MSAEC / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

This exploratory study assessed attitudes and perceptions of smallholder farmers towards agricultural technologies in Kakamega County, Kenya. Through a mixed-methods sequential design, the study evaluated the key variables predicting farmer adoption of agricultural innovations. While social sciences provide a clear human-driven pattern explaining the process of choices and behaviors regarding technology use, there is still little clarity on the influences of adoption decisions among smallholder farmers in rural Kenya. Using the diffusion of innovations theory, the study explored the attitudes and perceptions of smallholder farmers toward technology adoption in seven sub-counties of Kakamega County (Lurambi, Ikolomani, Shinyalu, Mumias East (Shianda), Malava Butere, and Khwisero). The study design utilized a quantitative survey of 245 smallholder heads of households, followed by focus group discussions to further probe attitudes, values and practices that could influence technology adoption. The survey questionnaire tested two hypotheses: (H1) socio-demographic characteristics are related to agricultural technology adoption; and, (H2) farmer access to extension services was related to agricultural technology adoption. A binary logistic regression model was used to quantitatively estimate socio-demographic variables presumed to influence the adoption of agricultural innovations. Subsequently, four informal focus group discussions of 28 discussants was conducted across representative sub-counties (Lurambi, Shianda, Malava and Ikolomani), to elicit an in-depth understanding of farmers’ perspectives on technology adoption. The focus group participants included farmers recruited from among survey participants. The qualitative research instrument sought to answer three questions, (RQ1) what are farmer attitudes and perceptions towards agricultural technologies; (RQ2) what socio-cultural values influence farmers’ choice of agricultural technologies; and, (RQ3) what sources do farmers use for obtaining information on agricultural technology? Quantitative results included a principal component analysis (PCA) in which 14 attitudes questions were reduced to five conceptual clusters. These clusters included: challenges in accessing modern agricultural technologies (explained 19.09% of the total variance); effectiveness of agricultural technologies (11.88%); enjoyment of agricultural technologies (10.02%); social influence in use of technology (9.47%); and experience with agricultural technologies (8.13%). A logistic regression model indicated that independently age (.07), education (.10), and off-farm income (.08) were significantly associated with adoption of technology at the 90% confidence level when controlling for all other variables in the model. However, agricultural extension (.42) was not a significant predictor of agricultural technology adoption in this model. Qualitative results provided rich insights which enhanced findings from the survey data. Key insights in the thematic analysis included: farmers’ ambivalence about agricultural technologies; lack of trust in agricultural agents; low levels of agricultural technology knowledge; extension services as the main source of information dissemination to farmers; predominance of gender in determining agricultural technology adoption; and gender inequity in agricultural decision-making. In conclusion, the study results suggested that a mixed-methods approach was valuable in probing the nuances of farmers’ perceptions of agricultural extension and technology adoption among smallholder farmers. The results supported the following recommendations: the agricultural extension efforts could be more effectively structured in order to support the dissemination of agricultural information; the issue of gender should be adequately addressed by engaging male and female in collaborative agricultural efforts to help break the barrier of gender inequity; and future research would benefit from disaggregating public and private extension services as a more robust method for determining their individual effects in the promotion of agricultural innovations among smallholder farmers.

Thesis (MSc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The South African agricultural sector plays an important role in creating jobs, alleviating food insecurity and poverty, and also contributes to exports. Agricultural produce from smallholder farmers is often lost after production due numerous marketing challenges which make it difficult for smallholder farmers to explore full market potentials. This, among other challenges, reduces smallholder farmers’ motivation to participate in formal (commercial) or high-value markets. The study aimed at assessing factors hindering marketing among smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers in the Polokwane Municipality. The objectives of the study were to: identify and describe socio-economic characteristics of smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers; examine the influence of socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers; identify factors hindering marketing among smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers and constraints faced by smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers in the study area. Primary data with a sample size of hundred and twenty smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers was used. Descriptive statistics, the Marketing Hindrance Index and Tobit Model were employed as analytical tools to achieve the objectives of the study. Results of data analysis revealed that there are factors hindering marketing among smallholder vegetable cooperative farmers in the Polokwane Municipality. The major factors affecting smallholder farmers are source of water and types of vegetables grown, respectively. From the Tobit Model results, access to credit, access to reliable information about marketing, age, access to storage and farming experience in years were found to be significant. In view of the research findings, the recommendations of this study include: encouraging youth participation in agriculture, improved access to agricultural information and formal market access, improved access to credit and enabling accessibility through the development of better infrastructure in the form of storage facilities.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Agriculture is not only the backbone, but also an important sector of the South African economy. It provides food and employment to a majority of people in the country, especially in the rural areas. Smallholder farmers play an important role in livelihood creation and the alleviation of poverty among the population of the Limpopo Province. However, despite their significant contribution, smallholder farmers’ production is still low. Climate change has bought increasing frequencies and severity of drought conditions and uncertainties in the length and quality-growing season. Drought threatens the production of maize as a staple food and without measures to counter climate change, food security will be a major problem in South Africa. This study therefore examined factors determining the adoption of drought tolerant maize among smallholder farmers in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires to achieve the objectives of the study. Multistage sampling was used for the study because larger clusters were subdivided into smaller and more targeted groupings for surveying. Descriptive Statistics and the Binary Probit Model were used to analyse the data. The results of the Probit Regression analysis indicated that farm size, hired labour and maize produced per hectare had positive significant influence on the probability of farmers adopting drought tolerant maize varieties. Farm size and maize produced per hectare were statistically significant at 1% and hired labour was statistically significant at 5%. Based on the sample of this study,74% of the households grew non-drought tolerant maize varieties, while 26% of the smallholder farmers grew drought tolerant maize varieties. The results indicate that 24,4% of the farmers were not affected by any constraints in terms of their adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties whilst 76,6% said they are affected by those constraints in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. Based on the study’s findings, it is recommended that extension officers should make it a priority to provide smallholder farmers with timely and accurate information. Extension officers should effectively disseminate information about the adoption of drought tolerant maize through a combination of different pathways.

Aus theoretischer und empirischer Sicht ist zu diskutieren, ob die Genossenschaften positive Auswirkungen für ihre Mitglieder haben. Das Forschungsziel dieser Dissertation ist die Erklärung und Bewertung der Auswirkungen, die landwirtschaftliche Genossenschaften auf ihre Mitglieder in diesen Kontexten haben. Die Leitfragen lauten: (1) welches sind die sozioökonomischen Merkmale der Landwirte, die Mitglieder von Genossenschaften sind? und (2) welche spezifischen Auswirkungen haben landwirtschaftliche Genossenschaften auf ihre Mitglieder? Die Fragen werden in einer systematischen Literaturarbeit und drei empirischen Artikeln behandelt. Die systematische Literaturrecherche zeigt die empirischen Belege für positive Effekte von Genossenschaften finden sich in den Kategorien Zugang zu und Nutzung von landwirtschaftlichen Betriebsmitteln, Einkommen, Preise sowie Status und Entscheidungsmacht von Frauen. Im zweiten und dritten Artikel werden die Eigenschaften der Mitglieder und Preiswirkungen von Genossenschaften im argentinischen Wein- und Milchsektor untersucht. Landwirte, die an Genossenschaften verkaufen, erhalten in den untersuchten Fällen niedrigere Preise für ihre Produkte als Landwirte, die an anlegerorientierte Unternehmen verkaufen. Das vierte Papier analysiert Mechanismen, die zur Inklusion benachteiligter Haushalte in sambischen Maisgenossenschaften beitragen. Inklusion entwickelt sich in Genossenschaften, die Engagement zeigen und entweder vulnerable Mitglieder mit Finanzdienstleistungen versorgen, soziale Identität fördern oder benachteiligte Mitglieder dafür entschädigen, dass sie keinen Zugang zu subventionierten Betriebsmitteln haben. Die Gesamtergebnisse zeigen, dass Genossenschaften im Allgemeinen mit den am stärksten benachteiligten Landwirten zusammenarbeiten. Sie erzielen verschiedene positive Wirkungen für ihre Mitglieder. Dennoch gibt es auch einen relevanten Anteil von Fällen, in denen es nicht genügend empirische Belege für ihre Auswirkungen gibt. / From both theoretical and empirical perspectives, whether cooperatives provide their members with benefits remains open to debate. The research objective of this thesis is to explain and assess the effects agricultural cooperatives have on their members in developing contexts. The guiding questions are: (1) what are the socio-economic characteristics of farmers who participate in cooperatives? and (2) what are the specific effects of agricultural cooperatives on their farmer members? The questions are addressed in a systematic literature review and three empirical papers. The systematic literature review finds that what is known about cooperatives is based upon a very limited set of cases. The most conclusive evidence of positive effects corresponds to the categories access to and use of inputs, income, prices and women’s status and agency. The Paper Two and Three explore member characteristics and price effects of cooperatives and Investor-Oriented Firms in the Argentinean non-varietal wine and dairy sector, respectively. Farmers selling to cooperatives receive lower prices than farmers selling to Investor-Oriented Firms in the studied cases. Since cooperative members differ from other farmers in terms of size, assets and the cost of accessing the market, it can be concluded that cooperatives deal with more disadvantaged farmers at the expense of lower prices. The Paper Four analyses the mechanisms that contribute towards inclusion of disadvantaged households in Zambian maize cooperatives. Inclusion develops in cooperatives that show commitment and either provide financial services to vulnerable members, promote social identities or compensate disadvantaged members for not being able to access subsidised inputs. The overall results show that cooperatives generally work with the most disadvantaged farmers. They create multiple positive effects for their members. However, there is also a meaningful share of cases with a lack of sufficient evidence of effects.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of this study was to assess and document the use of the Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) in weather and seasonal climate forecasting in Moletjie, Limpopo Province. The objectives of this study were to document the biological, meteorological, and astrological indicators used to forecast local weather and climate conditions. In addition, the study sought to determine the effectiveness of indicators used in forecasting local weather and climate conditions and to represent the spatial distribution of indigenous weather knowledge using a Participatory Geographic Information System (P-GIS). Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. Surveys and in-depth interviews were used to obtain primary data. The secondary data collected from formally published material (books and journals), served to compliment the primary data. Purposive sampling was used to obtain data from participants with knowledge about Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in seasonal and weather forecasting. From the study, the distribution of indigenous indicators used by Moletjie smallholder farmers was mapped using ArcGIS 10.6. Results show different types of human, biological, meteorological, and astronomical indicators utilized by communities to forecast weather and climate as such they were captured, characterized, and documented. Smallholder farmers considered indigenous knowledge indicators to be more accurate and reliable in their forecasting than scientific projections, which were described as inaccurate and received late. The research found that plants and birds used in this case are in danger of extinction at an alarming rate because of climate change and anthropogenic activities. The study derives key insights from how smallholder farmers in Moletjie village use the IK weather forecast to make farming decisions to ensure farm productivity. It also demonstrates that the smallholder farmers share their trust in modern technology and have confidence and the readiness for the use of scientific forecasting and climate projections which are expected to add value when integrated with IK / National Research Foundation (NRF)

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

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an important cash crop, which remains one of the largest sources of income and a way of sustaining livelihoods for rural households in South Africa. Smallholder farming in most rural areas of the Limpopo Province contributes to food security. However, the majority of smallholder farmers experience low agricultural productivity, low quantities and poor quality produce which reduce their chances of accessing markets. Hence, this study focused on identifying and analysing factors that determine productivity and market access by smallholder spinach farmers in the Polokwane Local Municipality, Limpopo Province. This area of research is important towards the development of smallholder farming where resources are limited, but high population growth is very common. The overall objective of the study was to examine farm and farmer characteristics that determine the productivity and market access of the smallholder vegetable farmers. In order to achieve the aim and objectives of this study, a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 80 smallholder spinach farmers to collect primary data from them using structured questionnaires. Cobb-Douglas production function was used to examine factors that determine productivity level and the Two limit Tobit Model was also used to analyse factors that influence market access. The results from the Cobb-Douglas production function indicated that smallholder farmers in the study area are experiencing a decreasing return to scale, which suggests that they are over-utilising factors of production. Two-limit Tobit Model results on the socioeconomic factors that influence market access indicated that household size was statistically significant at 10%, distance to the market, extension contact and farming experience were statistically significant at 5% and educational level, quantity produced and market information was statistically significant at 1%. Based on the findings, several policy suggestions were made. These include strengthening of farmers‟ organisation, provision of market information, regular extension visits and provision of training to the farmers.

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May, 2015. / There is sufficient evidence supporting that climate change and variability are pervasive realities that are strongly impacting on smallholder farmers in the Great Ruaha River sub-Basin of Tanzania. This PhD study examines smallholder farmers’ vulnerability, coping and adaptation strategies to climate change and variability (including non-climatic stresses), and investigates how such coping and adaptation may be constrained or enhanced given climate variability and change. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used when engaging with smallholder farmers and government officials. Primary data collection was undertaken in two phases, with phase one using participatory tools (e.g. focus group discussions, wealth ranking, community mapping and transect walk, and historical time lines). Data collected include climatic and non-climatic extreme events, farmers’ perceptions, coping and adaptation strategies. Phase two involved detailed individual interviews (questionnaire surveys) and key informant interviews (case studies), so as to obtain in-depth information on issues of interest. Secondary data were collected from existing statistical sources, literature surveys in archives, libraries and documentation centres, and from governmental agencies (e.g. TMA). Demographic, agricultural production and livestock statistics, and rainfall and temperature records were collected. Results from selected meteorological stations and farmers’ perceptions (74%) indicate that there has been an increase in average maximum temperatures, and both dry and wet years with varying magnitudes during the past four decades. Other climatic stresses include delayed onset and later cessation of the rain seasons. The agreement between farmers’ perceptions and rainfall trends provides good evidence that the climate has become increasingly variable in the GRRB during the past four decades. Achieving sustainable livelihoods is further compounded by non-climatic stresses such as access to markets and coordinating institutions. Results indicate that vulnerability is a complex phenomenon that entails two approaches (end-point and starting-point perspectives). The end-point perspective views vulnerability as the net projected climate change impacts after adaptation has taken place, whilst the starting-point perspective looks at both the current and future multiple stresses and places much emphasis in improving the adaptive capacity. In the study villages, such a nuanced picture highlighted areas for enhanced adaptation strategies. Farmers respond by using various strategies to deal with droughts, floods and other stresses when they occur. During droughts, they mostly use irrigation (canal, pumping and cans), or plant short-term maturing crops. During food shortages, farmers use strategies such as buying food, borrowing money, temporary migration, working in other people’s farms for cash, and reducing consumption. Moreover, the farmers’ choice of adaptation and coping strategies is influenced by factors such as location, access to resources, education levels and institutions. This calls for a whole system approach, which entails defining vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climatic and non-climatic stresses and thus designing appropriate response strategies. For example, mainstreaming adaptation to such stresses when considering development plans, projects, programmes and policies at all scales.

[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.