The main research problem is the low productivity of small scale maize farmers largely as a result of low adoption rates of recommended practices that could enhance yield levels and improve their incomes and livelihoods, and the inability of extension workers to effectively influence farmers’ decision making process by their lack of appropriate predictive extension planning tools. The problem faced by extension workers is the lack of understanding of the wants and needs of farmers, their preferences and behavioral inclinations towards agricultural innovations. In order to contribute to the understanding of farmers’ behavior change, the study sought to compare the relative influence of personal and social characteristics of farmers with intervening variables as conceptualized by Düvel and Ajzen’s subjective norms, with the objective of determining their predictive potential of farmers behaviors for extension program planning purposes. A secondary objective was to search for additional variables to explain farmer’s adoption behavior by exploring the predictive value of the subjective norm concept The study was carried out in the Leribe and Maluti-a-Phofung districts of Lesotho and South Africa respectively. A structured questionnaire with a Sotho translation was used to collect data from 107 farmers randomly selected from the districts and administered by trained extension staff. The data collected was analyzed using the social sciences (SPSS). In determining the relationships between the independent and dependent variables, Chi-square test of independence, correlation and regressions analysis were used. In all 10 independent and nine intervening variables were selected for the study. The independent variables were location of the farm, membership of farmers association, gender, age, level of education, experience in farming, off-farm income, amount of time spent farming, total farm size and area under maize cultivation. The intervening variables were efficiency perception, need compatibility, need tension, awareness and prominence constituted cognitive aspects derived from Düvel’s Model and the social dimensions adapted from Ajzen’s subjective norm concept were, important people, extension agents, close friends and membership of farmers association. The results suggest that farm size and area under maize cultivation were the only variables that showed any consistent influence with adoption of recommended maize agronomic practices namely: use of improved seeds, lime and fertilizer applications. The association between the remaining variables seems to be more dependent on the type of recommended practice. For example location was found to be significantly associated with the adoption of fertilizer and top-dressing practices but not with lime and the use of improved seed. All the remaining independent variables gender, age, educational level, experience and time spent on the farm appear not to have any significant influence on the adoption of the recommended practices at five percent level of probability. Compared to the independent variables, five out of the nine intervening variables, namely: prominence, awareness, need compatibility, efficiency perception and need tension were consistently found to be highly significantly associated with the adoption of all the four recommended maize agronomic practices at 5% level of probability. On the other hand, the subjective norm variables did not show any consistent association with adoption behaviors of respondents In general the analysis suggest a lower than expected contribution to variation as the results contradicts the hypothesis that farm and farmer characteristics influence adoption behavior. This is supported by the fact that, except for top- dressing where the characteristics of the farmer and farm contribute about 40% to the explanation to total variation, the rest all fall below 20 %. In contrast, the evidence shows that the intervening variables – those with cognitive dimensions, showed a high degree in explaining variation in the adoption behavior in all the production practices studied. The power of explanation ranged from 49% in the case of adoption of improved seed practices to 77.7% for the use of lime. The results provide strong evidence in support of the contention that, the intervening variables of cognitive in nature, are the likely precursors of decision making through which the influence of independent variables become manifested in behavior. The results also show that need, perception and knowledge related variables mediate between intentions, personal variables and the environment and decisions on adoption. This study confirms and opens the way for the search for more intervening variables with the potential to extend the epistemology of extension science. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The near collapse of extension services in Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA) particularly evident in its failure to respond to the needs of the majority of small-scale farmers, presents a major problem from an agricultural and rural development point of view. This calls for an urgent and holistic intervention, in terms of an appropriate extension approach and policy, and prompted this research focusing on the search and development of an appropriate extension approach and corresponding policy for the LDA. For such a policy to be acceptable at the operational level, the emphasis has been on maximum involvement and participation of extension personnel. A total of 324 front line extension workers and managers, representing a 40 percent sample, were involved in group interviews in which their opinions were captured in semi structured questionnaires after exposure to nominal group and Delphi techniques. From the research no particular extension model emerged, but rather a series of principles, which, depending on a specific situation, could be combined and implemented to different degrees. Respondents’ opinions regarding these principles and their dimensions formed the basis of recommendations for a policy framework. These recommendations, based on informed opinions of respondents, include a need-based but priority focused approach relying on a compromise between felt and unfelt needs rather than only the felt needs of community members. For the implementation of participatory development that will ultimately allow for community empowerment and ownership, institutional linkage structures are recommended that provide for effective coordination and integrated operational activities, and having primarily a commodity focus. A strong knowledge support system, having as target audience front-line extension workers rather than farmers, is important in view of the large percentage of under-qualified extension staff. A national (or provincial) monitoring and evaluation programme is seen as an issue of high priority, with a stronger emphasis on monitoring using behaviour determinants (forces of change) as main criteria, but covering also the full range of in- and output criteria in the evaluation process, which if used together with a purposeful and programmed approach, can go a long way in improving current and future extension in Limpopo. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

World food security will be one of the greatest global challenges in the 21st century and utilisation of an increased range of food crops is generally regarded as being vital to meeting this challenge, including the use of legumes. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is an African indigenous legume that shows great potential to improve the food and economic security of small scale farmers living in semi-arid regions of South Africa. This study sought to investigate the potential for Bambara groundnut to enhance the food and economic security of small scale farmers in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 43 Bambara groundnut producers were interviewed about Bambara groundnut production and their perceived enablers and barriers of utilizing Bambara groundnut. The study found that the majority of Bambara groundnut producers were old (>65 years of age), female small scale farmers who produced the crop for primarily household use. There were however a small number of farmers who produced Bambara groundnut on a larger scale, mostly to sell. Most farmers perceived that local demand was higher than supply and were able to obtain a high market value for Bambara groundnut. There appeared to be potential economic opportunities for many of the farmers to sell Bambara groundnut. The main reason why most farmers in this study did not sell Bambara groundnut was because the yields they obtained were too low. The main enablers perceived by farmers for Bambara groundnut production were a) The high nutritional value of Bambara groundnut; b) The good taste of the seeds; c) The nitrogen fixation properties of this legume and its ability to improve soil fertility; d) The legume intercrops well with maize; e) Bambara groundnuts high drought resistance; f) Cultural traditions associated with Bambara groundnut; and g) Use as animal feed. The main barriers were a) Low yielding characteristics of Bambara groundnut; b) Lack of available farmland; c) Lack of irrigation; d) Poor land management practices; e) Low soil fertility; and f) The crop's susceptibility to water logging. Overall the farmers were positive about Bambara groundnut production and could potentially benefit from advancements made in this sector of agriculture. The study concludes with recommendations to help improve small scale farmers' production of Bambara groundnut with the aim of improving their food and economic security.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Small-scale farmers in the land reform programme are faced with many challenges which affect their operations adversely that they cannot maintain a sustainable farming momentum and grow into competitive farming enterprises. Instead they are failing and recently some are already selling the land back. Some of the challenges facing them include lack of access to the markets, lack of finance, poor business planning and lack of business know-how. This study assesses the business management competencies among the small-scale farmers on the land reform programme. The central desire of this study is to establish whether or not small scale farmers have the necessary business management competencies to drive and grow their farms into competitive commercial farms that can contribute to employment creation, rural poverty alleviation, rural food security and economic growth. Outcomes from this study reflect that small-scale farmers do not have capacity on the critical functional areas of business management and as a result their business operations are on the brink of collapsing, and thus directly failing the intentions of land reform programme. With all other factors held constant, this study has revealed that business management competency is a huge vacuum amongst the small-scale farmers, and if business oriented training is not prioritized as a post-settlement support, the land reform’s small-scale farming performance is heading towards a complete collapse.

A group of students from the Peace and Development master program at Linnaeus University in Växjö have conducted a field study on agriculture in Ribaue district, Nampula, Mozambique. This study took place over a period of five weeks starting from the beginning of April. The purpose of the research was to perform a socio-economic study to gain a better understanding of the conditions under which the population of Ribaue live, the majority of which are small-scale farmers. Also, how they manage to access resources in order to improve their livelihoods and how small-scale farmers are striving to reach a lifestyle that is more sustainable. This study concentrates on the potential introduction of the Green Revolution Strategy, which is linked to food security and combating poverty, in Mozambique. It asks the question: under what conditions can it be possible for a Green Revolution Strategy to be developed and implemented in the district of Ribaue in Nampula, and which are the necessary prerequisites for a successful implementation of such a strategy? We have, through interviews, observations and participation in various activities, discovered the main issues that need to be addressed in the district. The Green Revolution Strategy exists in theory on the national level but has not yet been fully implemented in practice. Very few producers in Ribaue have heard of the concept ‘Green Revolution’, however, certain parts of its content were known to farmers, such as improved seeds and fertilizers. Furthermore, the gender conditions are still in favor of men, although some significant progress has been made. Better access to education and credit, improved infrastructure, and more effective spread of information and communication are some of the prerequisites that need to be addressed in Ribaue and they are presented in this study.

The sustainable use of Dambos for crop production using a technological package is presented. Dambos which are known as vleis in South Africa and Zimbabwe, fadamas in West Africa and mbugas in East Africa are identified as potential environments and key-resource areas for alleviating poverty and hunger in arid and semi-arid areas where drought occurrences are characteristic and limit upland crop production. Dambos present themselves as environments with soil moisture potential and high water tables ranging from 50 - 100 cm below the ground surface for most part of the year. Particular difficulties arise in abstracting this water for use to irrigate crops in Dambos. Most small-scale farmers use a rope and a bucket to draw water from hand dug wells. These methods are labour intensive and thus limited lands are cultivated by small-scale farmers. This study has identified, modified and introduced a treadle pump as a technology for lifting water from shallow water tables such as in Dambos. The treadle pump also lifts water from rivers, swamps, wells and dams within a suction lift of 0-8 m to the intended place of use i.e. vegetable garden, domestic application, livestock watering and in construction. The study has further investigated and introduced the clay pot as a water saving device. The clay pot sub-surface irrigation technology saves between 50 and 70 % of water as compared to conventional watering can and bucket systems. This technology can combine well with the treadle pump by using the latter to refill water in the former, thus making it easy to fill the system once the water is depleted. The use of the treadle pump has demonstrated its impact on the society in many ways. Firstly: the small-scale farmer is now able to increase the size of his/her garden from 0.1 ha irrigating using watering cans/buckets to between 0.25 ha and 0.5 ha using the treadle pump. With this innovative way of irrigating, farmers have thus been able to diversify cropping. Secondly: farmers have been able to increase household income from a meager US$125 without a treadle pump to US$850 and US$1700 on a 0.25 ha piece of land with a treadle pump on a 300% cropping intensity (growing crops three times a year). This has helped the country reduce on imported vegetables and thus save the much needed foreign exchange. Thirdly: the technology has contributed to employment creation, notably from the manufacturing point of view where artisans are employed to make the pump and carpenters to make the wooden parts. On the output side for buyers (merchants/hawkers) and transport contractors who trade and transport the produce. The study essentially alludes to the great impact the treadle pump has made by noting the brand naming of the pump as 'Chova pump' by the small-scale farmers. Chova is a local name, which means to boost one's income or to pedal signifying the manner in which the pump is operated. Dambos, cover about 3.6 million hectares of land in Zambia and are suitable environments for application of the treadle pump. The potentials and limitations of Dambos are highlighted and the impact of their use using treadle pumps elucidated. Marketing of Dambo produce is discussed with respect to the adoption of the technology. The study notes that Dambos are highly accessible with no land tenure limitations. Thus the more than 800,000 small-scale farmers in Zambia have an opportunity to utilize Dambos for crop production and help reduce poverty and food insecurity at household level. / Dissertation (PhD(Land Use Planning))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Agriculture revenue contributions to Ghana's gross domestic product have declined because of limited farm funding, which has constrained some smallholder rice farmers access credit to acquire necessary inputs, and to secure a stable market for their harvests. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies some smallholder rice farmers in the Afadzato South District of Ghana used in obtaining farm funding. Data collection included semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 9 smallholder rice farmers who successfully obtained farm funding. Previous research, reports, and policies of the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture served as additional data collection sources. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and resulted in three major themes: the smallholder farmer's strategy of belonging to cooperative association membership, the smallholder farmer's strategy for satisfying lender collateral requirements, and smallholder farmer's strategies for developing a repayment rating history. The implications for positive social change include the potential to guide the smallholder farmers to successful strategies to access farm funding for their farming activities and increase their farm sizes. The increase in farm sizes may result in more rice production that can help mitigate hunger and reduce poverty in the Afadzato South District of Ghana.

Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS) / As a means to assuage historical land inequities, resultant socio-economic disparities and poverty alleviation, the Namibian Government undertook to reform the land sector. Guided by the Constitution and the Resolutions of the 1991 Land Conference policy and legal framework, a fractured consensus is built on the rationale to redistribute land to a targeted group. Parallel to the reform agenda, systemic challenges to the resettlement process are growing amid questions on Government’s ability to respond to sustainable programme objectives embedded within land reforms. Literature coalesces on the issues of land-reform programmes having lost direction, being skewed in favour of a few, being biased towards commercial agriculture, and requiring review and re-configuration to be inclusive and to satisfy equity and povertyalleviation concerns. This study seeks to understand who has been benefitting from land reform by analysing the processes and procedures of identifying beneficiaries prioritised for land allocation, and institutional structures for implementation, while analysing how they produce and reproduce class differentiation and the attendent livelihood trajectories. Using qualitative research conducted in one case study site (Okarukambe constituency) the views of the smallscale farmers who benefitted were solicited. Additionally, the experiences and views of institutions and officials involved in land allocation at regional and national levels are taken into account. Theoretically the study draws from the livelihoods approach to find out the different categories of the small-scale farmers who have benefitted.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) --University of Limpopo, 2001.

Thesis (M Dev.)--University of Limpopo, 2006. / Eliminating poverty and deprivation and their negative social effects is a critical challenge facing South Africa today. No political democracy can survive and flourish if the masses of the people remain in poverty, are landless, and do not have tangible materials for a better life. Attacking poverty and deprivation should be a priority of any democratic government (RDP 1994:1, 2, 9). Then South African government like its counterparts in the developing world is being restructured to improve governance and alleviate poverty. Optimal agricultural performance by small-scale farmers for poverty relief, food security, is shown to increase income and employment. Recognizing the contribution of these farmers in agricultural development and helping them improve their farming methods and secure small loans would impact favorably on poverty alleviation in the rural areas. The aim of this study is to determine the role played by rural development projects in poverty alleviation. In addition policy options, consequences and recommendations will be entertained. / Not listed