Abstract

MUZEKENYI, Mike; ZUWARIMWE, Jethro  and  KILONZO, Beata M. Utilizing small-scale commercial farming to enhance local economic development in South Africa. JCMAN [online]. 2022, vol.19, n.2, pp.22-39. ISSN 1815-7440.  http://dx.doi.org/10.35683/jcm20007.155.

BACKGROUND: Small scale commercial farming has been targeted to be one of the avenues for local economic development. However, there is little information to clearly identify who these farmers are which creates a daunting task in terms of managerial processes PURPOSE OF STUDY: Least is known regarding who small scale commercial farmers are which makes it difficult to utilize them to enhance economic development. The purpose of the study was to assess how small-scale commercial farming can enhance LED. The paper attempts to characterize small scale commercial farmers and identify their role in Local economic development in relation to the rural economy and assess the role of small-scale commercial farming towards improving local economic development in the rural areas DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A survey was conducted, and a multiple-stage sampling technique was used to select 217 small-scale commercial farmers. Quantitative data were collected using self-completion structured questionnaires from 217 small-scale commercial farmers in Vhembe District of Limpopo. IBM SPSS version 24 was used for data analysis and descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentiles were used in this regard RESULTS/FINDINGS: The computed results revealed that land ownership, size and market motives are critical variables to define small-scale commercial farming. At most 56% produce on community land, and 34% are on freehold. Subsequently, 88% of the respondents rely on mixed agriculture as the primary source of income and are producing on an average land size of 8 hectares per farm. The findings further revealed that farmers sell at most 88% of their produce at local markets and 12% to national markets RECOMMENDATIONS: The study recommends that more agri-business training and financial support should be given to small-scale commercial farmers to address issues of regional economic development MANAGERIAL IMPLICATION: This article demonstrated how small-scale commercial farming characterisation could assist in farming managerial processes such as establishing a typology of practical activities JEL CLASSIFICATION: Q12

Keywords : Land ownership; Local Economic Development; Rural development; Small-scale commercial farmers.

        · text in English     · English ( pdf )