Papers by Godswill Makombe
Tropical Animal Health and Production, Jun 7, 2018
The opportunity for the smallholder beef farming system to support the growth of South Africa's l... more The opportunity for the smallholder beef farming system to support the growth of South Africa's livestock industry is untapped. Slow growth of the sector is attributed to many limitations that affect the smallholder beef farming sector. The objectives of the current study were to identify and characterize the systemic challenges and constraints that confront market-oriented smallholder beef farmers in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data collection involved interviewing all the 62 farmers under the Limpopo Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)-Nguni project using structured questionnaires. The sample was predominantly males (87%) and adults aged over 45 years (88%). Close to half (47%) of the respondents had tertiary education. Major ecological and production challenges reported as percentages of respondents were drought (96%), rangeland degradation (94%), diseases (89%), feed shortage (86%) and inadequate water (82%). Nearly 50% of the respondents ranked the extent of these challenges as high to very high. Results indicated that poor access to finance, lack of infrastructure and poor access to markets were some of the key limitations reported by more than 80% of the respondents with above 50% ranking them as high to very high. Logistic regression models showed that respondents' perceptions to the majority of the challenges were largely influenced (p<0.05) by education, access to formal training, farm size and age. Given all the limitations found, current findings point to the prospects of designing strategies that support knowledge flows and capacitating the farmers with skills to combat the challenges. Key words Challenges • Constraints • Nguni • Smallholder farmer • South Africa 3 Mapiye. O 4 Mapiye. O Limpopo through the introduction of indigenous Nguni cattle bloodlines and the creation of commercial benefits for the market-oriented smallholder farmers (DAFFnews 2013). Beneficiaries of this programme constitute part of the rapidly growing population of marketoriented smallholder cattle farmers (MacLeod et al. 2008; DAFF 2012b) hence are a strategic component to the future of the cattle production industry in South Africa. They are a unique group distinct from commercial and communal farmers and are likely to be confronted with challenges and constraints that are exclusive to them. Generally, South Africa and the Sub-Saharan region's cattle production at the subsistence and market-oriented smallholder level is constrained by a variety of factors including poor access to land and water, lack of access to markets and extension services, high transaction costs, small herd sizes, and risks associated with animal diseases, drought and theft (Mapiye et al. 2009; Khaphayi and Celliers, 2016). These challenges hamper productivity and market access hence the effective graduation of smallholder farmers into commercial producers. A number of research studies have been conducted with the goal of broadening the understanding of these factors (Khaphayi and Celliers, 2016). Invariably, these challenges have been identified as affecting smallholder farmers in general by most studies. Hence, there is remarkable scarcity of information unpacking the systemic picture of the challenges constraining the development of market-oriented smallholder farmers. Since the advent of the LRAD programme, the South African government increased its budget for supporting the development of market-oriented smallholder farmers (Aliber and Hall, 2012). Despite such efforts, Aliber and Hall (2012) argued that there is not enough evidence that these efforts have been effective. This is supported by the growing evidence that smallholder cattle farming sectors continue to be weighed down by production and market access issues
Information Development, Dec 17, 2021
The transformation of smallholder farming is poised to be one of the key drivers of achieving the... more The transformation of smallholder farming is poised to be one of the key drivers of achieving the dual objectives of food security and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers account for between 60–80% of the food produced in the region but face many challenges that impede their productivity. Such challenges include a lack of timely access to appropriate agricultural information and services, which results in poor decision-making, particularly in addressing challenges and responding effectively to opportunities. In that context, the effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in improving accessibility to appropriate agricultural information and services presents substantial prospects for transforming the productivity and livelihoods of the farmers. Currently, the region experiences massive penetration and propagation of mobile and web-based applications. However, there is a dearth of compelling, comprehensive reviews evaluating their importance in enhancing agricultural information and services dissemination to smallholder farmers. Therefore, the current review explores the potential of enhancing agricultural information and services dissemination to smallholder farmers through ICTs and highlights gaps in their development and deployment in SSA. Five existing mobile applications used to disseminate agricultural information and services to smallholder farmers were identified, and their advantages, limitations, and opportunities were discussed. These were Esoko, iCow, Community Knowledge Workers, WeFarm and DigiFarm. The development and deployment of user-driven mobile applications that provide curated skill-sharing platforms, encourage farmers to give feedback to extension systems in real-time and promote the participation of women and youth in agriculture are recommended.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2011
Saharan Africa, in general. IWMI is also grateful to officials of the Ethiopian Ministry of Water... more Saharan Africa, in general. IWMI is also grateful to officials of the Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) for providing information and feedback. A number of officials from regional governments also took a lot of time to provide information and we are grateful to all of them. We are grateful for all the input and assistance provided, by the various individuals and organizations, in compiling this report. However, the authors remain responsible for the contents of this paper.
Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit
Tourism is used as a community development tool. It has been incorporated into national developme... more Tourism is used as a community development tool. It has been incorporated into national development plans. In South Africa, it is incorporated into local economic development (LED) plans. The LED strategy for the City of Mbombela Local Municipality includes the development of a tourism route in the former Umjindi Local Municipality. Through the application of the descriptive research design, we use the Likert scale to investigate perceptions of the community around the area where the tourism route is proposed. A sampling frame was developed by listing all the 224 households who live in the section of the road covered by the tourism route. From the 224 households in the sampling frame, a simple random sample of 89 households was drawn using the SPSS random number generator. A structured questionnaire was used to solicit the perceptions of respondents concerning the economic, socio-cultural, environmental and infrastructural attributes of the tourism route. Although they need to be in...
New Advances in Postharvest Technology [Working Title]
Storage is a crucial link in the food supply chain. It helps to even-out fluctuations in food dem... more Storage is a crucial link in the food supply chain. It helps to even-out fluctuations in food demand and supply. This ensures food availability during the lean periods. Despite the immense contribution of storage, a knowledge gap exists on the storage types used by smallholder maize farmers, how they are acquired, used, and their cost in Uganda. Storage affects the social and economic well-being of smallholder maize farmers. In this study, smallholder maize farmers in three districts of eastern Uganda (Iganga, Manafwa, and Katakwi) were interviewed during the maize storage season of 2014/2015. The aim was to: describe the different storage types; find out how they were acquired and used; the length of storage and the cost. The findings show that sacks were the most used storage type. Storage types were acquired through purchase; however, some were constructed by the smallholder maize farmers. Affordability and accessibility determined the storage type used. Some storage types were n...
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Smallholder Irrigation Schemes (SIS) are pivotal in sustaining livelihoods and creating employmen... more Smallholder Irrigation Schemes (SIS) are pivotal in sustaining livelihoods and creating employment in rural communities of South Africa. However, despite the revitalization and rehabilitation of SIS by the government, the performance of farmers is still below par. This study evaluates the performance of water-users across four SIS in KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN). Technical Efficiency was used as a proxy for performance and the Stochastic Meta-Frontier Analysis method was employed to measure the overall efficiency across 306 households. The efficiency model results showed that governance index, psychological capital, land tenure security, credit access and gender affect water-users' technical efficiency. The study concludes that interventions should be geared toward strengthening institutions and the empowerment of farmers through relevant training and access to credit. Furthermore, adequacy of water and its availability in the schemes should be improved to ensure profitability a...
Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 2020
Despite government's huge investments in the informal sector activities, women are constrained in... more Despite government's huge investments in the informal sector activities, women are constrained in the credit market mainly due to culture; norms and lack of collateral securities as majority of women do not have control over productive capital. As a way of improving access to credit by women, the Government recently launched a number of women empowerment policies among them is the improved access to credit from financial institutions. Using individual firm level data and a methodological approach consisting of endogenous switching regression approach, this study intends to empirically investigate whether the improved credit access by women is justified in Zimbabwe. An endogenous switching regression is appropriate to deal with individual heterogeneity and examine whether access to credit is gender-based. The results showed that there is no discrimination in the credit market as there is no significant difference in access to credit between male and female entrepreneurs. However, there is a slight significant improvement in firm performance due to access to credit. The study recommends that Microcredit be made more flexible and to incorporate special relief non-financial intermediations to meet so as cater for the gender needs of household and community.
Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2020
Resolution of the existing disconnect between experts and farmers' insights on sustainable farmin... more Resolution of the existing disconnect between experts and farmers' insights on sustainable farming requires understanding of the key factors driving farmers' perceptions on the concept. Interviews were conducted with 160 low-input farmers to evaluate the drivers of their perceptions of sustainable ruminant farming practices in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It was found that farmers had negative perceptions on rangeland, breeding, livestock security and marketing management practices and positive perceptions on socio-cultural, family health and education practices. The major factors that influenced farmers' perceptions of sustainable ruminant farming practices include location, age, gender and employment status. Males farming full-time in peri-urban areas were more likely to perceive decreases (p ≤ 0.05) while the young farmers had greater probability to perceive increases (p ≤ 0.05) in ecologically related ruminant farming practices. Married, more educated males farming full-time in rural areas were more likely to perceive decreases (p ≤ 0.05) in economically related ruminant farming practices compared to their counterparts. Young males farming full-time had greater probability to perceive decreases (p ≤ 0.05), whereas rural farmers were more likely to perceive increases (p ≤ 0.05) in socially related ruminant farming practices. These key drivers of farmer's perceptions could be used to develop context-specific indicators for sustainability assessment and synchronise experts and farmers insights on sustainable ruminant farming.
The qualitative report, 2022
The typical cases of funded development projects are donor-funded. One of the major problems face... more The typical cases of funded development projects are donor-funded. One of the major problems faced by donor-funded projects is that after the withdrawal of donor funding, the projects are not sustainable. Literature has identified some of the factors that cause lack of sustainability including low stakeholder ownership and commitment, lack of understanding of community context, lack of community empowerment, leadership, technology choice, and over-ambitious objectives. I use the social constructivist approach to study the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project in Limpopo Province of South Africa which I got in contact with through student supervision. The project is based on a livestock pass-on system using the indigenous Nguni cattle. The objectives of the project are to reintroduce the Nguni cattle to their original owners, to contribute to livelihoods, to alleviate poverty, and to contribute towards food security. I collected data from three key informants who have been involved with project formation and management and are still involved with it. I collected data through recorded interviews and analyzed them using thematic analysis. I concluded that this project, not only demonstrates the ability of the government to take over projects from donors and run them successfully/ sustainably, but it also provides a model of how this can be done. The critical question is: Can the projects for which this model is appropriate be identified a priori as this would increase their sustainability.
Africa insight, 2018
This study aimed to assess and compare changes in poverty levels in the identified wards, using i... more This study aimed to assess and compare changes in poverty levels in the identified wards, using indicators of multiple deprivation. South Africa has grappled with the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality for more than two decades. The South African government has employed various poverty alleviation strategies in response to the structural causes of poverty, but it continues to exist. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the poverty situation reported in 2006 and in 2011, using indicators of multiple deprivation. It was found that very few households have moved out of poverty and that the majority are in districts where levels of poverty are high. Detailed knowledge of poverty locations will assist policy makers and implementers to allocate resources effectively by targeting areas in dire need. By using indicators of multiple deprivation, municipalities can rank and prioritise community needs, and therefore assist policy makers to design targeted progr...
A study of irrigation systems in Zimbabwe. Proceedings of two workshops held in Harare and Julias... more A study of irrigation systems in Zimbabwe. Proceedings of two workshops held in Harare and Juliasdale, Zimbabwe, 3 - 6 August, 1993.
African Journal of Economic Policy, 2006
ABSTRACT
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 2018
Despite more than two decades of implementation, land reform in South Africa remains a hotly cont... more Despite more than two decades of implementation, land reform in South Africa remains a hotly contested terrain that is beset with numerous challenges and uncertainties. One of the main goals of the programme was to transfer land from the predominantly white commercial farmers to a cohort of black small-scale commercial farmers who would productively utilize the farms using irrigation and actively contribute to the local and national agricultural value-chains (Anseeuw and Mathebula, 2008). However, since the mid-1990s when the reforms were introduced, South Africa has struggled to attain the main performance targets set for the reform program and its contribution to the livelihoods of the targeted beneficiaries remains debatable (Mngxitama, 2006; Ntsebeza, 2007; Mpehle, 2012). The land reform process in the country is constituted by three main pillars, namely, restitution, redistribution, and tenure reform. The main objective of the restitution pillar is to return land or provide compensation to black communities who were dispossessed of their land by the apartheid regime. In this regard, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides that persons or communities who were dispossessed of property after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices are entitled to restoration of that property or to equitable redress. The redistribution pillar seeks to transfer land from white commercial farmers to blacks who have no land or have inadequate access to land, thereby increasing black ownership of commercial farming land in rural areas. This is provided for in Section 25(5) of the South African Constitution, which states that "the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis." The tenure reform pillar seeks to improve the tenure security of former commercial farming workers who have remained on the land that has been redistributed.
This report is based on an output of the Project, "Assessment of Experiences and Identification o... more This report is based on an output of the Project, "Assessment of Experiences and Identification of Opportunities for Promoting Small-Scale and Micro Irrigation and Rainwater Harvesting to Improve Food Security in Ethiopia," funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in cooperation with the Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) and Regional Bureaus for Irrigation and Agriculture. We are very grateful to CIDA and its staff members not only for providing us the opportunity to do this work, but also for the substantive feedback and comments received on earlier drafts. We hope that the report and accompanying outputs will be useful to CIDA and to others considering investment in agricultural water development in Ethiopia. IWMI is also grateful to officials of the Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for providing information and feedback. A number of officials from regional governments, NGOs and donors also took a lot of time to provide information and we are grateful to all of them. Finally, we thank Dr. G Makombe, Postdoctoral Fellow at IWMI, for his critical and constructive editorial assistance. With all this input, however, the authors remain responsible for the contents of this report.
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Papers by Godswill Makombe