Accessibility of agricultural information by smallholder farmers in Amatole District Municipality: Nexus between agricultural extension services and the library
- Authors: Sigigaba, Masimthembe
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Farms, Small
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18849 , vital:42870
- Description: Accessibility to relevant, accurate and timely information remains vital in farming. For farmers to improve their productivity they depend on access to pertinent agricultural information. Such information updated them about new agricultural technologies, climate change, new cultivars, access to market and access to financial assistance. These types of information help farmers in decision making regarding their farming. Agricultural extension officers remain a reliable source where farmers could obtain relevant agricultural information. Community libraries are also channels that could be used by agricultural extension officers to complement their work of providing farmers with information. Thus, the study sought to assess linkage between these two institutions to provide farmers with information. A positivism paradigm with quantitative research approach were adopted in the study. Smallholder farmers (169), agricultural extension officers (5) and librarians (15) were the unit of analysis. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection and SPSS software for analysis. Findings revealed that, agricultural extension officers mostly utilise interpersonal channels that include demonstrations, group meetings and face-to-face interaction to provide farmers with information. Community libraries were found to be non-utilised by extension services and also by farmers. Farmers were of the perception that libraries are meant for educated people. It was also discovered that community libraries have information on agriculture that only targets learners who are taking agriculture in school as a subject. There was no existing linkage between agricultural extension services and community libraries working together to provide farmers with pertinent agricultural information that can help them improve productivity
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Sigigaba, Masimthembe
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Farms, Small
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18849 , vital:42870
- Description: Accessibility to relevant, accurate and timely information remains vital in farming. For farmers to improve their productivity they depend on access to pertinent agricultural information. Such information updated them about new agricultural technologies, climate change, new cultivars, access to market and access to financial assistance. These types of information help farmers in decision making regarding their farming. Agricultural extension officers remain a reliable source where farmers could obtain relevant agricultural information. Community libraries are also channels that could be used by agricultural extension officers to complement their work of providing farmers with information. Thus, the study sought to assess linkage between these two institutions to provide farmers with information. A positivism paradigm with quantitative research approach were adopted in the study. Smallholder farmers (169), agricultural extension officers (5) and librarians (15) were the unit of analysis. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection and SPSS software for analysis. Findings revealed that, agricultural extension officers mostly utilise interpersonal channels that include demonstrations, group meetings and face-to-face interaction to provide farmers with information. Community libraries were found to be non-utilised by extension services and also by farmers. Farmers were of the perception that libraries are meant for educated people. It was also discovered that community libraries have information on agriculture that only targets learners who are taking agriculture in school as a subject. There was no existing linkage between agricultural extension services and community libraries working together to provide farmers with pertinent agricultural information that can help them improve productivity
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The use of information and communication technologies in agricultural development in rural areas: case of smallholder farmers in Umzimvubu Local Municipality
- Authors: Makaula, Zimasa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Agricultural extension work , Information technology , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11994 , vital:39125
- Description: Proper and timeous communication amongst different social development participants is one of the main driving factors for successful human progress. Different platforms have been used by different industries across the globe to ensure that useful information is shared with relevant structures at appropriate times. The global increase on use and availability of Information Communication Technologies (ICT’s) has prompted a thorough analysis and study of their relevance on different industries. Much of the increase has been observed mainly on highly urbanized areas, where the majority of the population is literate and who are above the poverty line. Some researchers have argued that the language used in some of the ICT’s is limited to the elite few, while others highlight cost implications in the use of these ICTs. The agricultural industry is not immune to the debates that relate to the development of ICTs, it is in most cases at the center, due to its diverse nature (in terms of participation) and close linkage to human development. There seems to be a correlation between ICT usage and the economies of scale in agricultural development, where smallholder farmers tend to use less of highly modernized ICTs, while commercial large scale farmers use more of the modernized ICTs. This disparity amongst farmers is exacerbated in many areas by the differing support systems employed by the public extension services. This study was initiated in order to study the usage and relevance of the ICTs by the smallholder farmers of the Umzimvubu Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The research address the following research questions: 1. Which ICTs are owned by smallholder farmers of Umzimvubu local municipality? 2. Do smallholder farmers use ICTs to communicate agricultural information? 3. What are the types of ICT devices and services used by smallholder farmers for vi agricultural development? 4. What are the challenges faced by smallholder farmers when using ICTs to communicate agricultural information? A survey questionnaire was then developed to collect the relevant data from randomly selected six villages of Umzimvubu Local Municipality. The questionnaires structure employed both closed and open-ended questions that were administered using a face to face interview, conducted on the sample population in each village. The results indicated that the most common ICTs that were owned by smallholder farmers in the study area were: mobile phones (33%), televisions (TV) (28%), and radio (20%). The results also showed that communication amongst farmers (35%) and extension officers (35%) was the most notable use of mobile phone from the study area. The results also revealed that most smallholder farmers faced the following challenges when using ICTs to retrieve agricultural information; poor signal (40%), inconsistent broadcasting times for TV and radio agricultural programmes (35%), language barrier (15%) and lack of electricity (10%). The study, therefore, concludes that a majority of smallholder farmers from the study area own ICT devices necessary for rural agricultural development (mobile phones, TV and radio) that can be targeted by extension officers, policy makers, rural development implementing agencies and agro-industries to promote rural development. However, several challenges (language barrier, poor network signal and no electricity) limit the potential of these ICT devices and services from fully benefiting smallholder farmers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Makaula, Zimasa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Agricultural extension work , Information technology , Farms, Small -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11994 , vital:39125
- Description: Proper and timeous communication amongst different social development participants is one of the main driving factors for successful human progress. Different platforms have been used by different industries across the globe to ensure that useful information is shared with relevant structures at appropriate times. The global increase on use and availability of Information Communication Technologies (ICT’s) has prompted a thorough analysis and study of their relevance on different industries. Much of the increase has been observed mainly on highly urbanized areas, where the majority of the population is literate and who are above the poverty line. Some researchers have argued that the language used in some of the ICT’s is limited to the elite few, while others highlight cost implications in the use of these ICTs. The agricultural industry is not immune to the debates that relate to the development of ICTs, it is in most cases at the center, due to its diverse nature (in terms of participation) and close linkage to human development. There seems to be a correlation between ICT usage and the economies of scale in agricultural development, where smallholder farmers tend to use less of highly modernized ICTs, while commercial large scale farmers use more of the modernized ICTs. This disparity amongst farmers is exacerbated in many areas by the differing support systems employed by the public extension services. This study was initiated in order to study the usage and relevance of the ICTs by the smallholder farmers of the Umzimvubu Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The research address the following research questions: 1. Which ICTs are owned by smallholder farmers of Umzimvubu local municipality? 2. Do smallholder farmers use ICTs to communicate agricultural information? 3. What are the types of ICT devices and services used by smallholder farmers for vi agricultural development? 4. What are the challenges faced by smallholder farmers when using ICTs to communicate agricultural information? A survey questionnaire was then developed to collect the relevant data from randomly selected six villages of Umzimvubu Local Municipality. The questionnaires structure employed both closed and open-ended questions that were administered using a face to face interview, conducted on the sample population in each village. The results indicated that the most common ICTs that were owned by smallholder farmers in the study area were: mobile phones (33%), televisions (TV) (28%), and radio (20%). The results also showed that communication amongst farmers (35%) and extension officers (35%) was the most notable use of mobile phone from the study area. The results also revealed that most smallholder farmers faced the following challenges when using ICTs to retrieve agricultural information; poor signal (40%), inconsistent broadcasting times for TV and radio agricultural programmes (35%), language barrier (15%) and lack of electricity (10%). The study, therefore, concludes that a majority of smallholder farmers from the study area own ICT devices necessary for rural agricultural development (mobile phones, TV and radio) that can be targeted by extension officers, policy makers, rural development implementing agencies and agro-industries to promote rural development. However, several challenges (language barrier, poor network signal and no electricity) limit the potential of these ICT devices and services from fully benefiting smallholder farmers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The contribution of the citrus sub-sector to the economy of Sundays River Valley Local Municipality
- Authors: Smith, Siphelele Ricardo
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18861 , vital:42878
- Description: Neither the South African government, nor organised agriculture, nor the research community, has an accurate understanding of the role that the citrus sub-sector plays in the local economy of the main producing areas. There are in fact few studies in South Africa on the linkages between agriculture and other economic sectors at the local level. Through understanding the backward and forward linkages in the citrus sub-sector in Sundays River Valley, one of South Africa’s main citrus areas, it is possible to obtain a better understanding of how investment and expenditure in this sub-sector might influence other related subsectors. The main objective of the study is to assess and understand the citrus industry's contribution to the local economy of Sundays River Valley Local Municipality. This is done through the estimation of an input-output table which differentiates local from non-local economic linkages, and which also, given the labour intensity of the citrus subsector, is closed with respect to households, i.e. households are treated as an endogenous sector with interrelationships with the other sectors captured. The other sectors captured include agroprocessing, utilities, transport and retail. The input-out table, which is estimated based on primary surveys as well as secondary data, is thereafter used to perform input-output analysis on the basis of which the impact of different types of sectoral development are simulated. Results show that jobs can be created through expansion of area under citrus. In addition, more income to farm workers translates into higher income into the local retail sector. However, labour-saving technology could lead to job losses in both citrus and agroprocessing sectors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Smith, Siphelele Ricardo
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Agric (Agric Extension)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18861 , vital:42878
- Description: Neither the South African government, nor organised agriculture, nor the research community, has an accurate understanding of the role that the citrus sub-sector plays in the local economy of the main producing areas. There are in fact few studies in South Africa on the linkages between agriculture and other economic sectors at the local level. Through understanding the backward and forward linkages in the citrus sub-sector in Sundays River Valley, one of South Africa’s main citrus areas, it is possible to obtain a better understanding of how investment and expenditure in this sub-sector might influence other related subsectors. The main objective of the study is to assess and understand the citrus industry's contribution to the local economy of Sundays River Valley Local Municipality. This is done through the estimation of an input-output table which differentiates local from non-local economic linkages, and which also, given the labour intensity of the citrus subsector, is closed with respect to households, i.e. households are treated as an endogenous sector with interrelationships with the other sectors captured. The other sectors captured include agroprocessing, utilities, transport and retail. The input-out table, which is estimated based on primary surveys as well as secondary data, is thereafter used to perform input-output analysis on the basis of which the impact of different types of sectoral development are simulated. Results show that jobs can be created through expansion of area under citrus. In addition, more income to farm workers translates into higher income into the local retail sector. However, labour-saving technology could lead to job losses in both citrus and agroprocessing sectors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
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