi communal lands in July 2004. Two projects were randomly sampled, and in one of them involving goat-rearing, some of the participants were classified as being very poor, while in the other, a heifer loan-scheme project, none of the participants could be classified as very poor. The possible reasons for these variations are explored in the study. The conclusion of the thesis is that the study succeeds in examining certain key issues affecting participation of the poor in Inkosikazi communal lands in Zimbabwe and recommendations thereof are made. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

[Partial abstract]: This study was carried out to determine the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to household total income, other livelihood sectors were also examined simultaneously. The contribution of agriculture involved livestock and crop production. Wages and government grants were other livelihood sectors that were looked into. This study was important in determining the change in livelihood strategies in the last decade and to quantify the NTFPs used at the two sites. It was carried out in Guquka and Koloni, both part of the central Eastern Cape. Information on direct use value of the NTFPs used, the quantities and local price; crop production outputs and inputs and the costs. Data were collected via a questionnaire.

This thesis uses the sustainable rural livelihoods framework to investigate the livelihoods of communities residing adjacent to a remote protected area on the Wild Coast. The communities living in the area are among the poorest in South Africa and are largely dependent on migrant remittances and state welfare grants for their survival. Soon after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the communities lodged a land claim against the protected area on the basis of past removals. In 2001, their land rights to the protected area were restored, opening up new avenues for the development of the area. It is argued that livelihood systems in the area are complex, varied and dynamic, and that for development to be sustainable, it needs to be informed by a thorough understanding of the many factors that shape the context in which livelihoods are generated. The research is based primarily on 'in-depth' micro-studies of two villages in the area - Ntubeni and Cwebe. It includes a detailed assessment of the extent and distribution of poverty and the various factors that make households vulnerable to livelihood shocks. The role of the rich and diverse natural resource base, the property rights associated with it, and the under-development of infrastructure and services in the area, are discussed in relation to livelihood prospects. A systems approach is used to examine the various ways in which livestock husbandry, cropping, natural resource use, employment and welfare dependence interact. Finally, the thesis examines in some detail the distribution of household assets, livelihood strategies and livelihood outcomes between the two villages, and between households in different income groups.

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 adoption of the Millennium Development Goal 1 (MDG1) of reducing the rate of poverty to half of the 1990-level by 2015, the advent of democracy in South Africa, among other things, have raised concerns over the potential role of the agricultural sector. There is a belief that the sector has the capacity to successfully reduce poverty among the rural masses and contribute to addressing the problem of inequality in South Africa. In line with that thinking, South Africa‘s agricultural sector has attracted considerable fiscal policy interest. For instance, South Africa‘s statistics show that public investments in agricultural development programmes have been growing. In spite of this, rural poverty is still a major concern on an overall basis. However, this might not be the case in the Eastern Cape Province and the situation might be different for each district municipality. This study assesses the linkages between public agricultural investment, agricultural growth and poverty reduction in the Eastern Cape Province. The study also addresses the question whether Eastern Cape Province is on course to meet several regional development targets. The study also aims to provide an estimate of the amount of agricultural investment required to attain the agricultural productivity growth rate which is sufficient to meet MDG1. The study reviewed the various theories of public spending, linkages between public investment and agricultural growth and how these components affect the incidence of poverty. The conventional wisdom that public expenditure in agriculture positively affects economic growth and this growth consequently reduces poverty was noted. The reviews also revealed that in many developing countries, the current level of public agricultural investment needs to be increased significantly for countries to meet the MDG1. This study employed the decomposition technique and growth elasticity of poverty concept to estimate the response of poverty to its key determinants. The size of public spending, prioritization of public spending and the intensity in the use of public funds emerged as important in increasing agricultural production. The relationship between government investment in agriculture and agricultural GDP shows iv that public funds were largely behind the province‘s success in increasing agricultural production throughout the period from 1990s to 2010. Agricultural spending went to sustainable resource management, administrative functions and then farmer support programme. Exceptional growth in the size of spending was recorded in respect to agricultural economic function, structured agricultural training, sustainable resource management and veterinary services. Overall output from the agricultural sector fluctuated, and the sector contributed less than 5 per cent to the total provincial GDP. Correlations between growth in agricultural sector and changes in the incidence of poverty in Eastern Cape show that during the period 1995 to 2000, increases in the agricultural GDP per capita may have failed to benefit the poor as poverty increased in all the reported cases.–However, for the period between 2005 and 2010, the situation was different and it was observed that increases in agricultural GDP per capita and were associated with reduction in the incidence of poverty. Growth elasticity of poverty (GEP) estimates reveal that agricultural GDP per capita was more important in reducing poverty in 5 out of the 7 district municipalities. Non-agricultural GDP per capita was only important in two district municipalities. It emerged that most of the district municipalities are not in a position to meet any of the regional set goals. This situation is largely attributable to the province‘s failure to boost agricultural production which is an outcome of low and inefficient public expenditure management, inconsistent and misaligned policies and failure to fully embrace the concept of pro-poor growth. Varied provisional estimates for the required agricultural growth rate and the increase in public spending on agriculture required in order to reach MDG1 were calculated for each district municipalities. All the district municipalities of Eastern Cape will need to increase public investment in agriculture for them to achieve MDG1.