An analysis of the sustainability of small-scale farming in Dukuduku, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
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Date
2020
Authors
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
Redressing the injustices of the past apartheid government has been the core-focus of the South African government since the birth of democracy in 1994. The variety of rural based policies, like land restitution have been introduced in order to restore the dignity of people and by these means economically empower them (to productively utilise the land and by these means attain rural and agrarian transformation) in the former homelands who were forcefully removed from their land due to racially discriminatory laws of the apartheid government. However, this has been met with several challenges such as poor monitoring and evaluation by the state in certain areas, which has resulted in the maladministration of resources, poor market access as well as poor access to credit. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the sustainability of small-scale farming (with emphasis on the credit access, market access, improved infrastructure as well as state intervention) in Dukuduku, an area in which the community benefited from land restitution. The aim was achieved through four objectives. First, to map the spatial extent of small-scale farming in the study area from 20012019. Second, to examine the nature of economic opportunities arising from smallscale farming in the study area. Third, to explore perceptions of small-scale farmers in Dukuduku towards land restitution programme. Fourth, to assess the sustainability of small-scale farming in relationship to agrarian transformation in the study area. The study employed the convergent parallel mixed method design to collect and analyse the data. The findings suggest that, while small scale farming has increased significantly in the study area, the farmers continue to face challenges relating to inadequate agricultural support and extension services. This has undermined the sustainability of small scale farming activities and by extension agrarian transformation. The study recommends that, this calls for proactive and effective agricultural support and extension services by the government so that the utilisation of restituted land for agricultural purpose (small-scale farming in this study), is productive, sustainable and transformational.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, at the University of Zululand, 2020.
Keywords
Small-scale farming, land restitution, agrarian transformation, radical political economy