A research report for the partial fulfillment of Masters degree in the school of Geography and Environmental studies, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2007. / Unable to load abstract

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

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

Thesis (M. A. Agricultural Science (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Maize seeds differ according to varieties. The traditional maize varieties(also referred to as (Landraces)are maize varieties that have been cultivated and subjected to selection by farmers for generations. They retain a distinct identity and lack formal crop improvement. Improved maize varieties, on the other hand, are bred with characteristics such as drought and disease tolerance. This research was conducted to determine the attributes preferred by farmers when making a maize varietal choice. To be specific, the study aimed to achieve the following objectives:(i) Identify and describe socio economic characteristics of smallholder maizefarmers’ in Mogalakwena Municipality;(ii) Analyse socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder maize farmers in Mogalakwena Municipality;(iii)Identify different maize varieties grown by smallholder farmers in Mogalakwena Municipality, and (iv) determine and analyse factors influencing farmers’ choice of a maize variety. Descriptive statistics and the Multinomial Logistic Regression Mode lwere used for data analysis. The results of the study revealed that 64% of the respondents had formal education. This meant that they have the capability to grasp more information, if provided witht rainings. It was found that 75% of the farmers did not have access to extension service which is supposed to play a significant role in agricultural information dissemination. The most grown maize variety was landrace varieties which constituted 59.5%. This percentage was said to be resultant from limited access to the seed market. Infact, 80% of the farmers had to travel an average o f42 kilomteres to access the market which also had a limited number of varieties. The Multinomial Logistic Regression Model revealed that only 5variables (Educational level, farm size, yield, extension contact and knowledge of maize varieties) were significant at 1%, 5%,1 %,1% and1%, respectively. The majority of farmers were old people with little access to extension service andaninad equate farming knowledge which lead to a high percentage of farmers continuing to grow landrace varieties. Based on thef indings, this study recommend further research on attributes that influence farmers varietal choice and Government intervention in provision for resources and development of existing and new infracstrcture to encourage extension service delivery Keywords: Landrace, improve maize variety, smallholder farmer

Thesis (MDev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / Smallholder subsistence agriculture is regarded as an approach that can be adopted by poor rural households to meet their food and nutritional requirements. The practice of smallholder subsistence agriculture is a basis upon which poor households can enhance their household food security through increased incomes and food supply, ultimately generating extra income for other household needs. The present study discusses and analyses the importance of smallholder subsistence agriculture as an effective method easily available to households residing in rural areas to access food and incomes for household purposes. Hence, the study seeks to explore and analyses the role of smallholder subsistence agriculture in contributing to household food security in rural areas. Both primary and secondary data have been used to analyze the factors for the purpose of the study. The primary data were collected through a designed survey questionnaire administered to sampled smallholder subsistence farmers in the study area. This study used purposive sampling technique, through a transect walk, to draw households involved in smallholder subsistence agriculture in Maroteng Village. From the total population in the study area, only 100 households were selected for the purposes of the study. Both descriptive and qualitative techniques were used to analyze salient variables of the practice in order to give an insight of the important role the sector can play in addressing poverty, enhancing incomes and creating employment, consequently contributing to household food security in rural areas. The study shows that the participation on smallholder subsistence farming by households in rural areas could have positive impact on food security situations.

Thesis (M.A. Admin. (Development)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014. / Smallholder subsistence agriculture is regarded as an approach that can be adopted by poor rural households to meet their food and nutritional requirements. The practice of smallholder subsistence agriculture is a basis upon which poor households can enhance their household food security through increased incomes and food supply, ultimately generating extra income for other household needs. The present study discusses and analyses the importance of smallholder subsistence agriculture as an effective method easily available to households residing in rural areas to access food and incomes for household purposes. Hence, the study seeks to explore and analyses the role of smallholder subsistence agriculture in contributing to household food security in rural areas. Both primary and secondary data have been used to analyze the factors for the purpose of the study. The primary data were collected through a designed survey questionnaire administered to sampled smallholder subsistence farmers in the study area. This study used purposive sampling technique, through a transect walk, to draw households involved in smallholder subsistence agriculture in Maroteng Village. From the total population in the study area, only 100 households were selected for the purposes of the study. Both descriptive and qualitative techniques were used to analyze salient variables of the practice in order to give an insight of the important role the sector can play in addressing poverty, enhancing incomes and creating employment, consequently contributing to household food security in rural areas. The study shows that the participation on smallholder subsistence farming by households in rural areas could have positive impact on food security situations.

MSAEC / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

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

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Food insecurity is prevalent in less developing countries and it remains a major issue in South African households, especially among those living in rural areas. Therefore, the study examined the factors influencing food security among small-scale maize farmers in Polokwane Local Municipality. The aim of the study was to assess the factors influencing food security among small-scale maize farmers. The objectives of the study were to: identify and describe the socio-economic characteristics, determine the household food security status, examine factors influencing food security of small-scale maize farmers, and identify the constraints faced by the small-scale maize farmers in ensuring food security. Primary data was collected from a sample size of 150 farmers through wellstructured questionnaires, while HFIAS was used to determine the food security status and Logistic Regression model was employed to analyze the data. The descriptive statistics showed that 56.7% of the participants were females, whereas 43.3% were males. It was further indicated that the average age of youth was 34.2%; whilst 65.8% was average age of adults and 69.3% of the farmers have attended school while 30.7% have never attended school. The HFIAS results showed that 53% of households were food secure and 47% were food insecure which include 16.0% mildly, 21.3% moderately and 9.3% severely food insecure. The logistic regression results revealed that among twelve variables included, only six variables including age of the farmer, educational level, household size, household income, farm size and access to credit were found to have significant relationship to food security status of the farmers. The study therefore recommends that there must be provision of agricultural information that will motivate adults to continue farming. Training of farmers on improving food security should be provided through workshops as well as family planning programmes to reduce family size. Furthermore, there must be expansion of off-farm income generating activities as well as increase in farm size and enhancement in access to credit institutions such as MAFISA, Land bank and Commercial banks that will assist in improving the food security status of the respondents / NSFAS (National Students Financial Aid Scheme) and NRF (National Research Foundation)

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Climate change and variability on a global level is one of the most serious environmental challenges which exacerbates the well-known vulnerability of smallholder farmers. To cushion the shock of climate change, risk management plays a crucial role in farming, and in the same context, insurance positions itself as one of the main risk management instruments available to farmers. However, one of the key reasons to the struggles of smallholder farmers in South Africa is the inability to obtain effective insurance. To this end, the study identified and profiled the socio-economic features of smallholder cattle farmers, identified smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions on components of climate change as sources of risk to cattle production and finally, analysed the determinants of willingness to adopt IBLI among smallholder cattle farmers. A purposive multistage sampling procedure was used to identify 110 smallholder cattle farmers in the Polokwane local Municipality. IBM SPSS version 26 and STATA version 15 was used to analyse the primary cross-sectional data collected through structured questionnaire interviews. Farmers’ perceptions on components of climate change as sources of risk were identified using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA revealed three principal components (PCs) explaining almost 61% of the variance of the original variables (climate change components). Furthermore, about 89% of the sampled farmers were willing to adopt IBLI, while about 11% weren’t willing to adopt and the Probit regression model results revealed that marital status, farming experience, access to extension services, off- farm income and land ownership, farmers’ educational level, household size, experience of livestock loss and farm size significantly influenced willingness to adopt IBLI. Based on the findings of this study, the recommended interventions include workshops for raising IBLI awareness, government subsidy on insurance premiums and finally, increased extension service reach to smallholder cattle farmers. / AgriSETA