Browsing by Author "Mapiye, Obvious"

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    Development of a livestock management database system towards sustainable smallholder farming systems in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Mapiye, Obvious; Molotsi, Annelin H.; Makombe, Godswill; Dzama, Kennedy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Animal Sciences.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The commercialisation of smallholder farmers has taken the lead on the development agenda of many developing countries. Invariably, the majority of smallholder livestock producers are less productive than commercial producers and lag in commercialisation. Apart from the multifaceted challenges that smallholder farmers face, limited access to appropriate information and extension services constrains their sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design and develop a Livestock Management Database System (LMDS) for improving the sustainability of commercially oriented smallholder cattle producers in the North West Province of South Africa. The system promotes the efficiency of delivering agricultural extension services and the upscaling of smallholder livestock production through improved access to tailored information and services. The study was guided by the pragmatic paradigm, which accommodates positivism (quantitative) and normative (qualitative) perspectives. A partially mixed sequential explanatory design with a dominant quantitative method was adopted. A structured questionnaire was administered to 101 commercially oriented beneficiaries of the Nguni cattle project in North West Province, South Africa, to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) with farmers and extension officers, respectively. A double-bounded contingent evaluation method was used to estimate the farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for rangeland conservation and regeneration. A binary logistic regression model was used to evaluate the determinants of farmers’ WTP. The results show that most farmers (>80%) were willing to pay the initial bid price of ZAR165.00, with the estimated mean WTP being ZAR244.00 ha -1 year -1 for improving rangelands. The logistic regression findings show that the farmers' WTP responses were influenced by education (p = 0.012), most important breed (p = 0.039), farming experience (p = 0.026), goat ownership (p = 0.022), ecoregion (p = 0.079), and income from cattle sales (p = 0.048). The high WTP results highlight the potential of involving the smallholder cattle farmers in implementing payment-based programs designed to improve the ecological sustainability of rangeland ecosystems and even introduce new interventions such as the LMDS. However, one of the complex challenges of driving the growth of commercially oriented smallholder farmers is ensuring that farmers understand and use new technologies. Thus, explaining their behavioural intentions before technology development is one of the most effective ways to increase adoption and identify potential design issues. Therefore, the study investigated the farmers’ experiences of using ICTs and their perceptions of the usefulness of the LMDS in livestock production. Results revealed that over 75% of the farmers had smartphones and smartphone operating skills, and nearly two-thirds were using the internet to search for agricultural information. About 80% had a strong positive perception of the usefulness of the proposed LMDS towards their livestock production. FGDS and KII results also observed higher positive perceptions towards the innovation. The Chi-square statistic was used to test the association between farmers' socioeconomic characteristics and perceptions of the usefulness of the LMDS. The results show that education level, smartphone ownership, farming experience, cattle herd size and gender influenced farmers’ perceptions of the LMDS. Poor mobile network connectivity (44%) and lack of digital skills (20%) were the limitations perceived to hamper the adoption of the innovation. The deeper insights from study findings on the perceived usefulness of mobile technology can be beneficial to policymakers, researchers, and development agents and institutions when developing interventions for adoption by farmers. The LMDS development process involved a human-centred design thinking process in which development activities were based on the farmers and extension officers’ needs and expectations. Development of the LMDS has reached the prototyping phase, which involves software development and validation in the actual operational environment.
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    Domestic free-range pig genetic resources in Southern Africa : progress and prospects
    (MDPI, 2020) Halimani, Tinyiko Edward; Mapiye, Obvious; Marandure, Tawanda; Januarie, Diedre; Imbayarwo-Chikosi, Venancio Edward; Dzama, Kennedy
    Pig genetic resources in Africa originate from different regions and were introduced through several migration pathways. Genetic analysis has shown a strong phylogeographic pattern, with pigs on the eastern parts showing a high frequency of alleles from the Far East while the ones on the western parts show a strong European influence. This highlights the influence of trade routes on the genetic legacy of African pigs. They have, however, since adapted to the local environments to produce unique populations with unique attributes. Most of the pigs are now reared in resource-constrained smallholdings under free-range conditions. They are largely owned by women who spread ownership of the resource through kinship networks. Very little work has been done to characterize, conserve, and sustainably utilize pig genetic resources in Southern Africa. The risk status of the breeds together with population numbers, distribution, and other attributes are largely unknown. This paper proposes several strategies for the sustainable utilization of the pig genetic resources: A market-driven in situ conservation program and two complementary ex situ strategies. In addition, the possibility of community-based breed improvement programs is discussed. It was concluded that genetic characterization of domestic free-range pig populations should be a supreme priority.
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    A gross margin analysis for Nguni cattle farmers in Limpopo Province, South Africa
    (Public Library of Science, 2021-06-24) Nkadimeng, Mapule Valencia; Makombe, Godswill; Mapiye, Obvious; Mapiye, Cletos; Oluwatay, Isaac; Dzama, Kennedy; Mojapelo, Cedric; Mollel, Naftali; Ngambi, Jones; Mautjana, Madimetja Human; Vasa, Laszlo
    Factors such as increases in population, urbanization, growth in per capita income and changes in consumer taste and preferences are causing gradual increases in livestock product consumption and demand. South Africa is addressing this predicted increase in livestock products demand by commercializing smallholder livestock producers. The Limpopo Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Nguni Cattle Development Project is an example of such effort. The economic performance of these efforts needs to be evaluated. We use gross margin analysis to evaluate the performance of the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project. Additionally, we use regression analysis to identify factors influencing gross margins. Our results indicate that although smallholders show potential to commercialize, they lack commercial farming experience and require that a strong extension support system be used as one of the strategies to improve profitability. We also noted that individual farmers were more profitable than group farmers. Multiple regression analysis shows that three variables could be used to stimulate gross margin among the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project farmers. These are herd size, distance to market and farm size. Since farm size is a given, policy should focus on assisting farmers to build their herds and to have better access to markets.
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    Livelihood, food and nutrition security in Southern Africa : what role do indigenous cattle genetic resources play?
    (MDPI, 2020) Mapiye, Obvious; Chikwanha, Obert C.; Makombe, Godswill; Dzama, Kennedy; Mapiye, Cletos
    Of the 345 million people in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), 30.6% are severely food insecure, 8% malnourished and 50% live with less than US $1 per day, respectively. Livelihood, food and nutrition security have, therefore, become key priorities for the SADC region in response to these complex challenges. Given that 70% of the SADC population directly rely on agriculture for food, nutrition and income, sustained agricultural productivity may play an important role in achieving livelihood, food and nutrition security in the region. Being an important part of the agri-food system of marginalised communities in the region, cattle have great potential to contribute to the goal of reducing food and nutrition insecurity. The region has a population size of about 64 million cattle of which 75% of the population is kept under the smallholder farming systems, and primarily composed of indigenous tropical breeds. Most indigenous cattle breeds are, however, either undergoing rapid genetic dilution or at risk of extinction. At the same time, their environments, production and marketing systems are experiencing high rates of change in time and space. More importantly, indigenous cattle breeds in the region are undervalued. This makes it uncertain that future systems will have the adapted cattle breeds required for optimal livelihoods, food and nutrition security. To this end, the promotion of sustainable use of indigenous cattle for livelihood, food and nutrition security in the SADC region is strongly recommended.
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    Towards a management database to improve the sustainability of cattle production and its contribution to food security : a case of emerging beef farmers in Limpopo Province, South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Mapiye, Obvious; Dzama, Kennedy; Makombe, Godswill; Mapiye, Cletos; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Animal Sciences.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main objective of the study was to assess and recommend the need for knowledge management strategies to improve sustainability of beef production and its contribution to food security in South Africa. This was achieved by administering structured questionnaires to all the 62 farmers under the Limpopo IDC-Nguni beef cattle project between August and September, 2016. Systemic challenges and constraints affecting the growth and sustainability of the farmers were identified and characterized. A quantitative research approach was used in the study. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics. Farmers indicated that they were constrained with parasites and diseases (89%), feed shortages (86%), water scarcity (82%), poor cattle breeding management (74%) and stock theft (73%). The majority of farmers also reported the challenges of drought (98%), heat waves (97%), rangeland degradation (97%) and biodiversity loss (90%). Location of the farmer was associated with perception of being confronted with production challenges such as poor cattle breeding management (p=0.01), parasites (p=0.02) and diseases (p=0.02). Poor access to markets and marketing information were reported from 76% of the farmers whereas 73% and 45% reported of being confronted by high transaction costs and poor market reliability, respectively. Farmers also reported challenges such as lack of finance (94%) and poor access to extension services (81%). As a follow-up, farmers’ information sources and methods of sharing messages and intervention strategies were assessed. The majority (88%) of farmers sought for management advice when confronted with challenges and constraints. Government extension officers (53%) and other farmers (30%) were indicated as the major sources of information for the farmers. About 80% of the respondents were found to be involved in the creation of interventions and extension messages, of which 63% of them indicated that they shared with other farmers while 33% shared with government extension officials. Majority of the farmers used farm-to-farm visits (56%) when sharing their own created intervention strategies and messages. In addition, 41% of the farmers indicated that they used mobile phones when sharing the intervention messages. The study concludes that the farmers were faced with a variety of challenges and constraints. When faced with challenges, most farmers were involved in the creation of intervention strategies and messages which they shared. Therefore, an opportunity for improved sustainability and food security contribution by the farmers can be explored through development and implementation of knowledge management strategies such as a management database system. Keywords: Sustainability, challenges and constraints, emerging farmers, management database, intervention strategies, extension messages.