There is growing consensus on the importance of agricultural extension support
services as an integral component of ensuring effective implementation of
government policy interventions and efficient facilitation of development programmes
in rural areas. Agricultural extension service provision is part of a wide range of
services required to help producers acquire relevant knowledge and skills to
increase and sustain the productivity and competitiveness of their enterprises.
Agricultural extension support is viewed by many as an enabler on food security.
Improved agricultural extension support leads to increased production and improved
processing in all the sub-sectors of agriculture (i.e. crop, livestock, forestry and
fisheries), improvement of quality of life and promotion of environmental friendly
practices and other objectives. However, literature reveals that the public sector
extension in South Africa is not yet geared to satisfy the needs of resource-poor
smallholder producers to break away from the bondage of poverty and food
insecurity.
This dissertation is aimed at reviewing public expenditure on agricultural extension
support services so as to provide evidence-based recommendations to inform
implementation of the newly developed national policy on extension and advisory
services. The study also provides an initial baseline for future review and tracking of
public expenditure on agricultural public extension support and the quality and quantity of the human capital of agricultural extension personnel. The study was
conducted using budget allocation and expenditure data collected through a survey
questionnaire directed at provincial departments of agriculture.
Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, narrative interpretation and t-Tests of
differences in means. Descriptive statistics focused more on counts of extension
personnel according to qualifications, years of experience, age and gender. The
narrative analysis focused on classifying the narrative information into similar themes
and patterns. A Paired Samples t-Test was run to determine significance in
differences between the mean of budget allocation and the mean of expenditure on
Extension Practitioners and farmer programmes. Zero-based budgeting system was
used to determine whether the current budget allocated was sufficient for
implementation of the newly developed national policy on extension and advisory
services.
Results of the survey revealed that although the ratio of Extension Practitioner to
farmer is still low in South Africa, particularly for smallholder producers, there has
been an increase in the number of Extension Practitioners since the implementation
of the ERP in 2008. Recruitment of additional Extension Practitioners increased
human capacity on the ground. More than 70% of current extension personnel
complied with the minimum norms and standards of having at least a four year
degree, which is a considerably good indicator of the quality of extension service
rendered.
Budget execution rates were high for both the Extension Practitioners and the farmer
programmes, with budget execution for farmer programmes better than Extension
Practitioners. Such trends indicate an efficient system of budget execution for the
benefit of the farmers. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences
between mean budget allocation for Extension Practitioners and farmer
programmes. Differences between the mean expenditure on Extension Practitioners
and mean expenditure on farmer programmes were also statistically significant. The
mean budget for farmer programmes was greater than the mean budget for
Extension Practitioners for the five years leading to the conclusion that farmer
programmes received significantly more budget allocation compared to the budget allocated to Extension Practitioners. Consistent to budget allocation, mean
expenditure on farmer programmes was higher than mean expenditure on Extension
Practitioners leading to the conclusion that expenditure on farmer programmes was
significantly higher than expenditure on Extension Practitioners in the five financial
years. Hence, it can be concluded that farmers received value for money.
The cost of implementing the newly developed national policy on extension and
advisory services was found to be far higher than the current budget allocation. It is
recommended that government allocates more funds to public extension service
provision. The implementation process could be phased with short-term, mediumand
long-term implementation plans. Provincial departments of agriculture should
make available a percentage of funds through their equitable share. Additional
financing to solve the problem of fiscal sustainability through a user-pay principle, cofinancing
of services and private funding is also recommended. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MInstAgrar / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/63296 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Lukhalo, Tozamile |
| Contributors | Terblanche, S.E. (Stephanus Esaias), 1940-, TozamileL@daff.gov.za |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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