Search

Global biofuel production has risen substantially in recent years, principally driven by government support for these industries. The stated motivations for these initiatives are numerous and have varied over time. This article presents a review of some important economic aspects of the most widely used biofuel and related policies around the world, and provides some theoretical and empirical evidence of these initiatives. The South African government's current biofuel policy stance is also evaluated, with concerns expressed over the fact that the commitment to the White Paper on Renewable Energy (DME, 2003) is not binding. Continued technological advancements, infrastructure development, and government interventions will be central to the future developments of biofuel industries, both locally and globally.

Hake is the most valuable fisheries species in South Africa, with an estimated landed value of R658 million in 1997. The fishery is presently managed under an individual quota system, where total allowable catch (TAC) is set annually and divided up amongst quota holders according to past performance, without quota holders having to pay for it. Fundamental restructuring of the South African hake quota market is however due to take place in the near future as recommended by the White Paper on Marine Fisheries Policy (1997). Factor analysis of data collected from a postal survey of existing South African hake quota holders and rejected hake quota applicants suggests that distinct differences in attitudes towards restructuring exist amongst respondents. Four factors, representing groups of respondents defined as (1) applicants, (2) quota holders, (3) small scale respondents (comprising of both applicants and quota holders), and (4) larger, longer established quota holders, sharing similar attitudes towards re...

The perils of population growth with regards to food security have long been studied by scholars such as Malthus (1798) and Meadows (1972). At the core of the debate are the current levels of global population growth and resource consumption, and its effects on living standards in the foreseeable future. While this is well explored in a global context, little research has been done to explore the long-term relationship between population growth and food security in the context of a particular developing economy, such as South Africa. This paper explores long-term trends in population growth and agricultural output in a South African context. Similar measures are also considered for various Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries, as well as various top countries in the 2015 Global Food Security Index, to explore the relative position of South Africa (a developing economy). This paper shows that the South African per capita cereal production has steadily declined since the 1970s, while the opposite is true for the top countries in the 2015 Global Food Security Index, as well as the world on average. It also demonstrates the need to consider the state of food security of individual countries or regions (as opposed to a global view). Aggregate global data may obscure cases where a food security crisis is closer than anticipated and imported grains may become an increasingly volatile alternative.

This paper develops and applies a simple non-parametric methodology for estimating the direct and indirect economic contribution of small-scale black agriculture in South Africa. The direct contribution is understood as the per capita food expenditure savings of agriculturally-active households relative to other households. Meanwhile, the indirect contribution is understood as the expenditure savings enjoyed by rural households by virtue of residing in areas characterised by widespread, albeit modest local production. The analysis is based on the Income and Expenditure Survey of 2010/11. Further to estimating the magnitude of the direct and indirect contribution of small-scale agriculture, the paper seeks to provide econometric evidence for the economic logic underpinning the indirect economic contribution of small-scale black agriculture.

This paper reviews the land reforms anticipated in the mid-1990s when South Africa's first democratically elected government formalised its land policy. It reflects on cash grants as the key instrument adopted by government to effect land redistribution and restitution, and links this instrument and the way it was applied to the poor outcomes achieved for both agriculture and people. Attention then turns to more recent policies aimed at rescuing failed land reform projects and avoiding future failures by assigning a more central and prescriptive role to government agencies. The message to agricultural economists is to discern between rhetoric and policy, and to focus on ‘getting institutions right’ at both a policy and practical level. The paper offers insights into problems and opportunities that warrant close and professional attention.

Just more than one hundred years after the implementation of the 1913 Land Act, the subject of land reform and rural development are still at the forefront of public discourse within South Africa. Much of the literature suggests that post-apartheid interventions have not been successful at improving small-scale agriculture, which is seen as an important vehicle for improving rural food security. Nevertheless, data from the General Household Survey (GHS) indicate that household hunger levels have declined substantially in the post-2000 decade across the entire nation (as other estimates of household poverty have also indicated). In particular, this paper demonstrates that this trend has been more pronounced in the former homeland regions, eliminating the previously higher incidence of hunger there. Using linear probability models, this paper seeks to isolate which factors have led to the convergence of the homeland regions’ household hunger levels and those of households residing in non-homeland pa...

Based on a number of household characteristics, livelihood capitals and endowments, we generate a household food security resilience index. The rationale of the paper is premised on the notion that resilience to food insecurity is a property of wealth and thus its proxy. The study explored the statistical robustness and efficiency of the technique in providing evidence for triggering alerts and action for curbing risk of food insecurity uncertainties. It is established that Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is helpful in constructing a summary measure (referred to here as Household Resilience Index or HRI in short) that is an efficient proxy for wealth index, which is based on consumption data, and that predicts per capita consumption very well. The paper elaborates six distinctive characteristics of the HRI that support its adoption and use. The dataset used in the study is from the 2009 South Sudan National Household Baseline Survey.

This paper analyses the impact of individual farmers’ participation in the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM). Precisely the paper analyses the effect of participation on credit market access, fertilizer use and total incomes of its participants in the Kasungu district of Malawi. NASFAM is a form of producer cooperative with a number of socio-economic functions. Using data on income per capita, fertilizer expenditure and access to credit, this paper tests the hypothesis that participation in NASFAM positively impacted incomes, fertilizer use and credit acquisition. Employing Propensity Score Matching methodology to estimate Average Treatment Effects (ATT) on programme members, this paper finds evidence that participation in NASFAM had a positive effect on all the endogenous variables. Membership enhances household level incomes, fertilizer use and credit acquisition and is hence in line with national goals of poverty reduction, the Comprehensive African Agriculture Devel...

The purpose of this paper is to explore the state and agriculture at the subnational sphere; an area currently receiving little attention in the South African agricultural economics fraternity. It is argued that South Africa's Constitution bestows certain decision-making and legislative powers on its nine provinces and that public goods and redistributive policy options are available to the agricultural sector. As about two-thirds of South African agricultural expenditure (83% if conditional grants are included) takes place at provincial level, it was shown that provincial dynamics are relevant. While the characteristics of tribal populations in provinces are found to be important, a poor alignment between provincial agricultural expenditure and certain elements of consequence (employment, value addition, etc.) can be shown. The paper also deconstructs the commonly used terms “state” and “agriculture” at a provincial level and dwell on the concept of the rational civil servant. In the case of the...

Recent literature has provided evidence that exporters of agro-food products from developing countries experience problems in meeting sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures of developed countries. The objective of this paper is to determine whether fishery products exporters from Mauritius, a southern African small island developing state, also face similar issues. It first provides an overview of fishery products exports from Mauritius, before reviewing SPS requirements facing exporters. This paper finally reports on the findings of a survey conducted among Mauritian fish exporters to assess the importance of SPS measures as a factor affecting exports. Results show that SPS requirements have not acted as a major barrier for Mauritian exports to the European market but in fact have provided them with a competitive edge. It was, however, acknowledged that SPS requirements and private voluntary standards, to a smaller extent, were increasing in importance. The most important reported factors affecting exports are freight, and other direct export costs. The findings also show that the majority of fishery exporters have adopted a reactive compliance strategy. It is therefore proposed that Mauritian exporters should adopt a more proactive approach in their compliance strategy, increasingly moving towards new market opportunities such as private food safety standards.

This paper reflects on the standing and impact of the work of agricultural economists in South Africa to illustrate the critical decisions faced by the profession as it contemplates its future. The focus is on the agricultural economic scholarship per se and not on the policy and practice issues of the discipline. Following the review of agricultural economic research output in South Africa the paper then also raises questions about relevance and impact of the discipline and the quality of training. Given these concerns the paper makes the case for improved coordination and perhaps consolidation of the discipline and presents a proposal for the establishment of a national institute that will consolidate and improve training at the various universities as well as adequately fund and direct research.

Although South Africans are not predominantly wine drinkers, the industry is looking for ways to develop the local market to balance exports. The black middle class, increasingly referred to as the Black Diamonds are the most powerful marketing trend in the last 10 years as they have emerged as the strongest buying influence in the economy and making inroads in understanding this market presents a good opportunity. The data used in this paper was collected from an integration of a consumer behaviour survey; as well as personal interviews and focus group discussions. The paper asserts that the key factors influencing the South African consumers’ behaviour are age, gender, income, race and wine drinking history. The paper also asserts that not only are the black middle class are different from the white middle class but within the Black Diamonds different segments exist. The industry should particularly focus on marketing to the women and the “Start me up” age group in the group as there is limited consumer knowledge about wines, but a high willingness to experiment. The paper also suggests various new brand communication platforms that can be explored to reach this market as well as co-opetition between industry stakeholders.

This paper uses the sustainable livelihoods framework to explore the contribution of smallholder production to food security in some sub-Saharan African countries and relates it to the South African case. Noting that many of the world's hungry are smallholder farmers, it is clear that food insecurity is closely linked to the livelihood strategies of these farm households. As previous studies have shown, food insecurity is linked to livelihood assets, strong institutional support and a favourable external environment. In particular, the paper finds that food security depends on cereal output, budgetary support to agriculture, agricultural value added and poverty—all variables strongly linked to the sustainable livelihoods framework. Since most poor rural households rely on agricultural production for a significant share of their households income, increasing agricultural productivity is critical to increase food security and reduce rural poverty.

This paper argues that within the range of complementary activities necessary to secure the food security of marginalised groups in South Africa in places such as Greater Sekhukhune, the aspect of agricultural production is often neglected. A comprehensive approach to food security should focus on exploiting opportunities around increasing local food availability through production, as well as stimulating food accessibility by, for example, supporting small enterprises through micro-credit, and supporting food utilisation through education. In this way a range of options is created that vulnerable people can adopt to promote their livelihoods beyond survivalist strategies. This paper explores the issue of agricultural production within Greater Sekhukhune to provide insights into the challenges facing a comprehensive food security strategy that would guarantee food supply through a range of interventions. The study in the Greater Sekhukhune District in Limpopo Province was conducted through two sets of household surveys (2004 and 2006) and the responses to the agricultural production part of these surveys are discussed. Marked changes from 2004 to 2006 were observed. For “agrarian reform†to be a success, the necessary institutional framework needs to be in place to enable a broad range of services from government and non-governmental actors. The facilitation of such “joined up government†, although in existence in theory, requires concerted political will to become a reality.

With South Africa’s urban population approaching 60%, supermarkets and fast food chains have become important players in the South African food system. These large players in the food sector have systematically modified their procurement practices especially with regard to fresh fruit and vegetables and are now circumventing spot markets in favour of sourcing via in-house sourcing companies who mainly procure from preferred supplier producers. This paper draws extensively from a global research programme which seeks to highlight the market changes that potentially contribute to continued exclusion of the small producers from mass consumer markets. This paper illustrates, through a series of case studies, how integration of small-scale farmers into the urban retail market can be facilitated and how the challenges posed by the changing food system could possibly be overcome. The case studies illustrate various initiatives through which small-scale farmers and agribusinesses can be integrated into mainstream agri-food systems and may be used as models for an innovative approach to include small-scale farmers while still maintaining profitable business operations. They highlight the need for a multi actor approach for the successful participation of smallholder farmers in order to allow them to join the supply chain at any point within the channel.

This paper presents an overview of contracting arrangements in agribusiness procurement practices in South Africa. The objective of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the structures and issues of raw commodity procurement in South African agribusiness supply chains. The results suggest that a wide range of institutions are employed to procure raw commodities for the South African agroprocessing sector and that companies are increasingly moving away from the open market as a source of supply for raw commodities, and are utilising contractual arrangements instead. According to the main findings, 78.5% of the total volume of fruit and vegetables procured by agribusiness companies for processing is based on some form of contracting arrangement. The balance is procured through a combination of the open market, own estates, agents and imports. It is only in the case of potatoes, onions, beans and peanuts that a stronger reliance on the spot market is evident. South African retailers source 70% to 100% of their fresh produce directly from farmers (usually through growing programmes). The procurement of meat, poultry and eggs appears to favour vertical integration (and in some cases own production), medium- to long-term contracts and long-term ‛informal’ supply arrangements with selected groups of farmers.

This paper applies a discrete choice model to determine specific characteristics that influence South African grain farmers’ preferences to hedge against uncertainties. This is the first empirical study on South African grain producers’ preferences to adopt derivative contracting and is based on the survey data of Grain South Africa for 2006. With the application of separate binary logit models for each major grain commodity, this paper establishes that different grain farmers are significantly heterogeneous. The results also show that grain farmers’ preferences to adopt derivative contracting are mostly influenced by the farmers’ prediction of daily grain prices and trends, farm size and various geographic characteristics. From a policy perspective it has been indicated that food and income insecurity will be reduced if farmers can adopt derivative contracting at large scale since it will enable the producers to produce staple food on a continuous basis at a relatively profitable level.

Fresh water resources provide a platform for complex and often emotional issues to develop, particularly in resource scarcity situations. Bulk water infrastructure contains elements of a public good and proved vulnerable to failures in market and government driven allocation strategies. Common to both are uncaptured costs and benefits due to shortcomings in cost quantification techniques. Natural ecosystems stands to lose the most since ecosystem services are often not quantifiable in monetary terms and therefore neglected in allocation decision-making. This paper took on the challenge of expanding current decision-support in order to promote more inclusive long-term water management. A case-study approach with the focus on a choice related problem regarding different long-term bulk water resource management options was applied in the Western Cape province. The paper incorporated components of economic valuation theory, a public survey and a modified Delphi expert panel technique. Both spatial and temporal dimensions of the decision-making context were expanded. Two surveys were completed to accommodate these expansions. The first focused on public preference in water allocation management and the relative merit of accommodating public preference in highly specialised decision-making such as long-term water allocation decision-making. The second survey utilized a modified Delphi technique in which an expert panel indicated the relative merit of two alternative long-term allocation strategies. A willingness to pay for "greener" water was observed and may be used to motivate a paradigm shift from management's perspective to consider, without fear of harming their own political position, "greener" water supply options more seriously even if these options imply higher direct costs to public.

This paper develops the structure and closure of an econometric regime-switching model within a partial equilibrium framework that has the ability to generate reliable estimates and projections of endogenous variables under market switching regimes. Models used in policy evaluation usually either ignore the possibility of regime switching using just a single method of price determination based on average effects, or incorporate highly stylised components that may not reflect the complexities of a particular market. This paper proposes an approach that the authors believe allows the incorporation of features of regime switching in a multisector commodity level model that capture salient features of the South African market and therefore are able to produce more reliable projections of the evolution of the sector under alternative shocks.

This paper reports on a survey of municipal commonage users, which was undertaken in Philippolis in the southern Free State, in May 2005. The survey showed that a significant number of commonage users are committed to their farming enterprises, as shown by five proxy indicators: Their readiness to plough their income into their farming enterprises; their sale of livestock; their desire for more land, and their willingness to pay rental to secure such land; their desire to farm on their own; and their desire to own their own land. The paper reflects on the significance of commonage in the context of the South African government’s land reform policy, and argues that commonage can transcend survivalist or subsistence production, and can be used as a “stepping stone” for emergent farmers to access their own land parcels. Finally, the paper argues that, if commonage is to become a key part in a “step-up” strategy of land reform, then appropriately sized land parcels should be made available for commonage users, to enable them to “exit” from commonage use and invest in smallholdings or small farms.

This paper extends a previous study in South Africa aimed at developing methodology for assessing the performance of equity-share schemes. The previous study proposed four broad criteria to measure performance: poverty alleviation; empowerment and participation; institutional arrangements and governance; and financial performance. This paper does not aim to assess the performance of existing equity-share schemes but to develop a methodology for the first three criteria based on empirical analysis of data gathered in 2004 from a land reform project in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal and seven established equity-share schemes in the Western Cape. Poverty alleviation is measured using a transition matrix of households grouped by four different symptoms of poverty: current income, wealth, health and a principal component index of housing quality. Eight categories of indicators are recommended for empowerment and participation: control and ownership; skills transfer; understanding; information; outcomes; trust; outreach; and participation. A scorecard applying norms based on empirical evidence gathered at the equity-share schemes in the Western Cape is used to test the indicators. A scorecard approach is also applied to institutional arrangements and governance, which are measured using three categories of indicators: accountability, transparency and property rights. The proposed performance measures are relevant, manageable in number and have feasible norms based on empirical evidence. These indicators and their norms need to be tested on a wider scale and monitored over time. Future research should be undertaken to determine weights for the empowerment and institutional indicators.

This paper assesses the likely impact on the agricultural sector of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries of the Harbinson modalities, along with the EU and US proposals as alternative scenarios in the context of the ongoing negotiations of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. Impacts are assessed on a number of indicators, notably government revenue, producer, consumer and total welfare measures and trade flow. Reflecting country- and commodity-specific factors, the three modalities have different impacts on the indicators. The SADC as a whole is found to lose in terms of total welfare under all three proposals. But while this loss under the Harbinson and EU proposals is due to declines in consumer surpluses and government revenues, reduced producer surplus and government revenue explain the loss in total welfare under the US proposal. Thus, the ranking of the modalities differs according to the impact indicator used, revealing important trade-offs in the choice of the modalities. An issue raised is the value of consumer gains relative to producer gains for low-income economies highly dependent on agriculture because for them effective demand for consumption itself depends on incomes generated from increased agricultural activities, which in turn requires sustained gains in producer surpluses. The paper presents a range of results and discusses the trade-offs, with the hope that SADC trade negotiators and policy makers find these to be useful as they negotiate for the final form of the modalities.

This paper quantifies the responsiveness of producers of teff, wheat, maize and sorghum to incentives using an error-correction model (ECM). It is found that planned supply of these crops is positively affected by own price, negatively by prices of substitute crops and variously by structural breaks related to policy changes and the occurrence of natural calamities. It has found significant long-run price elasticities for all crop types and insignificant short-run price elasticities for all crops but maize. Higher and significant long-run price elasticities as compared to lower and insignificant short-run price elasticities are attributable to various factors, namely structural constraints, the theory of supply and the conviction that farmers respond when they are certain that price changes are permanent. The paper concludes that farmers do respond to incentive changes. Thus attempts, which directly or indirectly tax agriculture with the belief that the sector is non-responsive to incentives, harm its growth and its contribution to growth in other sectors of the economy. Agriculture is the largest sector in the Ethiopian economy in terms of contribution to GDP (over 50%), foreign exchange earnings (over 90%) and employment creation (over 80%). The sector had been neglected until 1994 because growth was thought to be synonymous with industrialization. This view was justified by the belief that industry is the dynamic sector, while agriculture is static and unresponsive to incentives. This belief led to the taxing of agriculture by turning domestic terms of trade against agriculture. The consideration that agriculture is unresponsive implied that resources generated in agriculture could be transferred to other sectors of the economy without significantly affecting agricultural growth.

Farm worker equity-share schemes have received both positive and negative publicity since they were initiated by the private sector in the early1990's. This paper adds to the debate surrounding these land reform projects. In particular, it compares the results of case studies conducted by the Surplus People's Project (SPP) in 1998 with more recent (2001) case studies. The latter suggest that many of the concerns raised by the SPP, such as beneficiaries' participation and expectations, power relations between management and worker-shareholders, skills transfer and labour relations have been addressed. The paper also highlights those issues that remain areas of concern, for example, beneficiaries' tenure security, literacy levels amongst worker shareholders, skill and wage differences between men and women, and exit procedures. It is recommended that Department of Land Affairs (DLA) grants should be awarded only to beneficiaries of projects that have been co-financed by a bank or reputable investor...

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the design of agribusiness smallholder contracting linkages in South Africa. A fresh approach to design is adopted that combines a case study in the timber industry, the lessons of history and the economics of organisational architecture. The results confirm that the transaction characteristics of the grower-processor supply chain influence the level of managed co-ordination, that small-scale farmers generate incremental transaction cost and that medium and small-scale farmers can compete with larger growers in the supply chain. The results, however, are inconclusive with respect to the role of contracting as an institution to overcome the barriers of entry to the timber industry. A series of proposals are then developed in order to reduce transaction cost and achieve higher levels of contract enforcement in smallholder contracting arrangements with agribusiness. This paper concludes that large numbers of small-scale farmers can be effectively incor...

This paper summarizes the potential contributions of the new institutional economics to agricultural policy research, with particular emphasis to developing countries. The paper starts by providing an overview of the new institutional economics and its several branches of thought. It then describes the future challenges facing world agriculture and shows the potential applications of new institutional and transaction costs economics to agricultural policy analysis in this new world environment. The paper concludes by providing specific agricultural market research issues that can be analysed using the new institutional economics. As a dynamic school of thought, the new institutional economics offers exciting opportunities to answer some of the economic problems that neo-classical economics has found difficult to address.

Since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis, economic growth and development have been in the forefront of economic research. In a global context, the highest levels of poverty as well as malnutrition problems are found in sub-Saharan African countries. Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) are useful tools to describe the economic situation of these countries, the interactions among economic agents and to support policymakers in implementing their policies. The paper shows the macro- and micro-economic indicators of Kenya, which can be directly extracted from the described SAM 2017 for Kenya The analysis of the SAM multipliers shows that agri-food multipliers are in general above the average reflecting the strength of backward and forward linkages of Kenya’s economy.

This paper investigates the allocative efficiency of two samples of communal area farmers in Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. The first one is made up of maize producers and the other of cotton producers. Maize is the staple food for most Zimbabweans and cotton has, as of late become the most popular cash crop for these small-scale communal (SSC) farmers. For each crop the Cobb-Douglas production function model is used to investigate the allocative efficiency of the maize and cotton producers. The tests for allocative efficiency are performed by estimating the equations for the Cobb-Douglas production function model. The findings of this paper show that the SSC farmers are utilising the fertilizer resource efficiently but they are under-utilising land, seed and insecticides. These producers are over-utilising labour and capital.

In recent decades, significant international assistance has been provided to assist the establishment of market information systems (MISs) in a range of developing countries, including many in Africa. However, experience with state-run MISs, looking to provide current price information to market participants, has not been encouraging. Volatile horticultural markets provide particular challenges for such MISs. Therefore, it is suggested that it might be more appropriate to provide other types of marketing information to inform the production and marketing decisions of smallholder producers. This paper reports on recent efforts by the national extension agency, Agritex, to provide such information to smallholder horticultural producers in two districts of north-eastern Zimbabwe. Drawing on an initial evaluation of this pilot programme, the paper suggests that: 1) in the Zimbabwe case, the extension service may provide a viable vehicle for dissemination of marketing information to smallholder (horticultural) producers; 2) information on new crops and market opportunities is valued more highly by farmers than information on current market prices; 3) such information should complement, not supplant, traditional production extension advice. The paper concludes by considering some of the issues pertaining to the continuation and expansion of the pilot programme.

This paper reviews the rationale for policies aimed at limiting the conversion of farmland to non-farm uses from the perspective of the economic theory of property rights. Policy measures to restrict the conversion of agricultural land to non-farm uses are commonplace in many countries. Typically, these policies are introduced to address long-run food security issues and possible externalities associated with incompatibility in land uses. The paper argues that the presence of externalities in the land market does not warrant farmland protection policies. Farmland protection policies in themselves can be a source of policy failure. It concludes that well-defined property rights along with nuisance and trespass laws, are necessary and sufficient for efficient allocation of land and can be a better alternative to farmland protection policies.

SUMMARY This paper explores some of the policy and institutional choices to which the agricultural economics profession has most to contribute over the coming few years. The starting point of the paper is that policy needs to address aims of both efficiency and greater diversity within the sector, diversity being seen broadly as involving a wider range of participants in terms of ethnicity, gender, and aims and resources, as well as large, medium and small producing and service enterprises. The policy agenda is defined (section II) in terms of three linked elements: the analysis and choice of policy and defining a strategic vision; the reform of institutions and organisations; and public expenditure management. In all of these, the paper suggests there is an active role for economists. Policy analysis is discussed in section III. No single definition is found which adequately captures the complex of activities involved. The relationship between political and technical dimensions of policy analysis is disc...

The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of the concluded EU free trade deal on South Africa with special emphasis on the agricultural sector. The study makes use of the GTAP software and methodology developed at Purdue University, which provides a very convenient and efficient way for interpreting changes in trade flows due to tariff structure adjustments. The paper gives a detailed account of change in trade flows together with the resulting welfare effects. If is found that both South Africa and the EU will experience welfare gains as a result of the agreement. Furthermore it is determined that exports of dairy products to the EU will increase by more than 35% while exports of vegetables and fruit, and other agricultural products will also increase by 25% and close to 30% respectively.

Virtually every country in Southern Africa, with varying degrees of commitment and success, has identified food security as an important policy goal. The problem of food insecurity in the countries of the region is, however, intricately linked to the wider problem of poverty and the main source of both of these problems is rural stagnation. This paper analyzes the critical linkages between food insecurity and rural stagnation in Southern Africa. Strategies and options for incorporating rural Southern Africans into a self-sustaining process of economic growth are examined with an emphasis on promoting rural employment and incomes. These include leveraging farm/non-farm growth linkages for maximum rural employment; promoting agriculture-based income diversification; and strengthening the linkages between the rural and industrial sectors. A number of strategic and tactical preconditions that must be met to ensure success and sustainability are also addressed in the paper, including: the need for an integrate...

This paper contributes to the discussion on the economics and factors determining widespread soyabean production by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agronomic research carried out in several tropical countries has concluded that here is potential for increasing small farm soyabean production through adoption of improved varieties, and management practices such as appropriate nitrogen and phosphorus fertitiser placing and application rates, appropriate planting time and seed inoculation. However, it has been argued that if soyabean was consumed in various forms at the household level, leading to improvement in family nutrition and income, this would provide the incentive for widespread adoption. Introduction of appropriate processing technologies and information would be critical factors for adoption. As a result effort been invested in research on-farm processing to encourage home use. This paper looks at factors determining increased soyabean production by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. It is...

This paper reports on the socio-economic impact of the Proteaceae technology development and transfer programme. Farm level data were collected from the major role players in the industry, including cultivators, harvesters, agents and nurseries. The five major production regions were the Western Cape, South Western Cape, Southern Cape, Cape Peninsula and Eastern Cape, but other small regions in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) were also included in the study. Standard pretested mail questionnaires, supplemented with personal interviews, were used. This paper reports the socio-economic impacts over the period 1974–2005. Results show that the rate of return for the financial and economic analyses ranged between seven and twelve percent, showing that the research programme is a profitable investment to society. The Proteaceae programme contributed to the conservation of biodiversity, had institutional impact in terms of training and technology transfer, while the social impact was indicated by employment g...

This paper provides evidence on the heterogeneous welfare implications of rural income portfolios in eastern Uganda. We use household survey data from two-panel rounds, and fixed and random effects...

Addressing the high levels of poverty and inequality in South Africa remains a central policy concern. In this regard, this paper uses a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) microsimulation approac...

The small-scale farming sector continues to battle with the daunting task of moving from the “subsistence syndrome” to the “plane of entrepreneurship”. This paper provides a review of some of the attributed factors which continue to affect the performance of the sector. Suggestions about ways to improve efficiency and to beautify the landscape of the small-scale farming sector are also made. One of the suggestions that runs through the paper is the need for the various governments of Sub-Saharan Africa to overhaul and review their agricultural policy to make it more relevant to the needs and aspirations of the small-scale farmers who constitute about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the farming sector.

South Africa is in a process of change. This is also true for the agricultural sector and thus all related services. Agricultural finance, as a segment of rural finance, is the topic of an intended commission of inquiry, The current and intended public sector agricultural financial support structure should be measured against a set of guidelines. These are elaborated on in this paper. In addition, given the framework, some views are put forward as to what direction rural finance, and specifically agricultural finance should take, and what structure should be applicable, given the principles as outlined. The paper is concluded with some remarks about institutional change in South Africa and the intended rural financial services commission of inquiry.

This paper analyses the causes and consequences of agricultural change in two regions of the former Bophuthatswana homeland of South Africa. The paper identifies a number of circumstances which provided the set of comprehensive support services which are essential for the development of commercial agriculture, namely the availability of capital; appropriate biological and mechanical technology and the experience to use it; suitable pricing policies and marketing opportunities. The changing rural-urban wage differential; and the demise of traditional institutions as well as the drought of the early 1980s were important factors in the changes described. An important conclusions is that no single factor caused the development of a commercial agriculture, but that a package of prime movers was necessary. The broad consequences of the transformation in agriculture has significance for both those with agricultural resources, as well as those without. One of the most important consequences of the change is the c...

South Africa's agricultural policy has had food self-sufficiency as a major objective until recently. This is still the case for a number of the homelands. South Africa has to a large extent achieved this goal by producing a surplus in most of the agricultural commodities. Despite this efficiency, large inequities, inefficient food distribution networks and high levels of malnutrition are experienced. South Africa is therefore characterised by surpluses and exports amidst food shortages—a situation of “hunger and malnutrition next to the granary” is therefore typical. These conditions necessitate a review of the current agricultural policy goals. This paper strongly argues in favour of a policy of food security aimed at both national and household level. The paper initially reviews the issues and terminology of food security as a matter of clarification. The dimensions of the food security problem in South Africa at national and household level are subsequently quantified showing that 21% of the ...

The purpose of this paper is to add new evidence to studies already done on factors associated with surplus producers and on the food price dilemma in traditional agriculture. Survey data of rural households in the FSP areas in KaNgwane was used to determine the factors which discriminate between surplus and deficit producers and to establish a market participation profile to illustrate the extent of the food price dilemma. In the second half of the paper these results are compared with the results from similar studies. Through comparing the results it was possible to obtain a better picture as to what factors determine surplus producers in traditional agriculture. By analysing the market participation profile in the various areas it is also possible to determine the extent of the food price dilemma in Southern Africa. The results obtained from the survey data in KaNgwane were in line with those from the other studies.

This paper emphasises the impact of the ongoing liberalisation of agricultural policies and trade in agricultural commodities on spatial price transmission in agricultural markets. Based on a liter...

This paper examines the nature of interconnectedness between the returns of the price of oil and foreign exchange on selected agricultural commodity prices. To do this, the authors leverage the novel methodology of a spillover index developed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2012) that reports predictive directional measurement of volatility spillovers. International Journal of Forecasting 28, no. 1: 57-66) that reports: (i) Net spillovers; (ii) Directional spillovers; (iii) Pairwise net spillovers; and (iv) Total spillover indices. This study also captures all secular and cyclical movements with the aid of rolling window analysis to ensure the robustness of the estimations. Empirical analyses are constructed based on monthly realised frequency data from 2006M1 to 2016M7. The empirical analysis from the full sample size shows that rice, sorghum, price inflation, a nominal effective exchange rate and oil price display weak pass-through among the investigated variables while banana, cocoa, groundnut, maize, soybean and wheat are net transmitters of spillover. Based on these revelations, several policy prescriptions for the agricultural commodity markets and their diverse responses to either exchange rate fluctuations or a dwindling oil price are suggested for Nigeria.