A case study on drought coping mechanisms was conducted among small-scale farmers in the Motheo District of the Free State Province in Republic of South Africa, to determine how farmers cope with drought effects with or without external influence in terms of drought relief packages from the government and non-governmental organizations. Data was collected by administering a semi-structured questionnaire to 200 farmers. The data were captured and analysed using SPSS to obtain frequency, cross-tab, univariate ANOVA as well as logistic regression analysis. Findings of the study revealed that only 12.5 percent of the respondents were aware of drought, while a larger percentage of 87.5 of the respondents were not aware of a drought incidence before its onset, which made them more vulnerable to the drought disaster; 8.5 percent of them protected water sources for livestock while 91.5 percent of the farmers did not protect water sources for their livestock because they farm on a communal land; 42.5 percent provided supplementary feeds to livestock during the drought, but 57.5 percent did not provide supplementary feed for their animals for lack of funds. Ninety-nine (99.0) percent of the respondents shared grazing lands while only 1 per cent did not because most farmers operates on a communal system of farming; 35.5 percent changed cropping systems; 50.5 percent had alternative water sources for crops which included mini and hand irrigation systems while 49.5 percent of the respondents depended solely on streams and rivers available in the villages; 19.3 percent sold or pledged assets in order to be able to cope with drought effects while most farmers did not pledge or sell assets not because they did not want to, but because they did not have assets to sell. / Envornmental Science / Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Management))

This study was conducted in the Nkangala district, in the province of Mpumalanga in South Africa. This province remains the largest forestry production region in South Africa. The majority of people living in Mpumalanga are farmers and they have contributed immensely to promote food security. The objective of the study was to determine the level of climate change awareness among small scale maize producers in Mpumalanga province. Random sampling techniques was used to select two hundred and fifty one (251) farmers to be interviewed. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to maize farmers, focusing on matters relating to climate change awareness in maize production. Data was captured and analysed using software package for social science (SPSS version 20 of 2012). Descriptive statistics were applied to analyse and describe the data. Logistic regression analysis followed to demonstrate the significance of the independent variables on climate change awareness. The results of the analysis indicated that the information received and the size of the farm had an impact on climate change awareness in the area of study. It was therefore recommended that the majority of farmers in Mpumalanga needed to be made aware of climate change in order to assist them to build the adaptive capacity, increase resilience and reduce vulnerability. Information on climate change awareness should be disseminated well to ensure that it will attract the attention of the farmers / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M.Sc. (Agriculture)

During the last decades “Climate Change” has become a vital topic on national and international political agendas. There it is presented as an irrevocable fact of global impact and thus of universal relevance. What has often been neglected are local discourses of marginalized groups and their specific contextualization of “Climate Change” phenomena. The aim of this project, to develop another perspective along these dominant narratives, has resulted in the research question How is social reality reconstructed on the phenomenon of “Climate Change” among the “Emerging Black Farmers” in the Swartland region in Western Cape, South Africa? Taken as an example, “Climate Change Knowledge” is reconstructed through a case study on the information exchange between the NGO Goedgedacht Trust and local small-scale farmers in the post-Apartheid context of on-going political, social, economic and educational transition in South Africa. Applying a constructivist approach, “Climate Change Knowledge” is not understood as an objectively given, but a socially constructed “reality” that is based on the interdependency of socio-economic conditions and individual assets, including language skills and language practice, sets of social norms and values, as well as strategies of knowledge transfer. The data set consists of qualitative data sources, such as application forms and interview material, which are triangulated. The rationale of a multi-layered data analysis includes a discursive perspective as well as linguistic and ethical “side perspectives”. Epistemologically, the thesis is guided by assumptions of complexity theory, framing knowledge around “Climate Change” as a fluid, constantly changing system that is shaped by constant intra- and inter-systemic exchange processes, and characterized by non-linearity, self-organization and representation of its constituents. From this point of departure, a theoretical terminology has been developed, which differentiates between symbols, interrelations, contents and content clusters. These elements are located in a system of spatio-temporal orientation and embedded into a broader (socio-economic) context of “historicity”. Content clusters are remodelled with the help of concept maps. Starting from that, a local perspective on “Climate Change” is developed, adding an experiential notion to the global narratives. The thesis concludes that there is no single reality about “Climate Change” and that the farmers’ “Climate Change Knowledge” highly depends on experiential relativity and spatio-temporal immediacy. Furthermore, analysis has shown that the system’s historicity and social manifestations can be traced in the scope and emphasis of the content clusters discussed. Finally the thesis demonstrates that characteristics of symbols, interconnections and contents range between dichotomies of direct and indirect, predictable versus unpredictable, awareness and negligence or threat and danger, all coexisting and creating a continuum of knowledge production.

This study was conducted in the Nkangala district, in the province of Mpumalanga in South Africa. This province remains the largest forestry production region in South Africa. The majority of people living in Mpumalanga are farmers and they have contributed immensely to promote food security. The objective of the study was to determine the level of climate change awareness among small scale maize producers in Mpumalanga province. Random sampling techniques was used to select two hundred and fifty one (251) farmers to be interviewed. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to maize farmers, focusing on matters relating to climate change awareness in maize production. Data was captured and analysed using software package for social science (SPSS version 20 of 2012). Descriptive statistics were applied to analyse and describe the data. Logistic regression analysis followed to demonstrate the significance of the independent variables on climate change awareness. The results of the analysis indicated that the information received and the size of the farm had an impact on climate change awareness in the area of study. It was therefore recommended that the majority of farmers in Mpumalanga needed to be made aware of climate change in order to assist them to build the adaptive capacity, increase resilience and reduce vulnerability. Information on climate change awareness should be disseminated well to ensure that it will attract the attention of the farmers / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

In Guinea-Bissau stehen sich zwei unterschiedliche Bodenrechtssysteme gegenüber: das auf gemeinschaftliche Nutzung ausgerichtete, lokal verankerte "traditionelle" Bodenrecht (Gewohnheitsrecht) und das an Privateigentum orientierte "moderne" staatliche Bodenrecht. Privatbesitz an Grund und Boden war bis in jüngste Zeit kaum ein Konfliktfaktor. Das änderte sich aber recht bald nach der Unabhängigkeit, nachdem die Regierung auf internationalen Druck hin in den 1980er Jahren die Wirtschaft liberalisierte und Tausende von Hektar Land binnen kurzer Zeit in Privateigentum übergingen. Die Dissertation analysiert Vorgeschichte, Verlauf und Bedeutung der Bodenkommerzialisierung für die kleinbäuerliche Ökonomie und rurale Gesellschaft in Guinea-Bissau. Lokale Landrechtsvorstellungen und Landnutzungssysteme sowie die Agrarproduktion in den Untersuchungsregionen Biombo und Gabú werden dargestellt. Die in zwei längeren Forschungsaufenthalten 1997 / 1998 in Guinea-Bissau erhobenen Daten (hauptsächlich Interviews mit ländlicher Bevölkerung, teilnehmende Beobachtung) bestätigen, dass Kleinbauern das Rückgrat afrikanischer Gesellschaften bilden und sie durchaus flexibel und fähig zu Innovationen in bezug auf die Landnutzung und Lösung von Bodenkonflikten sind. In Guinea-Bissau hat die Bodenprivatisierung zu einem Cajuboom geführt. Heute ist das kleine Land weltweit fünfter Cajunussexporteur, doch extrem abhängig von dieser Monokultur. Die negativen Folgen der Bodenkommerzialisierung für die kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft und ihre Sozialstruktur überwiegen. Die komplizierte Landbetitelung und die Verteidigungsstrategien der Kleinbauern gegen die neuen Grundbesitzer, die Ponteiros, werden genauer untersucht. Schliesslich analysiert der Verfasser die im Zuge massiver Bodenprivatisierung entstandenen Landkonflikte und präsentiert einige Vorschläge für alternative Landbetitelungssysteme, die sowohl das „traditionelle“ wie auch das „moderne“ Bodenrecht berücksichtigen. / Two different legal systems of land rights face each other in Guinea-Bissau: a) the locally based “traditional” land rights (customary law) which are orientated on common land use and b) the private property-oriented “modern” state land laws. Private ownership of land until recently was hardly a conflict factor. However, that changed soon after independence, when the government liberalized the economy due to international pressure and thousands of hectares of land passed over to private ownership within a short time frame. This thesis analyzes the historical background, the process and the importance of individual land tenure (private ownership) for the rural economy and society in Guinea-Bissau. The author presents local land tenure conceptions’, land use systems and the agricultural production in two regions, Biombo and Gabú. The data (mainly interviews with rural population, participant observation) of two extended research stays 1997 / 1998 confirm that small farmers are the backbone of African societies and that they are quite flexible and able to innovation with respect to land use and the resolution of land conflicts. The individualization of land tenure has led to a boom in cashew tree cultivation. Today Guinea-Bissau is the world’s fifth largest exporter of cashew nuts, but also extremely dependent on this monoculture. The negative consequences of private land tenure on the smallholder agriculture and social rural structures prevail, because often land is acquired for speculative interests, bank security etc. The complicated titling of individual land property and the defence strategies of small farmers against the new landowners, the Ponteiros, are discussed in depth. Finally the land conflicts that result from the massive land privatisation are analyzed and the author elaborates possible alternative arrangements to the current titling of land properties, considering both the “traditional” and the “modern” land tenure system alike.

A case study on drought coping mechanisms was conducted among small-scale farmers in the Motheo District of the Free State Province in Republic of South Africa, to determine how farmers cope with drought effects with or without external influence in terms of drought relief packages from the government and non-governmental organizations. Data was collected by administering a semi-structured questionnaire to 200 farmers. The data were captured and analysed using SPSS to obtain frequency, cross-tab, univariate ANOVA as well as logistic regression analysis. Findings of the study revealed that only 12.5 percent of the respondents were aware of drought, while a larger percentage of 87.5 of the respondents were not aware of a drought incidence before its onset, which made them more vulnerable to the drought disaster; 8.5 percent of them protected water sources for livestock while 91.5 percent of the farmers did not protect water sources for their livestock because they farm on a communal land; 42.5 percent provided supplementary feeds to livestock during the drought, but 57.5 percent did not provide supplementary feed for their animals for lack of funds. Ninety-nine (99.0) percent of the respondents shared grazing lands while only 1 per cent did not because most farmers operates on a communal system of farming; 35.5 percent changed cropping systems; 50.5 percent had alternative water sources for crops which included mini and hand irrigation systems while 49.5 percent of the respondents depended solely on streams and rivers available in the villages; 19.3 percent sold or pledged assets in order to be able to cope with drought effects while most farmers did not pledge or sell assets not because they did not want to, but because they did not have assets to sell. / Envornmental Science / Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Management))

Strategies to improve stem yield and juice quality in sweet sorghum were investigated in this study. Seed quality of sixty five accessions (landraces) from Botswana was investigated. Standard germination tests revealed that only 66% of the accessions had germination percentages in excess of 85%. The Accelerated Ageing test showed that only 50%of the 26 accessions had germination percentages above 80%. The results indicated that Botswana sweet sorghum seed quality is generally poor. Seed development and maturity observations demonstrated that maximum seed quality occurred 14 to 17 days after mass maturity (physiological maturity) and this coincided with maximum seed germination. These results suggest that harvesting sweet sorghum seed prior to mass maturity can lower seed quality. Farmers should, therefore be advised to select plants intended for seed harvesting and allow them to mature properly before the seeds are harvested. Differences in seed colour, shape and compactness of the inflorescences were observed amongst the 65 landraces collected from farmers in Botswana. Ten landraces were characterised and from the results it was evident that there was a range of genetic diversity which can be utilized in the improvement of the crop. Large panicles were characteristic of most sweet sorghum landraces, the effect of tiller, panicle and floret removal on juice quality was consequently studied. Removal of panicles and florets significantly improved juice quality whilst removal of tillers did not. Selection and breeding of genotypes with small panicles and male sterile varieties may improve juice quality and should be investigated. Effect of planting date, spacing and nitrogen were investigated. Early planting (October) resulted in increased stem yields but reduced juice quality. A 30 cm intra-row spacing resulted in high stem yields per plant and good juice quality. Nitrogen fertilisation increased stem yield and improved juice quality. On the bases of the results obtained from this study, early planting (October), application of 60 kg N ha-¹, and 30 cm intra-row spacing could be recommended for sweet sorghum production in pure stands. In pure stands yields of more than 37 000 stems (per hectare) of good quality can be attained. These could be sold at an estimated price of P2.00 (R2.25) per stem indicating the potential of sweet sorghum as a cash crop. However, its economic viability depends on the price elasticity in the supply - demand function. / Dissertation (PHD)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.

The search for development that is sustainable often results in the complex challenge of having to reconcile the need for socio-economic activities with protection of the environment. This challenge of integrating such fundamentally important considerations that often contrast, but should be mutually supportive, is necessarily addressed by legal and policy frameworks of the country in question. These could be laws and policies with competence to manage the environment, or to manage socio-economic and political activities that impact the environment. This challenge is profound for developing countries like Kenya that experience higher levels of degradation, poverty and food insecurity. Arguably in this context, while addressing integration involves reconciliation of legal principles for a coherent legal concept of sustainability, it is also a serious matter of survival for millions of people. This raises compelling reasons to ensure that any legal reform measures positively impact how these people make decisions on the socio-economic utilization of land or forestry resources that they have access to. The research aimed to develop a legal and policy framework that will facilitate integration of environmental protection with socio-economic activities during land use decision making, as a mechanism to achieve sustainability. We investigated how a legal/policy framework, founded in the 2010 Constitution, and in environmental and tenure rights laws of Kenya, can conceptually reconcile the right (and duty) respecting a clean environment, with socio-economic rights. The research further analysed how such conceptual reconciliation can impact integration in policies, plans and decision making by sectoral laws and institutions to ensure environmental consideration across sectoral areas. To this end, we have proposed enacting a legal duty requiring tenure rightholders to integrate their socio-economic activities with environmental protection during land use decision making. We further frame mechanisms to guide the attitudes, and decisions of farmers and forest communities in making that transition to sustainable practices.