Doctoral Degrees (Agricultural Economics)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Agricultural Economics) by Subject "Agricultural extension work -- South Africa"

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    'n Kommunikasiestrategie vir die Nasionale Departement van Landbou ter ondersteuning van kleinboerontwikkeling
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000-03) Viljoen, Hendrik Christophel; Laubscher, J.; Marincowitz, G. J. O.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Agricultural Economics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is indeed possible for agricultural institutions to render optimum services to farmers provided that such services meet the requirements of the farmers. Insofar as the agricultural extension and information arm of these services operated in the past, the emphasis was on keeping abreast - on a scientific basis - of the needs of commercial farming. The reason for this was that over the years a clear picture of the commercial farmer as individual and his particular needs had emerged and the focus was on this. The opposite is true of developing agriculture. It is evident from available literature that there are substantial differences between them, and that these may well have a very real influence on the nature of their information requirements. Inadequate knowledge and information concerning the developing farmer - mainly as a result of very little personal contact at grassroots level - therefore create a gap in the armour of the National Department of Agriculture (NDA) as a service organisation. This study is aimed at making a contribution to this inadequate - often totally lacking - pool of knowledge and to formulate a strategy that could narrow this gap. To gain an insight into and become conversant with the world of small farmers and subsistence farmers and the influence that the realities of their lifestyle may ultimately have on their ultimate information requirements and the implementation thereof, a profile was compiled of traditional small-scale farmers in several Rural Areas of the Western Cape Province. This information was acquired from recent surveys and studies carried out in these areas. Using this profile as background, an attempt was made to describe the information environment by using a qualitative investigation method known as the focus group data collection technique. The findings of the investigation show that the very real need for land ownership and the availability of financial assistance are primary needs. Before these problems are solved to the satisfaction of small farmers, it can not be expected that they will identify information as a high priority. As regards the utilisation of specific channels of information, fellow-farmers and agricultural extension officers are identified as the most important personal channels, with the radio and printed media as the major mass-media channels. In the absence of a departmental communication strategy, development support communication (DSC) is put forward as a potential strategy to bridge the shortcomings that emerged form the investigation. In fact, DSCis the liaison between interest groups with a view to reaching consensuswhich leads to action in which the interests, needs and abilities of all role players are taken into account. The role of the go-between to act as mediator between ground-level communities and institutions such as the NDA's Directorate of Communication, and extension and research would also be vital.