Thesis. (M. A. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Food security, poverty and hunger issues, as well as methods of addressing remain
a concern for many South Africans. Smallholder farmers' agricultural production is
seen as the key to simultaneously alleviating poverty and ensuring food security,
especially in rural areas. The sweet potato crop is commonly produced by
smallholder farmers in rural areas as a staple in many South African households with
the potential to reduce hunger and poverty. Nevertheless, just like other crops, the
sweet potato is impaired by external factors such as extreme weather conditions,
insects, pests and diseases, thus threatening food security. The most destructive
pest to sweet potatoes acknowledged in the literature is the sweet potato weevil
(SPW), which can cause between 5-100% in areas where it is not controlled. While
there are many SPW control measures Entomopathogenic Nematodes (EPNs) are
emerging as one of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) bio-control techniques
that have shown promise in controlling SPW infestations in South Africa and globally.
This study conducts a socio-economic analysis of smallholder sweet potato
production and analyses the acceptability of EPNs as bio-control measures against
the SPW in the Gauteng, Limpopo and North West Provinces of South Africa. This
was done through an assessment of farmers‘ knowledge, attitudes, perception and
practices (KAPP analysis), exploration of the acceptability of EPNs by farmers,
determination of and factors influencing profitability and technical efficiency. Primary
data was collected from 119 respondents who were selected through non-probability
sampling techniques; purposive, census, and snowball. The analytical tools used to
analyse the data were descriptive statistics, Gross Margin Analysis, Multiple linear
regression model, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Tobit regression
model.
From the results, an average knowledge score of 2.30 based on a 3–point Likert
scale revealed that sweet potato farmers are knowledgeable of the SPW, the
impacts and the control measures. Despite this level of knowledge, the farmers were
impartial about the attitudes and perceptions regarding the SPW and the control
measures. This was based on the findings of a 5-point Likert scale, which yielded
average scores of 2.53 and 2.74, respectively. The study also revealed that the
majority of the farmers prefer the use of indigenous and physical practices to control
SPW. With regards to acceptance of the EPNs bio-control innovation towards control
of the SPW, a mean Composite Index of Acceptancy (CIA) of 0.77 revealed the
willingness of farmers to accept the EPNs as a bio-control measure.
A Gross margin of R9 552.37 indicates that sweet potato farming is generally
profitable, and this is influenced by socio-economic factors such as marital status,
employment status, sweet potato output per cycle and access to machinery. On the
other hand, while sweet potato farming was found to be profitable, the DEA score of
0.09 reveals that these farmers are technically inefficient. Their technical inefficiency
is influenced by sweet potato output per cycle, gross margins, farm size, and access
to credit, employment status, and chemical use.
Based on these findings, the study recommends farmers‘ support through capacity
development initiatives for the sweet potato farmers with regards to general
economics of sweet potato production and marketing to maximise and sustain their
revenue generation, as well as their general efficiency. In addition, increased training
and awareness of the EPNs and their benefits as bio-control measures towards
SPW infestation will work towards changing farmers‘ mindset with regard to SPW
control measures. / Department of Social Innovation (DSI) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ul/oai:ulspace.ul.ac.za:10386/4178 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Matli, Mankaba Matshidiso Whitney |
| Contributors | Senyolo, M. P., Nhundu, K., Belete, A. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | xii, 138 leaves [1] unnumbered |
| Relation |
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