Browsing by Author "Vink, N."

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    Food security in rural areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
    (Springer, 2013-02) De Cock, N.; D Haese, M.; Vink, N.; Van Rooyen, C. J.; Staelens, L.; Schonfeldt, H. C.; D Haese, L.
    Although South Africa is food secure as a nation, many households remain food insecure. The government has recognized several key food security challenges in the Integrated Food Security Strategy (IFSS). However, South Africa still lacks specific and accepted methods to measure food security and currently has no regulated way of monitoring the food security status of its population. This article reports on an investigation into the food security situation of rural households in the Limpopo Province. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered across five districts in the province. The study sample eventually involved 599 households in the rural areas of Limpopo. This allowed a thorough description of household characteristics and livelihoods and an assessment of the food security and poverty levels in the area. The findings showed that 53 % of the sampled rural households declared themselves to be severely food insecure. Multivariate analyses were used to identify the main food security status. These determinants were mainly human capital (education, household size and dependency ratio), household income and district in which the households were situated. The findings indicated that policy priorities should be focused on the promotion of rural education and creating an enabling environment for the rural labour market.
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    Towards a common understanding of 'emerging farmer' in a South African context using data from a survey of three district municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province
    (South African Society of Agricultural Extension, 2019-01) Zantsi, Siphe; Greyling, Jan C.; Vink, N.
    The objective of this study was to improve our understanding of the diversity among emerging smallholders using various commonly used indicators. These were reviewed and applied to a sample of 379 emerging smallholders situated in three major smallholding districts within the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It was found that the typical emerging farmer has the following profile: He is black, situated in a former homeland and is 58 years old. The typical farmer cultivates field crops as a secondary source of food and income, but keeps livestock as primary and secondary sources of income. The average emerging smallholder mostly grows maize for own consumption given a crop commercialisation index (CCI) of 0.66 and sells a greater portion of his cabbage and potatoes given CCIs of 0.73 and 0.83 respectively. The average emerging farmer earns a net income of R26 600 per year, but there is an income inequality, since the most successful farmer earns 26.7 times the average income. This translates to a Ghini coefficient of 0.48, which is high by international standards, but low compared to the South African average of 63.1. When speaking to fellow farmers, it was found that 78% of them feel constrained by farming in a homeland, but only 72% would be willing to move from their homeland, with most (45%) saying that they would only do so if they were provided with sufficient government support.