Problem Statement: The world population is expected to rapidly increase, raising food security concerns across the world. This will impact Africa most severely. The use of innovative farming techniques and technology has proven to accelerate the production yields and improve resilience to vulnerabilities which impact agricultural productivity. The use of smart technologies in farming is mainly present among largescale commercial farms, with minimal representation in the smallholder farming sector. On the other hand, a substantial amount of food in developing countries is produced by small scale farmers. Research Objective: The purpose of the study is to investigate the usage of smart technologies by smallholder farmers in South Africa, and to establish how smart technology could support smallholder farmers in increasing productivity through a three-dimensional view that takes into consideration capital, labour, and land utilization. To this end, an interpretive research philosophy was adopted. Research Design: The study collected the data using semi-structured interviews. The sample for the study constituted of 10 smallholder farmers and 12 subject matter experts within the agriculture and technology domain. To strengthen rigour within the study, the interviews were supported by documents containing viewpoints about how technology is applied in the African context and how it may be introduced and ultimately applied in the South African context. The study employed a deductive approach to theory, applying the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) as theoretical underpinning for the study. SLA consists of a pentagon of livelihood assets: physical, social, human, natural, and financial assets. The framework was extended to include technology as an asset due to its potential to contribute to improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Findings: The study found minimal to no use of smart technologies by smallholder farmers in South Africa. The factors which limited the use of technology include PEST (Political, Environmental, Social and Technological) factors. To achieve successful usage of smart technologies, collaboration is required from government, the private sector, smallholder farmers, and communities. Research Contribution: The study aimed to expand on the limited literature on the use of smart farming in the context of smallholder farmers in a developing country context. In addition, it contributed to extending the pentagon of livelihoods to include smart technologies with respect to smallholder farmer livelihoods. Therefore, the findings of this study contributed to the broader body of knowledge. In addition, insights from this study may be gained by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, smallholder farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs and technologists in formulate developmental strategies and policies to improve the productivity of smallholder farmers as well as their livelihoods as a strategy to increase their contribution to food security in Africa while alleviating household poverty.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of the North, 2001 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.Sc (Agricultural Economics)) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / Agriculture plays an important role in uplifting the economy of South Africa. Small-scale farmers in rural areas are linked with poverty and operate inefficiently due to over or under utilization of some of the factors of production. This study aimed at analysing the technical and allocative efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality. The objectives of the study were: (i) To assess the level of technical and allocative efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality, (ii) To identify socio-economic factors affecting the efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality and (iii) to investigate the areas of improvement with regard to the operational management of the small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality. The study employed the Cobb-Douglas production function and the logistic regression model to analyse data. The Cobb-Douglas production function results revealed that small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality are technically efficient in the production of maize with the highest mean technical efficiency value of 0.71%. The study further revealed that farmers were allocatively inefficient with a mean allocative efficiency value of 0.39%. The logistic regression analysis revealed important variables such as the level of education (1.05), experience in farming (2.74), access to irrigation water (0.59), purchase of hybrid seed (0.74), access to credit (2.13) and extension visits (0.85) were positively significant towards the efficiency of farmers. Variables such as gender of the farmer (-1.79) and off-farm income (-2.72) were found to be negatively significant towards the efficiency of small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen Municipality. The findings obtained in this study could be quite useful to policy makers. This study recommend that there is a need for more visits from the extension officers as well as training on inputs allocation, since variables like Seed (0.41), fertilizer (0.17), capital (0.71) and expenses (-0.204) were found to be inefficiently allocated in the production of maize. The provision of easy, quick and adequate credit deserves to be a top priority on the agenda of policy makers since most small-scale maize farmers in Tzaneen municipality does not receive off-farm income. Small-scale farmers in Tzaneen municipality also need to have access to enough arable land in order to increase production. Small-scale farmers in South Africa and other developing countries contribute to employment creation and food security in the households, therefore, it is important that government fully support such farmers.

<p>This thesis interrogates the claim that resource-poor, rural land seekers can acquire land through the land market which constitutes the central mechanism of land redistribution in South Africa&rsquo / s market-based land reform programme. The study explores two key aspects in relation to this claim. Firstly, it provides a critique of the underlying assumptions prevalent in much of the current market-based land reform policy, as advocated by its national and international proponents, and the manner in which the market as a mechanism for land redistribution has been conceptualized and its outcomes envisaged. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this conceptualization - which it is argued, draws on idealized and abstracted notions of land market functioning - is realized and examines the extent to which the espoused outcomes of market-based land reform policy are aligned with or contradicted by the functioning of real markets and the experiences of resource-poor land seeking people in their attempts to engage in the land market with limited state support. The details of the market&rsquo / s operation are analysed, with a distinction made between the operational practice of real markets &ndash / based on direct evidence-based observation <br /> and degrees of policy abstraction and theoretical assumptions regarding how markets should or might operate. The study&rsquo / s methodological framework draws on an agrarian political economy perspective, as used by theorists such as Akram-Lodhi (2007) and Courville (2005), amongst others. This perspective enables a consideration of the various contexts and socially embedded processes involved in land transactions and the extent to which these are shaped and framed by the politics of policy-making. In line with this perspective, the study focuses on the social relations brought to bear on the acquisition of land and the way in which land markets operate. It is suggested that land is not solely viewed as an economic commodity by land-seekers. Furthermore, it was found that markets cannot be understood as neutral institutions in which participants are equal players.</p>

This Master thesis is the result of a study in which we looked at people's livelihoods - through the sustainable rural livelihoods analytical framework - from a coordination failure perspective. During three weeks spent in the district of Ribáuè, Mozambique, enabled us to conduct interviews with people from many different social categories and understand the conditions in which small-scale farmers live. The paper tackles issues related to development in general and governmental intervention and contributes to the debate about the type of growth which is on-going in Mozambique. What are the coordination failures that impact people's livelihoods in Mozambique, a country where strong economic growth does not seem to help the poorest to get out of poverty. / The Mozambican economy is characterised by a high level of employment in the agricultural sector. Most farmers are small-scale and farm for subsistence. As development at global level will continue to pressure these farmers to increase their productivity, the question is to know how this will affect the small-scale farmers’ capacity to improve their livelihoods. The economy of the African continent is predicted to rise substantially and countries like Mozambiquehave been praised for their staggering economic growth. However despite growth, the situation remains unchanged for many small-scale farmers. The intention of this research is then to look into the conditions in which small-scale agricultural activities take place. This study was carried out is the district of Ribáuè, located in the northern provinceof Nampula, Mozambique and adopts an abductive approach as it investigates coordination failures around farming activities. In other words, aspects concerning agricultural activities that are difficult to observe, will be included. The starting point for this argument is that it is impossible to obtain sustainable development (i.e. including small-scale farmers) without taking a holistic approach. Through this study, it becomes clear that small-scale farmers face a variety of obstacles from which patterns can be extracted. Strong emphasis is put on the importance of surrounding factors such as infrastructures, access to credit, wage work opportunities, access to inputs, extension services, and market access.  All these factors impact people’s livelihoods; and by investing in all of them in a coordinated way, it creates synergetic effects and boosts the potential for further development of each feature. This inter-connectivity becomes clear when considering that wage work opportunities are created when investments are made in the rehabilitation of infrastructures or the expansion of extension services. Furthermore, market access increases when the connectivity of remote farmers is improved and their livelihoods develop when their surplus can be sold. The amount of surplus farmers have is in turn affected by their financial capital, access to inputs, and access to extension services. Singling out one of these features as more important than the others risks missing the point and hindering sustainable development. This calls for big versatile government investments, in the form of big push policies, to ensure that these areas inter-connect and to create the highest possible levels of synergy.

Das Wachstum des Agrarsektors ist einer der entscheidenden Faktoren, um Armut in Entwicklungsländern zu verringern, da Armut auch heute noch ein vor allem ländliches Phänomen ist. Zwei Drittel der Armen weltweit leben auf dem Land und sind in der Mehrzahl direkt oder indirekt von der Landwirtschaft abhängig. Die verstärkte Teilnahme von Kleinbauern am wachsenden globalen Markt für hochwertige Nahrungsmittel wie tierische Erzeugnisse, Fisch, Obst und Gemüse wird als eine der vielversprechendsten Möglichkeiten gesehen, um Armut zu reduzieren. Insbesondere die Verbreitung des Obst- und Gemüseanbaus bietet eine Vielzahl von Chancen für Kleinbauern, da dieser im Vergleich zum Anbau von Grundnahrungsmitteln einen höheren Arbeitseinsatz erfordert sowie höhere Einkommen pro Hektar generiert. Die Ausschöpfung der sich eröffnenden Möglichkeiten kann jedoch durch die wachsende Bedeutung von privaten und öffentlichen Lebensmittelsicherheits- und Qualitätsstandards behindert werden. Während öffentliche Standards schon lange als ein Handelshemmnis für Exporte von Entwicklungsländern in Industrieländer gelten, werden private, vom Einzelhandel festgelegte Standards zunehmend zu einem Erfordernis, um Zugang zu Märkten weltweit zu erhalten. In dieser Studie befassen wir uns mit den Auswirkungen des GlobalGAP Standards auf Obst- und Gemüsekleinbauern in Entwicklungsländern. Der GlobalGAP Standard wurde 1997 durch europäische Einzelhandelsunternehmen mit dem Ziel entwickelt, die sehr unterschiedlichen Qualitätsstandards der einzelnen Unternehmen zu harmonisieren, und gilt heute als der wichtigste Standard für gute Agrarpraxis weltweit. Während die steigende Bedeutung des GlobalGAP Standards Kleinbauern in Entwicklungsländern vor neue Herausforderungen stellt, bietet diese gleichzeitig auch neue Chancen. Verschiedene Studien haben gezeigt, dass die Implementierung des GlobalGAP Standards für Kleinbauern aufgrund von hohen Investitionskosten sowie hohen technischen und administrativen Erfordernissen mit besonders großen Schwierigkeiten verbunden ist. Auf der anderen Seite wird diskutiert, dass eine erfolgreiche Annahme des Standards zu stabileren und höheren Einkommen führen kann und somit zu einer Verringerung von Armut und Vulnerabilität beitragen kann. Jedoch ist nicht nur die Implementierung des GlobalGAP Standards eine große Herausforderung für Kleinbauern in Entwicklungsländern, sondern die ständige Einhaltung des Standards gestaltet sich häufig aufgrund der hohen laufenden Kosten und der strengen Erfordernisse des Standards als ebenso schwierig. Verschiedene Studien haben gezeigt, dass insbesondere die Kleinbauern, die mit Unterstützung von Entwicklungshilfsprogrammen ein GlobalGAP Zertifikat erhalten haben, vielfach nicht dazu in der Lage sind, den Standard selbständig aufrechtzuhalten. Auf Grundlage der oben beschriebenen Chancen und Herausforderungen, die der GlobalGAP Standard mit sich bringt, ist es das Ziel dieser Studie, Mechanismen zu identifizieren, die Kleinbauern dazu in die Lage versetzen, den GlobalGAP Standard nachhaltig anzunehmen, um langfristig von einer Zertifizierung zu profitieren. Hierzu werden zunächst die Faktoren, die die Annahme des GlobalGAP Standards beeinflussen, identifiziert, wobei die Unterstützung von Gebern, öffentlich-privaten Partnerschaften und Exporteuren mit einbezogen wird. Darauf folgend analysieren wir die Auswirkungen der GlobalGAP Zertifizierung auf Produzentenpreise für Obst und Gemüse und auf das Netto-Haushaltseinkommen der Landwirte. Zuletzt werden die Determinanten der GlobalGAP Rezertifizierung nach Ende der Unterstützung durch Entwicklungshilfsprogramme untersucht. Die empirische Analyse basiert auf einem umfangreichen Paneldatensatz von thailändischen Obst- und Gemüsebauern, der in den Jahren 2010 und 2011 erhoben wurde. Die Grundgesamtheit von Obst- und Gemüsebauern wurde nach der Teilnahme an einem Entwicklungshilfsprogramm stratifiziert, welches zum Ziel hatte, thailändische Kleinbauern in der Annahme des GlobalGAP Standards zu unterstützen. Das Programm wurde zwischen 2008 und 2010 durchgeführt und zu Beginn des Jahres 2010 konnte eine Vielzahl von Programmteilnehmern erfolgreich das GlobalGAP Zertifikat erlangen. Während der ersten Befragungsrunde im Jahr 2010 wurden 287 Haushalte interviewt, davon sind 146 Teilnehmer des Entwicklungshilfsprogramms und 141 sind Nicht-Teilnehmer. Im Jahr 2011 konnten 218 der 287 Haushalte ein zweites Mal interviewt werden. Im ersten Teil der Studie vergleichen wir verschiedene institutionelle Arrangements, die unter die GlobalGAP Gruppenzertifizierung fallen, und analysieren die Faktoren, die die Annahme des GlobalGAP Standards bedingen. Die Analyse basiert auf den im Jahr 2010 während der ersten Befragungsrunde erhobenen Querschnittsdaten, die die Situation der Haushalte vor der Zertifizierung widerspiegeln. In unserer Forschungsregion hat die vermehrte Nachfrage nach GlobalGAP zertifizierten Produkten zu der Bildung neuer institutioneller Arrangements zwischen Gebern, Exporteuren und Landwirten geführt. Teilnehmende Landwirte an einem Entwicklungshilfsprogramm wurden in verschiedenen Zertifizierungsgruppen organisiert, die sich im Hinblick auf das Management des internen Kontrollsystems unterscheiden. Dieses kann entweder durch Geber, Exporteure oder durch die Landwirte selbst geleitet werden. Die Ergebnisse unserer Analyse zeigen, dass die Unterstützung durch Entwicklungshilfsprogramme, Exporteure und öffentlich-private Partnerschaften entscheidend ist, um Kleinbauern mit einem geringen Human- und Sozialkapital sowie mit geringen finanziellen Ressourcen die Annahme des GlobalGAP Standards zu ermöglichen. Zudem wird die Annahme der GlobalGAP Standards durch Haushalts- und Betriebsmerkmale wie Bildung, die Verfügbarkeit von Arbeitskräften in der Familie, die Nutzung effizienter Bewässerungstechniken sowie vorherige Erfahrung in modernen Wertschöpfungsketten beeinflusst. Des Weiteren analysieren wir die Auswirkungen der GlobalGAP Zertifizierung auf Obst- und Gemüseproduzentenpreise sowie auf das Netto-Haushaltseinkommen von Landwirten. Die Analyse beruht auf den erhobenen Paneldaten, die es uns ermöglichen, das Fixed-Effects-Modell anzuwenden, welches für einen Selektionsbias aufgrund von zeitkonstanter, unbeobachtbarer Heterogenität kontrolliert. Neben der Schätzung von durchschnittlichen Effekten der GlobalGAP Zertifizierung untersuchen wir die Frage, ob sich die Auswirkungen von GlobalGAP zwischen Untergruppen zertifizierter Landwirte unterscheiden. Für die Studie differenzieren wir zwischen zertifizierten Landwirten, die in von den Produzenten selbst oder in von Exporteuren geführten Gruppen organisiert sind, sowie zwischen Landwirten mit einer größeren oder kleineren zertifizierten Fläche. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine GlobalGAP Zertifizierung im Durchschnitt hohe positive Auswirkungen auf Produzentenpreise sowie auf das Netto-Haushaltseinkommen von Landwirten hat. Der hohe durchschnittliche Effekt wird jedoch vor allem durch hohe positive Auswirkungen in den von Produzenten geführten Gruppen gesteuert. In diesen hat die Annahme des GlobalGAP Standards im Durchschnitt zu 62% höheren Preisen sowie zu 14,678 USD höheren Netto-Haushaltseinkommen geführt. In den von Exporteuren geleiteten Gruppen kann dagegen kein signifikanter Einfluss der Zertifizierung festgestellt werden. Des Weiteren stellen wir fest, dass die realisierten Einkommenseffekte in den von Produzenten geführten Gruppen von der Größe der zertifizierten Fläche abhängen. Während größere Betriebe sehr hohe Einkommensgewinne erzielen, können kleinere Betriebe nur solange einen signifikanten Effekt verzeichnen, wie sie die wiederkehrenden Kosten der Zertifizierung nicht selbst tragen müssen, d.h. solange sie finanzielle Unterstützung durch einen Geber erhalten. Der letzte Teil unserer Studie befasst sich mit der Nachhaltigkeit der von Entwicklungshilfsprogrammen unterstützen GlobalGAP Zertifizierung von Kleinbauern. Wir schätzen ein bivariates Probit-Modell, um die Faktoren, die die nachhaltige Annahme des GlobalGAP Standards beeinflussen, in Abhängigkeit von erstmals erfolgter Zertifizierung zu analysieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Unterstützung durch Exporteure der weitaus wichtigste Einflussfaktor der ständigen und nachhaltigen Einhaltung des GlobalGAP Standards ist. Im Vergleich zu Landwirten in von Produzenten geführten Gruppen haben Bauern, die in von Exporteuren geleiteten Gruppen organisiert sind, eine 85% höhere Wahrscheinlichkeit erneut zertifiziert zu werden. Daraus lässt sich schließen, dass die Mehrheit der zertifizierten Bauern in den von Produzenten geleiteten Gruppen nicht die Fähigkeiten besitzt, den GlobalGAP Standard ohne externe Unterstützung dauerhaft aufrecht zu erhalten, obwohl sie im Durchschnitt einen hohen Nutzen aus der Zertifizierung ziehen könnten. Des Weiteren zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass größere Betriebe mit einem höheren Anteil der zertifizierten Fläche an der Gesamtfläche häufiger erneut zertifiziert werden. Somit können wir feststellen, dass die relativ kleinen und weniger integrierten Bauern zu den ersten gehören, die nach dem Ende von Entwicklungshilfsprogrammen den GlobalGAP Standard ablegen. Diese bilden jedoch die primäre Zielgruppe von Entwicklungshilfsprogrammen, da sie am ehesten gefährdet sind, den Zugang zu Märkten aufgrund der steigenden Bedeutung von Lebensmittelsicherheits- und Qualitätsstandards zu verlieren.

<p>This thesis interrogates the claim that resource-poor, rural land seekers can acquire land through the land market which constitutes the central mechanism of land redistribution in South Africa&rsquo / s market-based land reform programme. The study explores two key aspects in relation to this claim. Firstly, it provides a critique of the underlying assumptions prevalent in much of the current market-based land reform policy, as advocated by its national and international proponents, and the manner in which the market as a mechanism for land redistribution has been conceptualized and its outcomes envisaged. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this conceptualization - which it is argued, draws on idealized and abstracted notions of land market functioning - is realized and examines the extent to which the espoused outcomes of market-based land reform policy are aligned with or contradicted by the functioning of real markets and the experiences of resource-poor land seeking people in their attempts to engage in the land market with limited state support. The details of the market&rsquo / s operation are analysed, with a distinction made between the operational practice of real markets &ndash / based on direct evidence-based observation <br /> and degrees of policy abstraction and theoretical assumptions regarding how markets should or might operate. The study&rsquo / s methodological framework draws on an agrarian political economy perspective, as used by theorists such as Akram-Lodhi (2007) and Courville (2005), amongst others. This perspective enables a consideration of the various contexts and socially embedded processes involved in land transactions and the extent to which these are shaped and framed by the politics of policy-making. In line with this perspective, the study focuses on the social relations brought to bear on the acquisition of land and the way in which land markets operate. It is suggested that land is not solely viewed as an economic commodity by land-seekers. Furthermore, it was found that markets cannot be understood as neutral institutions in which participants are equal players.</p>

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This thesis interrogates the claim that resource-poor, rural land seekers can acquire land through the land market which constitutes the central mechanism of land redistribution in South Africa's market-based land reform programme. The study explores two key aspects in relation to this claim. Firstly, it provides a critique of the underlying assumptions prevalent in much of the current market-based land reform policy, as advocated by its national and international proponents, and the manner in which the market as a mechanism for land redistribution has been conceptualized and its outcomes envisaged. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this conceptualization - which it is argued, draws on idealized and abstracted notions of land market functioning - is realized and examines the extent to which the espoused outcomes of market-based land reform policy are aligned with or contradicted by the functioning of real markets and the experiences of resource-poor land seeking people in their attempts to engage in the land market with limited state support. The details of the market's operation are analysed, with a distinction made between the operational practice of real markets - based on direct evidence-based observation and degrees of policy abstraction and theoretical assumptions regarding how markets should or might operate. The study's methodological framework draws on an agrarian political economy perspective, as used by theorists such as Akram-Lodhi (2007) and Courville (2005), amongst others. This perspective enables a consideration of the various contexts and socially embedded processes involved in land transactions and the extent to which these are shaped and framed by the politics of policy-making. In line with this perspective, the study focuses on the social relations brought to bear on the acquisition of land and the way in which land markets operate. It is suggested that land is not solely viewed as an economic commodity by land-seekers. Furthermore, it was found that markets cannot be understood as neutral institutions in which participants are equal players. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / The conventional top-down approach to development has been rendered unsustainable and is regarded as a poor strategy to achieving community empowerment and development. The past few decades have seen the promotion of bottom-up techniques whereby governments and developing agents collaborate with target beneficiaries and view them as equal partners in the development of their own communities. It is generally believed that the participation of farmers in agricultural projects improves the performance of the agricultural sector. However, despite the adoption of participatory models, agricultural societies have remained plagued by poverty. It is against this background that this research using the Mazowe District as a case study investigated the nature and extent of participation by small scale farmers in the Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) Farmers’ Club in order to document the extent to which farmers have been empowered. The study made use of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to gather relevant data. Broadly the findings indicate that the participation of farmers in the DAPP Farmers' Club project was substantively high. The results also suggest that the project empowered farmers to farm more productively in the case study area. In light of the findings the study recommends that governments and NGOs should follow the values and principles of the people-centred development (PCD) theory when implementing agricultural projects as it has proven to be an empowering approach. This practice may transform societies as there is an opportunity to address societal needs at grassroots level. In view of this research it can be argued that capacitating farmers through training and improving their farming skills can improve their agricultural production.

The aim of this study is twofold; To analyse and understand how well small-scale farmers seed production system from i.e Ladakh, India have been recognised in the 1966 seed policy bill and compare it with the newly released 2019 seed policy draft as well as examining potential effects if the draft is enacted. This has been done by using a post-structural policy analysis developed by Carol Bacchi and Susan Goodwin called “What is the problem represented to be”. The method has enabled for an in-depth and critical examination of the two policies in relation to the posed research questions. To be able to put the result into context and answer the questions, an analytical framework made frompost-structuralism, power relations and literature review is explained. This study concludes the problem representation to be the same for both policies, being disbelief in farmers seed production system, and that it is of disadvantage for the small-scale farmers in relation to seeds in Ladakh. This, due to its definitions and expressions of farmers and the liberal/neoliberal reasoning. Instead, the reasoning gives advantage to seed dealers and companies by favouriting Intellectual Property Rightsand a free market over farmers seed production systems and knowledges. Furthermore, this revelation resulted in a low representation for the small-scale farmers in Ladakh as they are viewed as inept of providing seeds of good quality to the market. It has also been noted that Ladakh as a remote area does not receive any special attention regarding their unique high-mountainous climate. Conclusively, the policies tend to subject all areas and farmers in India in a homogenous manner which is problematic in terms of rationality and perspectives in the policies. The lack of recognition for smallscale farmers in Ladakh and their seed production system increases the risk of further environmentaldegradation, loss heirloom seeds connected to culture and traditions and an increase of dependency onlow-land India. The author concludes that it is of relevant that small-scale farmers knowledges, not only from Ladakh, regarding seed production are incorporated in the policies. This, to eradicate on its homogeneous and inequality traits as well to minimize threatening scenarios that might result from a liberal agenda.