- Title
- Chicory production for sustainable economic development of Alexandria in Ndlambe Local Municipality
- Creator
- Mampana, Qawekazi
- Subject
- Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Chicory -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2024-12
- Date
- 2024-12
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70133
- Identifier
- vital:78303
- Description
- The apartheid regime that governed South Africa prior to the democratic transition pursued and implemented ethnically motivated policies and legislation that promoted racial segregation. As a result, the democratic government inherited a country plagued by unemployment, poverty, and inequality challenges. In response, the democratic government identified cooperatives as one mechanism to address these structural challenges and undo the legacy of apartheid, leading to an increase in the number of registered cooperatives in the country. Studies have shown that cooperatives could help propel community development in South Africa, especially in rural communities. It is argued that cooperatives have the potential to increase public participation and thus forge unity and togetherness among communities. Scholars indicate that public participation can improve community development and access to service delivery and enhance political influence and other resources that, in turn, will sustain human capital. Furthermore, studies have also shown that assisting and mobilising poor communities to work together is crucial for community development. However, despite cooperatives’ imperative role in community development, most struggle to sustain themselves and eventually become inactive, especially in rural communities. The study was conducted in Alexandria, a small rural town within the Ndlambe Local Municipality (NLM) in the Eastern Cape Province. The study’s main aim was to interrogate the current state of chicory production in Alexandria from the perspectives of community cooperatives operating in the chicory sector. The study also sought to interrogate the phenomenon under study from the perspectives of Chicory South Africa (CSA) and government officials from the Eastern Cape Provincial Government. CSA provides administrative and technical support in the sector, and the provincial government provides financial and other support instruments to the community cooperatives operating in the sector. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and used purposive sampling to identify and select participants. The study included 14 participants that were purposively identified and selected by the researcher based on their capabilities to illuminate the phenomena under study. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the participants and corroborated with a literature review in the context of cooperatives in South Africa. Considering the qualitative nature of the study, the researcher deemed it prudent to utilise the constructivism research paradigm. The constructivism paradigm is premised on the notion that reality is socially constructed; thus, there are multiple realities that are shaped by people’s unique experiences of the social world in which they live and work. The study used thematic analysis to analyse the data. The findings reveal that the significant issues cooperatives face include inter alia lack of access to capital, insufficient government intervention, climate change, and lack of capacity among members. The findings further reveal that local government must assist cooperatives by providing them with capital and technical support. The study recommends that all spheres of government must engage in work and support initiatives that aim to create a sustainable and conducive environment for community development. In this regard, it is recommended that the government take a leading role in supporting cooperatives and ensure their activities and objectives align with government efforts towards sustainable community development, which will create synergy between the government and cooperatives.
- Description
- Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (115 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU School for Economics, Development and Tourism
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MAMPANA, Q.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |