Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The availability of water for irrigation purposes is becoming a serious concern for smallholder famers in the former homeland areas of South Africa. Not only because of global weather change and the occurrence of more erratic weather events, but also due to competition for fresh water between the agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors (Hamdy et al., 2003). Food production increases in smallholder agriculture is seen as a possible solution to the food security challenges in the rural areas of the Limpopo Province (Altman et al., 2009). Smallholder farmers in Giyani mostly use traditional furrow irrigation systems and their farm crop productivity remains very low, compared to commercial farms in the same area. The objective of this study is to utilize and test various innovation technologies aimed at increasing Water Productivity (WP) in order to facilitate better irrigation management of the available water resources. The study was conducted on two farms, Zava Cooperative Garden and Mzilela Cooperative Garden, in the rural areas of Giyani over a two year period from 2012-2013. This study seeks to achieve the objective in three distinct ways. Firstly, the use of NIR technology is used to evaluate the prediction ability of soil chemical parameters for fertilizer requirement calculations. Secondly, WP trials were conducted on smallholder tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production for three consecutive seasons, evaluating their current tomato crop production systems and also testing new innovations for WP increases. Thirdly, applying the MonQI methodology, inputs and outputs of all crop production sites were done to monitor the cropping systems throughout the period of the research. The results from this study indicate the importance of applying new innovations amongst smallholder production systems. Important findings from the NIR technologies indicated that this innovation can improve soil nutrient management in a more affordable, user friendly manner. The results showed that good prediction models were obtained for pH (KCl), electrical conductivity (EC), P, K, Mg, Na and CEC, with R2 and RPD values larger than 0.60 and 1.4 respectively. The prediction of exchangeable Ca was less successful with a R2 value of 0.43. Results from the WP trials suggest that drip irrigation performed better than furrow irrigation in terms of yield and WP. Yield and WP were very low for all treatments, being below 32 t/ha and 5.2 kg/m-3 respectively. Improved management practices, such as soil nutrient management and mulching were introduced in the 2nd and 3rd seasons of tomato trials in order to increase WP at field level at Mzilela farm. Results showed tomato yield increased from an average of 26.5 t/ha to 120.9 t/ha and WP increases from 4.61kg/m-3 to 17.69 kg/m-3. Deep drainage of water out of the rootzone decreased with better irrigation management. The results from the monitoring of inputs and output of their cropping systems revealed that smallholder farmers, using traditional farming practices, yielded very low and mostly below 5 t/ha for all crops. Some crops were totally lost due to hail and heat-waves. NPK balances for conventional cropping by the smallholder farmers at Mzilela was in the range of 0 to -70 kg/ha. The tomato production fertilized treatment of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd WP trials, showed positive nutrient balance results for P and K in the range of 80 to 140 kg/ha. N balances were mostly negative for all plots. NFI was R2768 and R4740 for season 1 and 3 respectively, while the 2nd season results showed a loss of - R5176. With the improved yield from the WP trial sites, and the fruits being sold to the Spar, the NFI increased to R42486 in the final season. The study concludes that great improvements in yield, WP and NFI are attainable and sustainable amongst smallholder farmers in the Giyani area. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die beskikbaarheid van water hulpbronne vir besproeiings doeleindes onder kleinskaalse boere in die voormalige tuislande is besig om ernstige bekommernisse te wek. Nie net as gevolg van globale weer veranderinge en meer gereelde ekstreme weer toestande nie, maar ook as gevolg van die kompetisie tussen die landbou, industriële en huishoudelike sektore vir water gebruike (Hamdy et al., 2003). Verhoogde voedsel produksie onder die kleinskaalse landbou sektor word gesien as moontlike oplossing vir die voedsel sekuriteit uitdagings in die platteland areas van die Limpopo Provinsie in Suid-Afrika (Altman et al., 2009). Kleinskaalse boere in Giyani gebruik meestal tradisionele voor-besproeiings stelsels en hul produktiwiteit bly steeds baie laag wanneer dit met kommersiële boerderye vergelyk word. Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie is om Water Produktiwiteit (WP) te bestudeer en verskeie innovasie tegnologieë te toets om beter besproeiing bestuur van kosbare water bronne te fasiliteer. Die studie was uitgevoer op twee plase, naamlik Zava Koöperatiewe Tuin en Mzilela Koöperatiewe Tuin, wat in die plattelandse areas van Giyani geleë is en die studie is gedoen oor ‘n periode van twee jaar vanaf 2012 tot 2013. Om hierdie doelwit te bereik was die navorsing in drie eenhede uitgevoer. Eerstens sal Naby-Infra Rooi (NIR) tegnologie gebruik word om die voorspelling vermoë van grond chemiese eienskappe te toets vir meer effektiewe grond voedingstof bestuur deur kleinboere. Tweedens sal WP proewe uitgevoer word op kleinskaalse tamatie (Solanum lycopersicum) produksie. Die huidige tamatie gewasproduksie stelsels was getoets om die WP statusse te evalueer van hul tradisionele bestuurs praktyke van beide drip- en voorbesproeiings stelsels. Laastens, is insette en uitsette van die kleinboere se produksie stelsels met die MonQI metodologie bestudeer om die huidige produksie sisteme te evalueer, sowel as die WP proef persele, deur opbrengs, grond voedingstof balanse en netto plaas inkomste (NPI) te moniteer en te bereken vir 4 half jaar seisoene gedurende die navorsings periode. Die resultate van die navorsing voer aan dat die gebruik van innovasie tegnologieë onder kleinskaalse boerderystelsels ontsettend belangrik is vir verbeterde produksie. Hoofbevindings van die NIR tegnologie dui dat meer doeltreffende grond voedingstof bestuur moontlik is en wat goedkoper en meer gebruikersvriendelik is vir kleinboere. Hierdie tegniek het goeie voorspelbaarheid-modelle getoon vir pH (KCl), Elektriese Geleiding (EG), P, K, Mg, Na en katioon uitruilings kapasiteit (KUK) met R2 en RPD waardes hoër as 0.60 en 1.4 onderskeidelik. Die voorspelbaarheid van Ca was minder suksesvol met ‘n R2 waarde van 0.43. Die resultate van die WP toetse wys dat drip besproeiing beter as voorbesproeiing presteer het in terme van opbrengs en WP. Opbrengs en WP was baie laag vir alle behandelings van seisoen 1, met waardes laer as 32 t/ha en 5.2 kg/m-3 onderskeidelik. Verbeterde bestuurspraktyke, soos grond voedingstof bestuur asook die gebruik van ‘n deklaag, was in die 2de en 3rde seisoen toegepas om opbrengs en WP te verhoog op plaasskaal op Mziela plaas. Resultate het gewys dat opbrengs verhoog het van ‘n gemiddelde van 26.5 t/ha tot 120.9 t/ha en WP verhoging van 4.61 kg/m-3 tot 17.69 kg/m-3. In terme van die insette en uitsette van die produksie sisteme het opbrengste van alle gewasse, wat nog van tradisionele metodes gebruik, laer as 5 t/ha getoon. Soms van die totale oeste verloor deur hael of hittegolwe. Die NPK balanse vir die gewasverbouing met konvensionele kleinboer metodes was in die orde van 0 tot -70 kg/ha. Die kunsmis behandelings van die tamatie proewe van die 1ste, 2de en 3rde WP seisoene het positiewe balanse getoon vir P en K in die orde van 80 tot 140 kg/ha. Die N balanse was meestal negatief vir alle verbouings persele. Die NPI was R2768 en R4740 vir seisoen 1 en 3 onderskeidelik, terwyl die 2de seisoen verlies van -R5176 getoon het. Die verbeteringe in opbrengs met die WP proewe en met die verkoop van die tamaties aan die Spar was die NPI vir die 4de seisoen R42486. Die studie sluit dat daar groot moontlikehede is vir verhoging in opbrengs, WP en NPI onder kleinboere in die Giyani area.

The contribution of rubber to national economic and social development is important for Indonesia. However, smallholding rubber, the dominant rubber producer, has low productivity. Various new technology programmes have been introduced by the Indonesian government with other agencies to increase the productivity of existing traditional rubber and incomes among smallholder rubber farmers in Indonesia. However, the adoption of new technology was low and the reasons for these were still unclear. This study explores how smallholder farmers in Indonesia adopt new technology. Rubber Agroforestry System (RAS) introduced mainly by International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Jambi and West Kalimantan provinces in Indonesia is used as a case study. A combination of Ethnographic Decision Tree Modeling (EDTM) proposed by Gladwin (1989a) and a logistic regression model were used as the main methodologies to determine the decision criteria of rubber farmers regarding adoption of clonal rubber. The EDTM as qualitative method helped to identify the main reasons, motivations and constraints that influenced a farmer’s decision to adopt or not adopt the new technology and also present details about the process of the farmers’ decision making. Meanwhile, logit as the quantitative method was useful to identify the significant variables involved in the decision making process. The results of this study show that the decision making process for adoption of clonal rubber is complex and influenced by various factors. The decision tree models for Jambi and West Kalimantan differed showing the importance of social context and infrastructure. The main reasons for a farmer’s decisions to adopt clonal rubber is the expectation that clonal rubber is better in growth and yield and it will increase production per ha and income. The decision to adopt is supported by evidence from demonstration plots, trust in the technology deliverers and availability of incentives. The main constraint in adoption for both areas was limitation of capital as the clonal rubber required more capital to establish. The other constraints are risk and uncertainties including pest and disease problems, the shortage of labour, lack of technical knowledge, lack of access to clonal seedlings, and observation of clonal rubber that has been of low quality or managed inadequately. The decision tree models have been tested and the results show that the models were able to predict the farmers’ decision making with good accuracy of 82% and 83%. In addition, the quantitative model shows the significant factors that determine adoption of clonal rubber in Jambi and West Kalimantan are land, incentives and income factors. The qualitative and quantitative methods contributed to increased robustness of data and give different kinds of valuable data and information to stakeholders and policy makers in Indonesia. In order to encourage rubber farmers in Jambi and West Kalimantan to adopt clonal rubber, this study suggests improving policies to ensure they are aligned with needs of the rubber farmers, improving farmers’ access to capital sources such as credit with simpler mechanisms, increasing the number and skills of extension workers, encouraging farmer to farmer learning, empowering farmers and leadership, improving infrastructure including better access to clonal seedlings and improving partnership with NGOs.

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La culture du palmier à huile en milieu villageois prend de plus en plus d'ampleur dans les zones tropicales où elle contribue pour une part importante à l'économie des pays. Au Bénin, les palmeraies villageoises sont en forte expansion dans un climat particulier caractérisé par des déficits hydriques annuels élevés. Les caractéristiques assez particulières de ces palmeraies villageoises, comme l'association des cultures vivrières dans les jeunes palmeraies, l'absence de fertilisation minérale durant tout le cycle de culture et l'exportation de tout ou partie de la biomasse recyclable, nous interrogent sur la durabilité du système de production. L'étude a été conduite dans le département du Plateau au sud-est du Bénin (2°30 - 2°45 E et 6°35 - 7°45 N). Une première étape de diagnostic de typologie des palmeraies a permis de constater que les palmeraies villageoises appartiennent majoritairement à des petits producteurs dont les faibles moyens financiers ne permettent pas de planter de grandes superficies, ni d'appliquer une fertilisation minérale aux palmiers. Les antécédents culturaux sont pour la plupart des champs de cultures vivrières. Au jeune âge, les palmeraies sont associées à des cultures vivrières très variées. Les pratiques de restitution des sous produits de transformation, limitées à quelques grands producteurs et les modes de gestion des feuilles d'élagage, distinguent les palmeraies villageoises. La gestion des feuilles d'élagage commence à 7 ans d'âge des palmeraies et va d'une restitution quasi-totale en andain à une restitution nulle de ces feuilles au sol.Dans ce contexte, le mode de gestion des feuilles d'élagage dans les palmeraies villageoises peut induire des effets différents sur le système sol-plante, et son impact agronomique et environnemental mérite d'être exploré. A cet effet, la typologie des palmeraies a orienté le choix d'une chronoséquence de palmeraies représentant les deux modes contrastés de gestion des feuilles d'élagage : la restitution totale en andain (RT) et la restitution nulle (RN). Cette chronoséquence a servi aux études comparatives de l'effet de ces modes sur les compartiments sol et plante du système de production.Dans le compartiment sol, les stocks de matière organique, les paramètres physico-chimiques, l'activité microbienne et le statut de la matière organique ont été étudiés. Les études au niveau de la plante ont concerné dans un premier temps les paramètres de développement (densité, longueur et surface) des racines primaires, secondaires et fines. Et dans un second temps, les biomasses et minéralo-masses aériennes de la plante. Les études de biomasse aérienne ont nécessité la mise au point de méthodes non destructrices basées sur des équations allométriques d'estimations des biomasses de la feuille et du tronc. / Smallholder oil palm plantations are taking increasingly importance in tropical areas where the crop contributes significantly to the economy of the countries. In Benin, smallholder oil palm plantations are in expansion in a particular context characterized by high annual water deficits. Smallholder plantations are characterized in particular by the association of food crops with the young palms, the absence of mineral fertilization throughout the growing cycle and the removal of all or part of recyclable biomass. These specific characteristics raise some questions about the sustainability of the production system. The study was conducted in the region of Plateau located in southeast of Benin (2º 30-2º 45 E and 6 ° 35-7 ° 45 N). A first step diagnosis of the plantations' typology showed that small farmers own the major part of plantations. These small farmers have limited financial resources that neither allow them planting large areas nor applying mineral fertilizers. Food crops represent predominantly the previous cropping history of the plantations. The young palm trees are always associated with various food crops. Practices of mill residues recycling, limited to a few large producers, and the management of pruned fronds distinguish the smallholder plantations. Management of pruned fronds starts at 7 years old of the palm plantation. There are various ways of management of pruned fronds, from total recycling (RT) to no recycling at all (RN).In this context, the management of pruned oil palm fronds in smallholder plantations may induce different effects on the soil-plant system, and its agronomic and environmental impact deserves to be investigated. For this purpose, the typology of plantations allows to choose a chronosequence of palm plantations representing two contrasting ways of managing pruned fronds: RT of fronds piles and RN practices. This chronosequence was used to compare the effect of management of pruned fronds on soil and plant compartments.In the soil compartment, organic matter stocks, chemical parameters, microbial activity and status of organic matter were studied. The studies at the plant level concerned, first, the development parameters (density, length and surface area) of primary, secondary and thin roots; and second, the above ground biomass and mineral-mass of the plant. The studies of the aboveground biomass required to develop non-destructive methods based on allometric equations to estimate biomass of frond and trunk.On the agronomic view, the RT practice after 10 years of fronds recycling induced a significant effect on soil fertility parameters. Organic matter and nitrogen stocks at 0-50 cm depth increased by 70% and 50%, respectively, under frond piles compared to inter-rows without fronds. Surprisingly, the RN practice did not induce a decrease of organic matter stock over time. The increase of carbon and nitrogen stocks after 10 years of fronds recycling, improved soil parameters on the first 20 cm depth. The soil was enriched in organic matter (20gC.kg -1) and nitrogen (1.5gN.kg -1). The sum of exchangeable cations and cationic exchange capacity reached average values (7meq.100g -1) two times higher than the cases of no recycling of fronds. Calcium and magnesium contents increased while potassium contents are very low. The pH increased to 0.5 units and the soil shifted from acid to slightly acid status. Total recycling of fronds induced an increased soil microbial activity witch changed the quality of soil organic matter. So, the carbon content of fine organic fractions (< 20μm) increased to 40% at 0-5 cm and to 15% at 20-30 cm, compared to the no recycling of pruned fronds.

Rural people in the Sahel derive multiple benefits from local ecosystem services on a daily basis. At the same time, a large proportion of the population lives in multidimensional poverty. The global sustainability challenge is thus manifested in its one extreme here, with a strong need to improve human well-being without degrading the landscapes that people depend on. To address this challenge, knowledge on how local people interact with their landscapes, and how this changes over time, must be improved. An ecosystem services approach, focusing on benefits to people from ecosystem processes, is useful in this context. However, methods for assessing ecosystem services that include local knowledge while addressing a scale relevant for development interventions are lacking. In this thesis, such methods are developed to study Sahelian landscapes through an ecosystem services lens. The thesis is focused on village landscapes and is based on in-depth fieldwork in six villages in northern Burkina Faso. In these villages, participatory methods were used to identify social-ecological patches (landscape units that correspond with local descriptions of landscapes, characterized by a combination of land use, land cover and topography), the provisioning ecosystem services generated in each social-ecological patch, and the benefits from ecosystem services to livelihoods (Paper I). In Paper II, change in cover of social-ecological patches mapped on aerial photographs and satellite images from the period 1952-2016 was combined with population data and focus group discussions to evaluate change in generation of ecosystem services over time. In Paper III, up-scaling of the village scale assessment to provincial scale was done through the development of a classification method to identify social-ecological patches on medium-resolution satellite images. Paper IV addresses the whole Sudano-Sahelian climate zone of West Africa, to analyze woody vegetation as a key component for ecosystem services generation in the landscape. It is based on a systematic review of which provisioning and regulating ecosystem services are documented from trees and shrubs on agricultural lands in the region. Social-ecological patches and associated sets of ecosystem services are very similar in all studied villages across the two regions. Most social-ecological patches generate multiple ecosystem services with multiple benefits, illustrating a multifunctional landscape (Paper I). The social-ecological patches and ecosystem services are confirmed at province level in both regions, and the dominant social-ecological patches can be mapped with high accuracy on medium-resolution satellite images (Paper III). The potential generation of cultivated crops has more or less kept up with population growth in the villages, while the potential for other ecosystem services, particularly firewood, has decreased per capita (Paper II). Trees and shrubs contribute with multiple ecosystem services, but their landscape effects, especially on regulating ecosystem services, must be better studied (Paper IV). The thesis provides new insights about the complex and multi-functional landscapes of rural Sahel, nuancing dominating narratives on environmental change in the region. It also provides new methods that include local knowledge in ecosystem services assessments, which can be up-scaled to scales relevant for development interventions, and used to analyze changes in ecosystem services over time. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p><p> </p>

Food insecurity is a condition of insufficient access to quality nutritious food; it is often rooted in shocks that interrupt the food production/distribution system in an area. Amidst the capabilities of Nigeria's agricultural system, the number of households across Nigeria experiencing food shortages has increased rapidly. The main reason for this increase were price shocks. This incident highlighted a huge vulnerability in Nigeria's food system, the vulnerability to price shocks. Incidences such as poverty and conflicts magnify the frequency of food insecurity. The ability to reduce vulnerabilities while addressing existing issues in food production and supply depends on a stable economy and innovative policy. As a major oil exporter, Nigeria's economy is affected by oil price fluctuations. This paper analyses the extent of the effect and how such volatility could increase vulnerability in the food system. The analysis in this treatise examines economic and agricultural factors to identify trends that negatively affect Nigeria's current food system.. Oil prices were significant in explaining variation in food price shocks and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Food price shocks are one of the symptoms of economic downturns. Agricultural innovation, and economic policies need to be formulated to prevent such shocks in the future. Given the dependency of economic performance on oil prices, a major move would be to diversify the Nigerian economy; with adequate attention being paid to agriculture.

The Government of Malawi, through delegates from the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, has on several occasions advised smallholder farmers who live in flood prone areas to relocate to upland areas that are safe from floods. Smallholder farmers have refused to do so and continue to live in the flood prone areas despite experiencing on-going flooding. Smallholder farmers living in flood prone areas in Malawi insist that flash floods bring fertile soils from upland areas that enhance crop production in the flood prone areas. These fertile soils allow smallholder farmers to grow a variety of crops, fruits and vegetables throughout the year, some of which they sell. Within this context, my research critically explores how smallholder farmers perceive their vulnerability to floods and seeks to understand the factors and processes that motivate them to live in the flood prone areas. It also examines the realities and dynamics of local adaptation in the flood prone areas in Malawi through opportunities, challenges, barriers and limitations. The research uses 57 in-depth interviews, a household survey involving 227 households, participant observations and 12 focus group discussions with smallholder farmers. Findings show that firstly, smallholder farmers are not ready to abandon their land and relocate upland because floods are part of their lives and livelihood strategies. Secondly, that power dynamics at household and community levels based on gender roles and culture need to be understood and accounted for in local adaptation strategies in order to effectively enhance local adaptive capacity. Thirdly, that social networks and interdependence between the smallholder farmers living in flood prone areas and those living in upland areas play a significant role in the adoption of local adaptation strategies and adaptation to floods and droughts through temporary migration. This thesis reveals that the perception and extent of vulnerability to floods is dynamic and differentiated based on several factors. The thesis also reveals that local adaption is a complex process such that in some cases, the realities of power dynamics at both the household and community level affects local adaptive capacity to floods. Transformational adaptation that incorporates specific and contextual adaptation strategies is therefore recommended as one of the best approaches towards achieving successful adaptation to climate variability and resilience.

Thesis (M.Sc. Agric. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Agriculture is the backbone and a very important sector of the South African economy. This is because it provides food and employment to a lot of people in the country especially those living in the rural areas. Smallholder farmers also play an important role in livelihood creation and also alleviation of poverty among the population in Limpopo province, but despite this, their productivity is low. A decline in agricultural productivity reduces market access resulting from low quality and quantity of produce by smallholder farmers which invariably affect their accessibility to market. This study therefore examined the determinants of market access and productivity among smallholder maize farmers in Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality using the Probit model and Cobb Douglass production functions. While the Probit regression model was used to analyse the effect of socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder maize farmers on market access, the Cobb Douglass production function was used to examine the determinants of productivity among the farmers in the study area. The results of the Probit regression analysis indicated that farm size, hired labour and maize produced per hectare had positive significant influence on probability of farmers accessing markets. Farm size and maize produced per hectare were statistically significant at 1% and hired labour was statistically significant at 5%. The results of Cobb Douglas Production Function indicated that the elasticities of market access, farm experience, fertilizers, capital and membership of association were significant and positive. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that farmers should be provided with market infrastructure and marketing information services. This will help the farmers in a way that the transaction cost will be minimised and farmers will not incur more cost when they participate in the markets. Farmers in the study area indicated that transportation cost is the major challenge facing them. This is because of the poor conditions of roads in the study area. Therefore, the study recommends that there should be inputs subsidy that helps farmers to improve their productivity.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agriculture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / The study was designed to establish the impact of irrigation schemes on job creation and also from the jobs created to differentiate permanent from temporary jobs. The focus of the study was on three smallholder irrigation schemes (Mabunda, Mariveni and Seloane, the irrigation schemes are located in Greater Giyani, Greater Tzaneen and Ba- Phalaborwa municipalities respectively). For the purpose of the study, Mabunda will be addressed as scheme 1, Mariveni as Scheme 2 and Seloane will be addressed as Scheme 3.The main crops cultivated in the three irrigation schemes are citrus, coupled with vegetables to generate funds when citrus is out of season. The study employed a case study approach and used both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data. The study was implemented in two phases: the first phase focused on irrigation scheme participants, while the second phase focused on the community structures (livestock committee, youth, water committee and tribal council) that have been affected by the establishment of the irrigation schemes. Data was collected from the irrigation schemes beneficiaries and community structures by means of a structured questionnaire. No random selection method was used in the selection of irrigation scheme beneficiaries. This was influenced by the small number of beneficiaries in the three schemes (56).It was only the community structures that were randomly selected. One hundred and five (105) people were interviewed representing different structures in all three villages. Out of this figure thirty five(35) people were interviewed per village. Data collected was organized into themes for analysis. Data was analyzed manually, where the coded questionnaires were recorded into a spread sheet. The process of analysis was carried out by using qualitative description and descriptive statistics. Data was manually analysed and the output was discussed using tabulation and cross-tabulation of variables with percentages in descriptive statistics. From the spread sheet data was summarized manually. For the period 2006 to 2009, the irrigation schemes anticipated to create 42 permanent job opportunities with the exception of 2006 where the projected jobs were 32. For the same period, the following temporary job opportunities were anticipated: 121 in 2006,236 in 2008, 240 in 2010, 234 in 2012,233 in 2014 and 232 in 2016. The irrigation schemes also anticipated to inject the monetary value into the community in the form of basic salaries. In 2006, R839,996.76 was injected into the community in the form of salaries, 2008 – R1,509,060.33, 2010 – R1,775,531.58,from 2012 – 2018. R2,045,130.36, R2,381,396.14 and R2,772,145.45 injected into the community respectively, while the divisional management team were expected to receive, R27,525, R36,800, R35,920, R43,857 and R54,118 in the form of performance bonuses, in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 respectively. The actual permanent jobs created for the period 2005 to 2009 in Scheme 1, an average of 64.6 (the anticipated was 42), while the actual temporary jobs created averaged 395. Scheme 2, managed to create an average of 86 permanent jobs and 197 temporary jobs, while the anticipated was 42 and 240 respectively. In Scheme 3, averages of 74 permanent jobs were created while 55.4 temporary jobs were created. The irrigation schemes created more jobs than anticipated. This was influenced by the high rate of unemployment in the villages located next to the irrigation schemes and the irrigation schemes as the only job providers closer to the villages. Temporary workers are paid performance based salaries. For the period 2005 to 2009, they were paid as follows: in 2005, they were paid R0.35 per bag of oranges harvested. The actual salary earned per month was informed by the number of bags harvested for that particular month. The following years the salary was increased by five cent per bag. Permanent workers were paid an average salary of R2400.00 per month. The study recommended that the roads leading to the three irrigation schemes should be maintained to minimize fruit damage during transportation to the market. The schemes should also be financially assisted to acquire own farm equipment (tractors, trailers and trucks) and be trained on the maintenance of these equipment to reduce acquiring services from the private service providers. The three irrigation schemes use private transport to carry their produce to the market and they are charged for this service, hence, the acquisition of own transport is necessary.