1,720,963 research outputs found
Smallholder sugarcane producers’ perceptions and practices in bioenergy production in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
No full textText in EnglishSmallholder sugarcane production has an important role in promoting the participation of smallholder farmers in the bioenergy sector. There is not much which is known about smallholder farmers’ potential and willingness to engage in the bioenergy sector. The main objective of the research was to assess small-scale farmers’ potential and willingness to engage in bioenergy production from sugarcane. The specific objectives of the study were to determine factors affecting small-scale sugarcane producers’ potential to participate in bioenergy production; assess the current practices and the level of engagement in bioenergy production of smallholder sugarcane producers; evaluate factors affecting farmers’ willingness to participate in bioenergy production from sugarcane; and highlight what resources and institutional support is required for the smallholders to fully participate in the bioenergy sector. Bioenergy is a form of renewable produced from biomass, primarily derived from plants such as forest residues, woody crops, and crop waste, among others. Renewable energy helps to reduce the carbon footprint of energy sources. Smallholder farmers have an opportunity to contribute to the reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation.
The study was conducted with smallholder sugarcane farmers in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. A quantitative research approach was employed for the research. Following an ethical clearance with Reference 2022/CAES_HREC/050 from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science's Health and Research Ethics Committee, Thus, given a population of 893 smallholder farmers, a sample size of 269 smallholders was generated using Microsoft Excel's rand function. A total of 134 farmers were interviewed in November 2021. The data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Both descriptive statistics and econometric model were used to analyze the data. Two regression models (Ordinal Least Squares regression and Principal Components Regression were estimated). Data was analyzed using both SPSS V28 and STATA 17.
The findings showed that none of the farmers are currently engaged in bioenergy production. However, interest to engage in the sector was very high. Sugarcane harvesting is mainly manual, though a few uses mechanical harvesting, which is expensive. Most of the farmers burn their sugarcane before harvesting. Four factors were significant in influencing the bagasse potential from farmers ‘sugarcane production. These were the farmer’s age, land ownership, access to credit and cooperative membership. Also, four factors were significant in influencing them willingness to participate in the bioenergy sector these were land under sugarcane production, land tenure security and their perceptions on land and food security.
The study concludes that it is important to focus on young farmers to promote the bioenergy sector in smallholder farming. Inadequate land inhibits smallholder sugarcane farmers from seizing opportunities from the bioenergy sector. The current financial support mechanisms for smallholder farmers in the sugarcane industry and collective action arrangements do not enhance farmers’ propensity to participate in bioenergy production. It was also concluded that improving the land tenure security of smallholder sugarcane farmers would enhance their willingness to participate in bioenergy production. Furthermore, smallholder farmers who believe that the production of bioenergy requires large tracts of land are more willing to engage in bioenergy production compared to their counterparts. This is because of the anticipation of support which comes with such kinds of projects. Unfavourable opinions on the possible compromise between food security and bioenergy.
The study advocates for youth development activities to boost young participation in sugarcane cultivation. A revamp of the financial support system and collective action arrangements would enhance the participation of farmers in the bioenergy sector. The farmers’ sugarcane trash management practices should be changed. Green harvesting should be promoted in smallholder sugarcane farming. Knowledge is critical and thus training is needed to improve the farmers’ knowledge of trash management practices, bioenergy, and associated processes. Land reform/ redistribution in the country should support the creation of secure land tenure rights for farmers. The farmers’ fears regarding the bioenergy sector should be addressed before any intervention. The negative perceptions can derail any progress made in promoting bioenergy within the smallholder farming sector. There is also a need to ensure that any bioenergy programme in the smallholder sugarcane sector should not affect the production of crops for food security.M. Sc. (Agricultural Economics)Agriculture and Animal Healt
Assessment of the effects of climate change, renewable energy consumption, economic and population growth on sugarcane productivity in South Africa from 1972-2021
Get PDFText in EnglishSugarcane production in South Africa is influenced by several factors, including environmental dynamics (climate change, carbon dioxide emissions), consumption of renewable energy, population expansion, and economic growth. Understanding the intricate interdependencies between these variables is essential for sustainable agricultural planning. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method, this study examines the effects of climate change, renewable energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, population growth, and economic growth on sugarcane production in South Africa. The study utilizes time-series data collected annually from various institutions between 1972 and 2021. This methodology facilitates a comprehensive assessment of both short- and long-term dynamics and their interactions by considering the variables of interest in this study. In the long run, temperature and carbon dioxide levels have a statistically significant negative impact on sugarcane yield, with significance levels at 10% and 1%, respectively. Conversely, rainfall, renewable energy consumption, and gross domestic product exhibit a statistically significant positive relationship with sugarcane yield. In the short run, the analysis showed that rainfall has a statistically significant negative effect on sugarcane yield at the 1% significance level. However, renewable energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have statistically significant positive effects on sugarcane yield, both at the 10% significance level. The causality results indicated insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship between sugarcane yield and temperature, renewable energy consumption, GDP, carbon dioxide emissions, and population growth. Nevertheless, a uni-directional causal relationship was identified from rainfall to sugarcane yield, indicating that changes in rainfall patterns may lead to changes in sugarcane yield. The study recommends focusing on growing the renewable energy sector by allocating resources to agriculture for bioenergy production.M. Sc. (Agricultural Economics)Agriculture and Animal Healt
Value chains in rain-fed agriculture and rural youth entrepreneurial development: the case of Umzinyathi and Amajuba districts, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Get PDFMasters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.Unemployment has been relatively high in South Africa and continues to rise, especially among the youth, particularly those who reside in rural areas. This has resulted in various socio-economic challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, and multiple social ills (drug abuse, crime, social unrest, etc.). This is despite the implementation of various national policies and strategies from the government and different stakeholders that seek to reduce the level of unemployment in the country. In an attempt to fast-track job creation, the government has been promoting entrepreneurship as a potential solution to the youth unemployment challenge. Considering the exposure at the disposal of rural youth regarding agriculture, it is expedient for them to utilize these skills in opportunities that will potentially create them income through self-employment. The challenge is that empirical studies in the past (local and elsewhere) have shown that youth are not interested in agriculture as they perceive the sector to be of low status and dirty with no potential to create for them the luxurious lifestyles they aspire. However, most of this literature emanates from studies done mainly on primary agriculture. It largely ignores the possibility that, although youth might not be interested in primary agriculture, they might be interested and willing to engage in other available opportunities along the agricultural value chain. For the mentioned reasons, the study had two empirical objectives, namely, (i) the investigation of factors affecting rural youth’s interest to participate in different agricultural activities, and (ii) the examination of the impact of entrepreneurial spirit and managerial capabilities on rural youth’s potential participation in agricultural value-adding economic activities (AVAEAs).
The study was conducted in two districts (Amajuba and Umzinyathi) in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Purposive, stratified, snowballing, and random samplings were employed to collect the required data. A total of 224 youth (152 being youth not engaged in agriculture while 72 were already engaged in agriculture) were interviewed. Descriptive statistics were run to compare the socio-economic status, resource endowment, and entrepreneurial spirit of the two types of youth. The factors affecting rural youths’ interest to engage in agricultural activities along the value chain were examined using the Multinomial Logistics Model. The results indicated similarities in the factors affecting rural youth’s interest to engage in different agricultural activities along the value chain relative to not engaging in any agriculture-related activity. Access to credit and formal education were found to decrease the likelihood of rural youth being interested to engage in all agricultural activities along the
value chain while having at least one household member already engaged in agriculture (demonstration effect) increases this likelihood. Furthermore, the results found that the likelihood of rural youth being interested to engage only in primary agriculture increased as the youth aged and decreased with access to social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc). Similarly, the youth’s likelihood of being interested to engage only in AVAEAs decreased with access to social media and increased if the youth received some agriculture-related training, are endowed with positive psychological capital, and had access to primary ICT facilities. The likelihood of youth being interested to engage in the “whole value chain”, that is, to incorporate both primary agriculture and AVAEAs, increased if the youth received agriculture-related training, had access to agricultural land, and are endowed with positive psychological capital. It, however, decreased with an increase in the dependency ratio, and household wealth.
The impact of entrepreneurial spirit and managerial capabilities of rural youth on their potential participation in AVAEAs was analyzed using the Fractional Logit Model. Two separate models were estimated. The first model used the proportion of time the youth were willing to spend on AVAEAs of their choice as a dependent variable while the second model used the proportion of money the youth were willing to contribute/invest, given they had the money, towards initiating AVAEAs of their choice. The results from both models indicated that endowment in business management skills, gender, positive psychological capital, and positive agricultural perception positively affect the potential participation of rural youth in AVAEAs. However, entrepreneurial spirit and household wealth negatively affected this potential participation.
In general, the findings suggest that policymakers should focus on designing policies and intervention strategies that improve the resource endowment of rural youth. That is, the development of initiatives that improve the youth’s social capital and access to production credit; the development of transformative approaches to providing agriculture-related trainings; and cultural changes that will improve the youths’ access to agricultural land. Also, there is a need for a mindset shift from the youth themselves regarding their perceptions of the agricultural sector.
Future research should aim at expanding the research to other provinces to assist in understanding if intervention strategies aiming at attracting rural youth are location-dependent or homogenous. Also, future research can investigate if the perceptions of rural youth getting jobs from other sectors is a significant factor in affecting their participation in agricultural activities. Since this study used the ex-ante approach to investigate interest, future studies can
use the ex-post approach and examine factors affecting participation of rural youth in AVAEAs from the perspective of those who are already engaged
Entrepreneurial development pathways for smallholder irrigation farming in KwaZulu-Natal : typologies, aspirations and preferences.
Get PDFDoctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2017.Smallholder irrigation in South Africa is strategically recognized as an important sector
in addressing rural poverty, food insecurity and rising youth unemployment. However,
despite the government’s efforts and huge investment, the sector has failed to make a
meaningful contribution to overcoming these challenges. The poor performance has
been attributed to the failure of the existing programmes to develop the human and
social capital to manage the schemes and effectively engage in market-oriented
agricultural production. This has resulted in the inability of smallholders to utilize the
opportunities availed through irrigation farming.
South Africa’s national policies identify entrepreneurship as an appropriate
intervention strategy for improving the performance of smallholder irrigation.
However, to unlock entrepreneurship, a better understanding is required regarding
smallholder farmer behaviour vis a vis the relevance/application of the concept to
smallholders, and their aspirations, heterogeneity and preferences for irrigation water
management. Thus, the objectives of the study were: to assess the validity and
applicability of the mainstream concept of entrepreneurship to smallholder irrigation
farming in South Africa and identify avenues of adaptation to make it relevant; to
identify sources of smallholder heterogeneity and determine the farmer typologies in
smallholder irrigation, accounting for psychological capital; to examine aspirations of
smallholder farmers to expand irrigation crop production; and assess farmer preferences
for managing irrigation water resources and their willingness to pay for irrigation water.
The data for the study came from a stratified random sample of 328 smallholders in and
around Makhathini and Ndumo-B irrigation schemes in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa. The data were collected through a household questionnaire survey and focus
group discussions. The study employed literature review, descriptive analysis and
several empirical approaches (Principal Component Analysis, Cluster Analysis,
Heckman two-step selection model and choice experiment modelling). The research
uniquely introduced and integrated the concept of psychological capital to the
Sustainable Livelihoods Framework literature to enhance understanding of
entrepreneurship among smallholder farmers.
The findings showed that smallholders do not conform to the mainstream definition of
entrepreneurship which is mainly the result of the neoclassical economics paradigm.
This does not, however, mean that such farmers cannot be entrepreneurial, but it
highlights the need for redefining the concept to suit their context. A paradigm shift is
required to improve the performance of smallholder irrigation and unlock
entrepreneurial spirit, putting smallholder behaviour at the centre for which the
concepts of psychological capital and behavioural economics are expected to play a
bigger part. There is also a need to embrace indigenous knowledge, the multipurpose
nature of smallholder farming, heterogeneity and creating an enabling environment. In
the end, the study proposed a contextualized definition of entrepreneurship for
smallholders which places more significance on the willingness and ability of
entrepreneurial smallholders, through their own initiatives, to address their challenges,
even in the midst of constraints.
The study revealed five farmer typologies in smallholder irrigation in South Africa:
elderly and uneducated, cautious and short-sighted, financial capital and psychological
capital endowed, social grant reliant, and land endowed rainfed farmers. Heterogeneity
in these typologies is observed regarding psychological capital endowment, market
access, collective action and access to credit. The results affirm the fact that the ‘one
size fits all’ approach to agricultural policy and support is not appropriate.
Heterogeneity among smallholders should be accounted for in future agricultural and
rural development programmes. However, accounting for this heterogeneity is a
double-edged sword. On one side it complicates tailor-made policy formulation and on
the other side, if there is capacity, it makes the portfolio of policies and strategies
impactful and relevant. Th study identifies psychological capital as important and
recommends its recognition and nurturing as a key livelihood asset.
The findings suggest that farmers’ willingness to expand irrigation farming activities is
affected by positive psychological capital, access to markets, access to credit, land
tenure security and membership to social groups. Their ability to achieve their
aspirations is determined by asset ownership, access to markets and local resource use
conflicts. This evidence further demonstrates the importance of developing positive
psychological capital among smallholders. The priority areas for improving access to
agricultural credit and markets include, among others, value chain financing, reforming
the existing agricultural credit schemes and investment in road and transport
infrastructure. Smallholders’ ability to achieve their aspirations and make better use of
irrigation schemes should be enabled through improving access to physical capital
assets, addressing land security concerns, and supporting institutions that promote
social interaction and learning.
The findings from the choice experiment demonstrate that valuing and recognizing the
scarcity of irrigation water is essential for its sustainable use. The results suggest the
need for irrigation water pricing to reflect irrigation intensity. They also show that
improving agricultural production and productivity, with market access can enhance
farmers’ willingness and ability to pay for irrigation water. The study reveals the need
to consider multiple uses of irrigation water, while a focus on women smallholders has
positive implications for sustainable management and use of irrigation water. It also
recommends a shift towards volumetric water pricing at the farm or plot level in the
irrigation schemes.
In sum, the study has shown why it is of critical importance to take the mindset and human behaviour as the locus of interventions to improve the performance of
smallholder irrigation schemes. It recommends a psychological and behavioural
economics approach to understanding farmers’ decisions and behaviour and to provide
the road map to realize the returns on investment in the smallholder irrigation sector.
Agricultural extension approaches need to target for developing the psychological
capital and entrepreneurial spirit of smallholders and supporting cooperatives deliver
their mandate effectively. Furthermore, policies should assist in creating an
environment that nurtures farmer entrepreneurial spirit, and that is supportive of
smallholder entrepreneurs. This includes, but not limited to, encouraging and
incentivizing own effort rather than embracing a culture of dependency
Explaining smallholder aspirations to expand irrigation crop production in Makhathini and Ndumo-B, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Get PDFThis paper explores the factors influencing aspirations of smallholders to expand irrigation farming activities. It demonstrates the importance of aspirations to informing agricultural policies and understanding the behaviour of farmers and their vision regarding their farms. The Heckman two-step regression model was used to determine factors affecting aspirations/willingness of farmers to expand in the first stage and their ability to achieve or realise those aspirations in the second stage. The paper identifies five key factors that influence farmer aspirations (willingness to expand), i.e., positive psychological capital, access to markets, access to credit, land tenure security, and membership in other social groups. Gender, asset ownership, access to markets and local resource use conflicts were significant in determining farmers’ ability to achieve those aspirations. The study reveals the importance of developing positive psychological capital among smallholders and affirms the need for affordable production credit. To better make use of irrigation schemes, there is a need to build the capacity of smallholders to achieve their aspirations through empowering women and improving access to physical assets and markets. Land tenure security concerns need addressing while supporting institutions that promote social interaction and learning remain vital for the growth of the smallholder irrigation sector
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
