The contribution of own food production to the nutrition of households in two neighbouring, rural, semi-arid settlements was investigated. A survey of a 10% probability sample (n=131) of households in Sekuruwe and Ga-Molekane in the Mokgalakwena Local Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa, conducted in 2001, provided data on household composition, income (cash and kind), poverty status, expenditure and agriculture, including a detailed account of the types and quantities of food that were purchased during the month preceding the date of the interview. For each household the food obtained from the different types of agriculture they practised was quantified. Protein, iron and Vitamins A and C were selected as indicators to assess the contribution of purchased and own produced food to the food intake of households. Food composition tables were used to estimate the nutrient content of the different foods. To assess the contribution of irrigated home gardening to food intake of households, Drum & Drip micro-irrigation systems which enabled irrigated vegetable production on an area of 36 m2 were installed on the residential sites of 10 volunteer households in the study area. The results confirmed that income is the most important determinant of household food security in rural South Africa. However, food obtained from various types of dry-land agriculture contributed significantly to household nutrition and without farming the food security of households would be reduced, especially among the ultra-poor. Small-scale irrigated vegetable production was shown to have the potential to substantially raise the amount of the Vitamins A and C available to households but did not address the lack of protein in the diet of ultra-poor households and the lack of iron in the diet of all households.

Promoting household food security and reducing malnutrition rates of a growing population with the same amount of water is a challenge facing South African nutritionists and agriculturalists alike. Apart from non-food related effects of agriculture in general, the crop and livestock production practices of the South African smallholder farmer may have nutritional implications, primarily when practised on residential land and resulting in home consumption. Yet, few studies have systematically investigated the impact thereof. It appears that crop diversification, gender issues and nutrition education are among the important factors that strengthen the link between agriculture and nutrition. Since food production is the most water-intensive activity in society, nutritional water productivity (i.e. nutrition per volume water) of foods and the nutritional water footprint of diets should be investigated in order to achieve a sustainable solution. This implies that both the demand for a diet consisting predominantly of water-productive plant products, as well as the supply thereof, be addressed.

The contribution of own food production to the nutrition of households in two neighbouring, rural, semi-arid settlements was investigated. A survey of a 10% probability sample (n=131) of households in Sekuruwe and Ga-Molekane in the Mokgalakwena Local Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa, conducted in 2001, provided data on household composition, income (cash and kind), poverty status, expenditure and agriculture, including a detailed account of the types and quantities of food that were purchased during the month preceding the date of the interview. For each household the food obtained from the different types of agriculture they practised was quantified. Protein, iron and Vitamins A and C were selected as indicators to assess the contribution of purchased and own produced food to the food intake of households. Food composition tables were used to estimate the nutrient content of the different foods. To assess the contribution of irrigated home gardening to food intake of households, Drum & Drip micro-irrigation systems which enabled irrigated vegetable production on an area of 36 m2 were installed on the residential sites of 10 volunteer households in the study area. The results confirmed that income is the most important determinant of household food security in rural South Africa. However, food obtained from various types of dry-land agriculture contributed significantly to household nutrition and without farming the food security of households would be reduced, especially among the ultra-poor. Small-scale irrigated vegetable production was shown to have the potential to substantially raise the amount of the Vitamins A and C available to households but did not address the lack of protein in the diet of ultra-poor households and the lack of iron in the diet of all households.

The research attempted to demystify the Zimbabwean land reform that was spear headed by war veterans’ in Zimbabwe. This research investigated the impact of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in 2000 on Household Food Security. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve Household Food Security. To verify that assertion the research used questionnaires in a survey research design. The questionnaires were administered to 322 household heads that had been selected by the random stratified sampling method in Mutare District. The results established that Household Food Security in Mutare District improved after the implementation of the FTLRP. The national grain storage however was depleted because the new farmers reduced the production levels set by the former white farmers. The research therefore recommends an orderly and sustainable transition of Land Reform in future programmes to enhance national grain reserves. This also further improves the Household Food Security.

The aim of this study is to investigate the outcomes of the Land Consolidation Programme (LCP) in household food productivity. The implementation of the 2004 Rwandan National Land Policy (which incorporates LCP) has been one of the Rwandan government strategic attempts to improve the livelihood of the Rwandans. In this study we look at some of the social-economic factorsbenefited by household farmers through the LCP since its implementation in 2007. In Sub-Saharan Africa many people depend on land for their livelihood and consequently, one of the obvious negative impacts has been the fragmentation of land. Historically the customary land management, in which inheritance is the major mode of land acquisition, has been the main way of allocating land in African societies. This communal tenure is viewed as unstable and leads to detrimental implications, in the form of mismanagement and overexploitation of the available land. The demographic pressure has also aggravated the issue of land scarcity and land fragmentation. The latter has consequences on agricultural productivity since it makes harder the efficient use of land. In this study the researcher explores the outcomes of the LCP in Rwanda as a type of land reform that aims at preventing fragmentation of land and enhancing the livelihood of household farmers. For achieving this objective, the study used a case study of household farmers from Gisenyi village of Bugesera district (in Rwanda) who are involved in the LCP since its implementation. Empirical data was obtained through in-depth interviews with 20 household farmers and 8 key informants. The emphasis in the study was put on investigating the state of household food productivity in Gisenyi. The study was guided by the property right theory and its basic conceptual assumption of enhancing the income through credit access. The findings of the study demonstrate that household farmers in Gisenyi village have benefited from the LCP. Household farmers confirmed that agricultural productivity has increased due to the new farming techniques brought by the programme. The study concludes that once the programme is properly and fully implemented, the LCP will highly enhance food self-sufficiency situation in Rwanda, improving also the livelihood of rural areas through other benefits such as infrastructure development.

The research attempted to demystify the Zimbabwean land reform that was spear headed by war veterans’ in Zimbabwe. This research investigated the impact of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in 2000 on Household Food Security. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve Household Food Security. To verify that assertion the research used questionnaires in a survey research design. The questionnaires were administered to 322 household heads that had been selected by the random stratified sampling method in Mutare District. The results established that Household Food Security in Mutare District improved after the implementation of the FTLRP. The national grain storage however was depleted because the new farmers reduced the production levels set by the former white farmers. The research therefore recommends an orderly and sustainable transition of Land Reform in future programmes to enhance national grain reserves. This also further improves the Household Food Security.

The objective of this dissertation is to document the lived experience of mothering in poverty and the unique challenges the role of mother presents to maintaining food security. Millions of households in the United States are struggling to put food on the table, a problem made worse by the current economic recession and high food prices. Among them, households with children and specifically, single mothers, report the highest prevalence of food insecurity. While Federal food assistance programs are available to help alleviate this issue, the continued problem of hunger is a very real and pervasive concern for millions of American families. While there is a robust and comprehensive scholarly body of work focused on food security and nutrition, this study fills an important gap in the literature. By describing the unique social and cultural circumstances that accompany the transition to motherhood in a low-income setting, I connect the lived experienced of mothering with vulnerability to food insecurity. This is framed within the underlying assumption that the related experiences of expectant mothering and caring for an infant impart different risk factors for food insecurity. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine its objectives. These include semi-structured ethnographic interviews, participant observation, surveys and questionnaires and foodscape analysis. The mixed method design allowed for a holistic examination of the lived experience of mothers through narrative analysis, the visual representation of their foodscape through community mapping, and the triangulation of findings through administered surveys and questionnaires. The primary findings of this dissertation include identification of social, cultural and geographic patterns of maternal isolation among low-income women and their impact on food security. Results of this study indicate that the unique demands of mothering in a low-income setting present challenges to maintaining food security. Gaps in services provided to low-income mothers to address food insecurity were identified to include improving the social connectedness of expectant and new mothers. This study is intended to reach a wide target audience including students, practitioners, anthropological colleagues and policymakers. In an effort to translate the findings of this study into practical recommendations for action, the author calls for more research into the issue of maternal isolation and for policy initiatives to recognize the unique role mothering plays in contributing to household food security status.

Climate variability threatens agricultural productivity and household food security, amongst small-scale farmers of South Africa. Managing climate variability is challenging due to the variation of climate parameters and the difficulty in making decisions under such conditions. Integrated seasonal forecast information and crop models have been used as a tool that enhances decision making in some countries. Utilization of such an approach in South Africa can enhance decision making in climate variability management. The study therefore sought to formulate a decision-making approach to enhance climate variability management in small-scale farming systems of South Africa through integrating seasonal forecast information and crop models. Current practices, challenges and opportunities for climate variability management by different small-scale farmer types were identified using focus group discussions and local agricultural extension officers. The Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) model-based forecasts were integrated with the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) v4.7, a mechanistic crop model based on the Global Climate Model (GCM) approach. The GCM approach was the most appropriate technique for integrating seasonal forecast information and the crop model due to the compatibility in the forecast and crop model format. The decision-making process was formulated through assessing the simulation yield patterns under a range of farm management practices and seasonal forecasts for different cropping seasons, crops and farmer types for Limpopo and Eastern Cape, South Africa for 2017/18 season. The study assessed 48 different potential combinations of farm management practices: organic amendments, varieties, fertilizers and irrigation. Benefits of the decision formulation process and specific seasonal forecast-based recommendations were then assessed in the context of the performance of the practices under historical measured data for the conditions; 2011-2017, using percentile ranking. Assessing the yield response patterns under different farm management practices and seasonal forecasts (2017/2018), the study realized a range of decision scenarios. These are (1) low decision capacity and low climate sensitivity where there is low value for decision due to the homogeneous performance of the different management practices given climate forecasts. (2) high decision capacity and low climate sensitivity, where there is higher potential value for decision making as the different practices have uniform performance across climate forecasts. (3) High decision capacity and high climate sensitivity, where the good response to change in practices under changing climate forecasts. Confidence in the decision formulation process v was re-enforced as some of the decision scenarios were also realized under different conditions in the period; 2011-17. The scenario (2): High decision capacity and low climate sensitivity was predominant in locations with low forecast skill. In contrast the scenario (3): High decision capacity and high climate sensitivity was predominant in locations with high forecast skill. The decision formulation process allows for assessment of farm management practices in the seasonal forecast decision space. Although the case study realized some scenarios ahead of others, the process is robust and repeatable under any conditions. Although the process does not always offer recommendation with improved value for decision making, the value of recommendations is greater under decision scenarios with greater decision capacity. Such benefits are crop and location dependent. Improved seasonal forecasting skill increases reliability of the decision-making process, decision scenarios and associated recommendations. Such assertions need to be tested on the field scale to assess their practical feasibility.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3221/2016/v44n1a371 / Rural poverty is a major challenge in most developing countries especially in Africa where the majority of people are still living below the poverty datum line. In Zimbabwe, poverty is made more severe by occasional droughts associated with climate change, climate variability and failed socio-economic-political governance. One of the ways to mitigate the impact of drought and prevent deepening poverty is the introduction of small irrigation schemes. However, there is a raging debate on the social and economic viability of these schemes on household livelihood security and income. This paper aims at investigating the socio-economic impacts of Lower Gweru Irrigation project in Zimbabwe. A case study approach was used in this study. Primary data was gathered using self-administered questionnaire and complemented by secondary data. Results demonstrated that rural irrigation has a critical role in ensuring sustainable household and community income. Irrigators fared well regarding wealth accumulation, household food security and quality of life as measured through the use of standardised HDI. In light of the above, there is a need to fund and develop more rural irrigation schemes so as to ensure livelihood security and rural development in Zimbabwe. Keywords: Rural livelihood, Poverty, Climate change, Irrigation, Lower

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Geography, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-60).