Includes bibliographical references / This thesis explores the tensions between biodiversity conservation and agricultural development in a legal context in Rwanda, a small and poor African developing country. It does so against the backdrop of relevant international conventions, the relatively recent constitutional dispensation in the country as well as the land reform process which has been underway in the country over the last few decades. Partly based on the findings of an empirical study, the core of the work outlines, examines and critically assesses relevant domestic Rwandan policies, laws and institutions focusing on areas of particular concern namely the laws applicable to the conservation of soil, water and genetic resources in agriculture, including conservation of crop and livestock diversity. The conclusions and recommendations are embedded in the need for policies, laws and institutions to accommodate the increase in agricultural production to eradicate hunger, alleviate poverty as well as recognition of the interlinkages between agricultural development and biodiversity conservation. The study concludes that Rwandan laws are inadequate in that they have been disparately and inefficiently developed, that agricultural development and biodiversity policies be revised to aim at sustainable agricultural development and that a coordinated institutional framework with full involvement of all concerned stakeholders and appreciation of local knowledge and sustainable agricultural practices is required. Specific legal, policy and institutional shortfalls are highlighted including lack of implementing regulations; omission of necessary legislative provisions on key areas in the biodiversity and agricultural sectors and others. The work concludes by making specific recommendations and proposals to reconcile the need to promote agricultural development while facilitating biodiversity conservation and ultimately sustainable development.

In 1996, the South African government embarked on a process of land reform. The land reform programme has been driven by three pillars, namely: (i) Land Restitution, (ii) Land Tenure Reform and (iii) Land Redistribution. The two first pillars of land reform, as well as the first sub-programme (The SLAG) of the Land Redistribution programme delivered disappointing results. By December 2004, eight years since the programme was introduced, land reform had only transferred an area of 3.4% of white commercial agricultural land to Blacks, against a set target of 30% by 2014. Other disappointing results include: <ul> <li> Over-congestion of crowds on small sections of land</li> <li> Providing cash compensation as opposed to land itself</li> <li> Failure to ensure productivity among transferred farms</li> </ul> In 2001, Government introduced a new sub-programme under the Redistribution programme, called Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD). This programme was regarded as a flagship programme for the DLA; firstly for its flexible funding structure; secondly, for its focus on commercially orientated agricultural projects; and thirdly, for its perceived capacity to transfer land at a higher pace. Although the LRAD belonged to the Department of Land Affairs (now called the Department of Rural Development and Land Affair), in the initial stage of the programme, three institutions became involved in its implementation, namely: The Land and Agricultural Development of South Africa (referred to as the Land Bank), the provincial departments of Land Affairs, as well as the provincial departments of Agriculture. Just four years after its inception the LRAD programme received negative media coverage and this included the following: <ul> <li> The collapse and failure of some of LRAD projects;</li> <li> Lack of productivity among some of the already transferred LRAD projects;</li> <li> Conflict among LRAD beneficiaries, leading to the squandering and misappropriation of government resources on farms; <li> Problems of budget deficit; and the</li> <li> Collapse of the relationship between the Land Bank and the DLA.</li> </ul> The above signalled potential elements of failure on the part of LRAD programme. There is, however, a reality that the reasons for failure are not well-understood and that a study to analyse this in detail could assist in streamlining the delivery of this programme. The objectives of the study are threefold: <ul> <li> Firstly; as in line with the objectives of LRAD, to investigate if the already transferred LRAD farms are productive;</li> <li> Secondly; to establish the factors hampering productivity on the transferred farms; and</li> <li> Thirdly; by using the initial involvement of the Land Bank as a control, to assess if LRAD is well-placed within the DLA.</li> </ul> Two sets of methodologies have been used. The first method involved collecting files and records from the DLA and the Land Bank, and performing financial and descriptive analyses on LRAD beneficiaries. In the second approach, a survey was conducted among a sample of transferred LRAD farms, in order to assess the level of productivity on the farms, as well as to interview beneficiaries with regard to the challenges they are facing on the farms. The study established the main factors hampering productivity on the farms. Although many factors have been cited as factors hampering productivity, beneficiaries listed the following as the three most important factors hampering productivity on the farms: <ul> <li> Insufficient or no tractors and implements (16 projects out of 37, constituting 43%)</li> <li> Conflict among members (12 projects, 32%)</li> <li> Poor coordination between the DLA and the Land Bank (19 projects, 51%)</li> </ul> Comparison between the Land Bank and the DLA clients, points out that those of the Land Bank are performing better than those of the DLA. Financial and descriptive analysis carried out among 308 LRAD cases identified the Land Bank loan as an important proportion of funding towards the purchase of land. LRAD in its current institutional design (structure and policy) is not suitable for the poor. The objectives of the LRAD programme are too many where a significant number of them appear irrelevant. These objectives should be reviewed. While the DLA does not have the right capacity (experienced personnel, ITC systems for monitoring and evaluations, infrastructure etc) to run with LRAD, the Land Bank has been found to be unsuitable as its policies discriminates against the poor. Both the policies (selection and qualifying criteria, early and after care institutional support, own contribution and security, etc.) and implementation strategies of the Land Bank and the DLA must be reviewed to reflect a strategic intend that is geared towards sustaining agricultural development among black emerging farmers in South Africa. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

No description available.

Increased access to communications infrastructure is theorized to influence both the productiveness of the agricultural sector and the direction of technical change. The purpose of this thesis is to empirically examine the effects of the level of communications infrastructure on agricultural production and the direction of technical change. A Cobb-Douglas production function was used to estimate an inter-country production function for fifty developing countries over a fifteen year period, 1970 to 1985. The production function estimates were then used to assess the influence of the communications variables, roads and radios, on the level of agricultural production and the direction of technical change. Increased levels of radios and roads increased the level of agricultural production in developing countries. Increased levels of radios did not significantly affect technical change. However, increased levels of roads led to an increase in the labor-saving bias associated with research expenditures. / Master of Science

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The research investigated the challenges faced by emerging farmers in managing projects towards sustainable agricultural development in Capricorn District. The literature established the importance of project management in the context of sustainable agricultural development. In this regard, it was found that it is of extreme importance to support emerging farmers in managing agricultural projects where emerging farmers are engaged through a participatory approach in decision making processes for sustainable agricultural development. Further, this research seeks to investigate the factors that hinder project management from influencing emerging farmers to manage and sustain the agricultural projects in the area of the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were distributed to the selected sample within the target population. The purposive sampling method was used to select the 16 project officers for interviews while questionnaires were distributed randomly for 30 emerging farmers in the Molemole and Polokwane Municipalities. The findings of the study suggest that most emerging farmers and project officers think that the lack of resources and training hamper the management and sustainability of agricultural projects. To conclude, it is expected that the recommendations will highlight strategies and policies that could be put in place to accelerate the management of agricultural projects and their sustainability in the Capricorn District.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the role of communication and information management in inter-institutional collaboration and review aspects that are crucial for partnerships to function effectively in a multi-stakeholder situation. These aspects include: stakeholders, stakeholder analysis, partnership development and its fundamental values and principles, communication analysis, information and knowledge management and management of conflicts. The study seeks to explore the influence of these aspects for partnership development and sustainability respectively. / Thesis (M.Agric.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, PIetermaritzburg, 2007.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis reviews the role that contract farming plays in the development process through an examination of the oil palm industry in Ghana and in the Philippines. It contributes to ongoing debates concerning agricultural liberalisation in developing economies. The general view is that while the private sector can provide access to capital, technology and markets, the transition to a market-led system will increase the financial vulnerability of farmers, particularly smallholder farmers, through unequal power relationships. Of particular concern is the capacity of the private sector to alleviate poverty and promote social equity amongst small rural landholders. At the heart of much of the debate is the issue of contract farming, which has increased rapidly in line with structural adjustment in the agricultural sector. One of the central difficulties in drawing any conclusion on whether contract farming should be encouraged or discouraged, is the lack of comparability between the large number of types of schemes, crops being contracted, the `actors' involved and the socio-economic, political and institutional environments in which contract farming schemes are nurtured. This study has focused on the role that contract farming plays in the pursuit of development through an analysis of the key socio-economic issues involved with the adaptation of contract farming in the oil palm industries in the Philippines and in Ghana. This analysis allowed for the identification of conditions under which the impacts of contract farming schemes can either be augmented or mitigated. The research found that cultivating oil palm has the propensity to reward outgrowers with increasing income and a better access to knowledge, information and technology, capital and credit, agricultural inputs, markets and other services. ... The two outgrower programs are presently successful and do not show signs of the major problems identified by researchers in other areas. However, both governments need to ensure that a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for private sector agricultural development is put in place. A strong private sector could provide the vehicle for agricultural development and the reduction of poverty in the countryside, however, both governments and the various private sector companies engaged in oil palm production need to work in partnership with each other and the outgrower community towards the goal of a diversified and expanded agricultural production base.

M.A. (Public Management and Governance) / This study sought to assess the main outcomes of the 2003 Maputo Declaration encapsulating the political decision of the Heads of State of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), within the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), to allocate at least 10% of national public budgets to the agriculture sector. The scope of the assessment included the levels, composition, efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures in the agriculture sector. For this reason, the study not only sought to find out the calibration of the levels and quantities of resources allocated to, or spent in the agriculture sector, but also undertook a diagnosis of the composition and patterns in resource allocations and expenditures in the agriculture sector. The study, designed in form of an exploratory and pilot research, was conducted in two African countries (Rwanda and Malawi) and adopted an orientation towards discovering ideas and insights – not for purposes of coming up with final answers or decisions, but rather for providing a better understanding of the situation to inform the construction of larger research efforts. Specifically, the study aimed to: i) determine the patterns in public agriculture allocations and expenditure after the Maputo Declaration; ii) to identify the factors that determine or influence the levels and composition of budgetary allocations and expenditure in the public agricultural sector. From the population frame comprising all 54 member states of the African Union, a purposive stratified sampling method was employed to select the two countries. A judicious blend of qualitative and quantitative methods and attendant techniques was employed in data collection and analysis. Qualitative information was collected largely using a literature review and participatory research methods, such as semi-structured interviews with key informants. On the other hand, quantitative information was collected using a suite of methods and tools, such as simple questionnaires administered among specific country respondents. Anecdotal evidence drawn from literature review showed that Malawi allocates well above the 10% CAADP target for its national resources to agriculture, while Rwanda, in spite of being the first country on the continent to sign the CAADP Compact, allocates less than 10% of its public resources to the sector. The research, undertaking a deeper analysis revealed that Malawi exhibited consistent increases in the percentages of agricultural expenditure as a share of the national expenditure for the entire period under study (2000 to 2013), except in 2002/03 and in 2008/09. In fact, there is evidence that Malawi spent over 30% of its national resources on agriculture, although this percentage declined to 24.7% in the subsequent year. Most of Malawi’s expenditure is explained by the thrust that the government had placed on farm-input subsidies. It is also noteworthy that a significant proportion of Malawi’s agriculture budget (about 80%) is funded by external donors. The research revealed that the expectations of agriculture’s contribution to the growth and development of the national economy forms part of the major explanations behind the gigantic proportions of the national budget allocated to the agricultural sector. This is consistent with findings of another study that showed that show that agricultural-led economic growth has a greater impact on poverty reduction than does the same level of growth driven by non-agricultural sectors. Rwanda exhibited clearly different trends in agriculture expenditure from those exhibited by Malawi; with the exception of a spike recorded in 2001-2002, the subsequent periods all the way to the year 2006 show a consistent decline in expenditure. This study revealed that the share of agriculture expenditure in the national total fell from 8.6% recorded in 2002 to 3.3% in 2006. The patterns in agriculture budget allocations and public expenditure in Rwanda continued to drop and, in the best case scenario, the allocation patterns stagnated. The reasons for the drop before 2007 are unclear. However, Rwanda registered a consistent rise in public expenditure in the agricultural sector after 2007, both in absolute and relative terms. It is recalled that Rwanda was the first country on the continent to sign the CAADP Compact in 2007.

M.A. / The success of participation in research for development depends upon its ability to change power relations in the development setting. The central problem adressed by this study is the question whether participatory methodologies are able to change power relations. A case study is made of the Tshikonelo irrigation scheme of the Agricultural Corporation of Venda, now called the Agricultural and Rural Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd. This case study identifies obstacles relevant to developmental interventions which cast a critical light upon the claims of participatory methodologies. The following methodologies are discussed: Action Research, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and the Actor-oriented perspective on rural development. The origin of the methodologies that use participation in research is located in the use of social scientific knowledge for development. Consequently, the use of social scientific knowledge is fundamental to the realisation of Participatory Development. This relationship problematises the role of social scientific knowledge for the development process, as social scientific knowledge for development cannot be limited to the context of the development project, and its ability to critique development efforts should be primary. Action Research is relevant to intervention if collaboration with other similar projects is possible. The focal point of this methodology is the degree to which Apartheid and the accompanying strategy of "Separate Development" continues to affect the lives and activities of the farmers involved in the Tshikonelo project. In this respect, it can be used to disseminate alternative agricultural techniques. This approach is important as it can bring about changes in the agricultural establishment. PRA is a positive contribution to the field by virtue of the innovative way in which it approaches development problems. The efficacy of PRA, however, depends upon factors that are external to the project context, such as the receptivity of the agricultural and development establishment to the participation of small farmers in the research process. Problems with PRA are highlighted which run parallel to the problematics of the use of social scientific knowledge for the development process. The strength of the Actor-oriented perspective lies mainly in the possibility of exposing the hidden power relations and dynamics of the irrigation project. As such, it has a unique and important role to play vis-à-vis the other methodologies, with regard to intervention in this project. A debate is constructed between the methodologies in question, covering the following: The degree of homogeneity of target groups; the "vision" of what participatory development should be like; and the identity of the community that has to validate the knowledge under discussion. "Participation" as paradigm for development should be refined in terms of these issues if it is to address deeper methodological problems. It can be seen as a methodological innovation as the community that is responsible for the final validation of knowledge is strange compared to the scientific community. The strategy of participation in development promotes the interests of the participants in two ways. Within the arrangement of how research is done, it promotes the interests of the participants before those of the individual scientist, and it is capable of promoting the interests of marginalised groups in terms of the present political economy. Participatory development is strongly influenced by those participating in the development process and is by no means an easy solution providing a more justifiable establishment.

Community based targeting mechanism has been widely utilized in the delivery of relief interventions and safety nets. In developing countries like Malawi the approach has been championed as the most effective and efficient way of reaching the most vulnerable. However, very little is known on how community based targeting mechanism actually works. Using the Agriculture Input Subsidy programme as a case study, the thesis attempts to explore whether community based targeting lives to its billing of enhancing social capital. The purpose of the study was to examine community perceptions and experiences about community based targeting approach and how it affects social relations and collective actions in the community. The results demonstrate that while communities have the knowledge and capacity to target the most vulnerable, the approach is largely a top down process. The choice on whether to target or not is a delicate balance of social, economic and political factors. Communities largely participate to fulfil or comply with official requirements so that they can cash in from the benefits. However, given a choice communities would largely share resources equally to prevent social costs. Consequently, a targeted programme at national level becomes a universal programme at community level since benefits are largely shared to all community members. The role and influence of social factors in the community based targeting has been largely underestimated in the targeting literature. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.