Interviews with 44 farmers in the upper thukela basin, kwazulunatal, were conducted to identify common and specific challenges for the two groups and adaptive strategies for dealing with the effects of climate and other stressors. Abdelzaher cirad ciheamiamm the study was coordinated at country level by prof. Benue state has 23 local government areas with its headquarters in makurdi. South africa is a case in point, implementing one of the largest.
Like so many project through africa, money was given to fund an initiative, with no continued support. Pdf defining smallscale farmers in the south african. Again, providing support to smallscale farmers will go a long in building healthy communities. Small scale farmers lack capital, hence they do not acquire land for agriculture. The state has a population of 4,253,641 million people national gazette, 2009 and covers a. Smallscale subsistence farming, food security, climate change and adaptation. It is available in manual models from one to five rows and tractor models from five to 12 rows. In small scale agriculture the land do not exceed four hectare. The initiative aims to help smallscale and smallholder farmers put onemillion hectares of land which has been lying fallow under production over the next five years, as well as to help small businesses process the crops once they have been harvested. Smallscale agriculture holds big promise for africa.
Small scale farmers in south africa are still facing major challenges in the agricultural sector. Defining smallscale farmers in the south african context article pdf available in agrekon 374 december 1998 with 12,107 reads how we measure reads. The simple sustainable success of smallscale farming. It then highlights the international debate around smallscale farmers and compares it with the south african situation, which is totally. Institute for economic research on innovation tshwane university of technology, pretoria, south africa. Smallscale agriculture is the production of crops and livestock on a smallpiece of land without using advanced and expensive technologies. Study on smallscale family farming in the near east and north africa region focus country egypt a. Smallscale farming way to overcome food insecurity. Farm capital africas future is in setting up value addition plants in farming communities that then allow small scale farmers to benefit from increased revenues derived from sale of processed. The paper firstly addresses the definition of smallscale farmers. Small scale farming is very seldom sustainable on its own. Constraints and challenges facing the small scale farmers. Characteristics of smallscale agriculture at subsistence level.
Smallscale family farming in the near east and north africa region synthesis jacques marzin and pascal bonnet cirad omar bessaoud and christine tonnu ciheamiamm may 2016 fao supervising officer. Smallscale subsistence farming, food security, climate. Nico brits, based in vasfontein, pretoria, manufactures a range of implements for smallscale farmers, including the fiverow planter seen here. In this paper some of the challenges faced by smallscale farmers in the limpopo province have.
Within this context, this paper has as basic premise that in south africa the concept of smallscale farmer is usually valueladen, creates wrong impressions and is often viewed in a. Small scale farming and agricultural products marketing. However, in middle and higher latitudes areas the impact of climate change is to extend the length of the potential for growing seasons. Smallscale farmers productivity and growth are hindered by limited access to credit facilities 10. For more information regarding this property for sale in tarl ton, contact me for an appointment to view. Small scale farming in gauteng gumtree classifieds in. Small scale farming has become one of the ways to tackle the problem of lack and poverty amongst these people. Though the definition of size of these farms is a source of debate, it can be argued that farming on family pieces of land, on traditional lands and smallholdings on the periphery of urban areas, fall in this category. Projections show that demand for food in africa is set to double by 2050.
People that have been subjected to subsistence and small scale farming, struggle to cope with commercial requirements like the standards of produce, markets and transport. Forms of support offered to smallscale farmers 47 8. Elevate the role of smallholder farmers as stewards who manage and protect natural resources and drive sustainable development. In this paper some of the challenges faced by smallscale farmers in the limpopo province have been identified. Department of agricultural economics and farm management. Smallscale agriculture is practiced for both subsistence and commercial purposes. These obstacles can be categorized in four sections, namely. Figures from daff indicate that commercial farmers who practice large scale farming system. Trends in smallscale farming the african continent is facing huge population growth and rapid urbanisation. The paper therefore, examines how small scale farming assists in alleviating poverty in both rural and urban cities. Alfredo impiglia delivery manager for the regional initiative on smallscale family farming in the near east and north africa region. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the funder, ersa or the authors affiliated institutions. Ward 21 in soweto has a population that of 27 867 with about 4265 household.
Smallscale agriculture smallscale agriculture is the type of agriculture that is practiced on relatively small plots of land. Pdf constraints and challenges facing the small scale. Local agriculture has a critical role to play in making africa foodsecure over the next 30 years. Study on smallscale family farming in the near east and. The simple sustainable success of smallscale farming the.
Smallscale farmers can contribute to food security. They can also make sure that the crops that they are going to consume are free from any kind of preservatives. Opportunities and challenges facing smallscale cattle. He demonstrates that organic farming can be done at scale and be productive. The future of small scale farming in africa is in value. South africa is a case in point, implementing one of the largest unconditional cash transfer programmes. An overview hester vermeulen1 prof johann kirsten1 1 department agricultural economics, university of pretoria with research assistance by the national agricultural marketing council and postgraduate students. The paper highlights the situation of smallscale farmers in an international context and compares it with the south african situation that is totally different. Adaptation to climate change and other stressors among. Place smallscale farming at the centre of regional, national and global agricultural, environmental and social policies. It is located between longitudes 60 33e and 100e and latitudes 60 30 n and 80 10n. Of the 26,000 sugarcane growers, more than 25,000 are smallscale growers producing about ten percent of the total crop. Smallscale maize milling and consumption in the limpopo province of south africa.
Affordable, specialist equipment for smallscale growers. Farm size is not the issue currently, large and smallscale farming seem incompatible. In fact, there are major obstacles that limit the success of smallscale farming in africa. It is located between latitudes 70 1451n and 90 30 n and longitude 20 301e and 60 125 e. The milk sa guide to dairy farming in south africa a. Small scale farmers eradicating poverty and extreme hunger through agriculture in soweto, south africa. Smallscale farming systems in ghana1 africa cambridge.
Unavailability of land is one of the serious problems militating against small scale farming in nigeria. South africa, officially the republic of south africa rsa, is the southernmost country in africa. Largescale growers approximately 1,400 produce approximately 83% of the total. The research used focus groups and structured questionnaires in the sokhulu area to determine the contribution of smallscale timber farming to enhance sustainable livelihood.
Statistics south africa and datafirst at saldru consider the current data context for research and policy development in relation to smallscale farming. Smallscale agricultural water management dominates the landscape in south asia but its really becoming quite a feature also in subsaharan africa now, says meredith giordano, principal. Smallscale black farmers in postapartheid south africa 3 3. It features a 3 bedroom house with a bathroom, kitchen lunge and dining room.
Smallscale maize milling and consumption in the limpopo. With over 58 million people, it is the worlds 24thmost populous nation and covers an area of 1,221,037 kilometres 758,717 mi. Smallscale timber farming provides alternative income for growers selling to forestry, procurement companies and timber suppliers or agents. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. The challenge is to codesign ways to effectively manage these constraints with development actions. Developing smallscale black farmers land reform should seek to preserve current commercial farming community, develop black farmers. Theoretically, the study is framed using cousins 2011 class analytical perspectives on smallscale farming in south africa which distinguish between three types of petty commodity producers, i. Ideologies and discourses underpinning paradigms of small. The benefits of small scale farming in south africa is projected to help people purchasing locally grown products to develop a healthy lifestyle that everyone can take advantage of. Commercial and smallscale farmers in south africa are exposed to many challenges. This work was conducted as part of a larger participatory project with. This plot for sale in the tarlton area, on route to magaliesburg, is ideal for 2 families and outdoor farming smallscale stock farming.
South africa has a dual agricultural economy, with both welldeveloped commercial farming and more subsistencebased production in the deep rural areas. The enabling role of cash transfers in south africas former homelands cash transfers successfully alleviate poverty in many developing countries. Commercial and noncommercial dairy farmers commercial dairy farmers commercial farming is when the main purpose is to sell andor add value to agricultural products, such as milk, for profit. Aboul naga emeritus scientist, agriculture research center. The study found that smallscale dairy farming in zimbabwe is not economically viable, with low capital efficiency rates resulting from poor utilization of existing resources. Ersa shall not be liable to any person for inaccurate information or opinions contained herein.
392 31 62 218 14 1178 524 622 1231 678 392 1201 872 122 619 298 1525 306 1146 76 1451 917 73 1345 1429 401 264 145 353 966 212 683 80 1498 417 1273 555 534 742 1445 1242 801 1007 192 129 639