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This paper analysed the economic efficiency of small-scale tomato farmers in the Greater Letaba municipality of South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Primary data were collected from 68 tomato farmers based on structured questionnaires and using convenience and purposive sampling procedures. The Cobb-Douglas production function was used to analyse the level of economic efficiency. The study utilised the output approach, where the output achieved by the farmers is compared to the maximum output attainable using the given inputs. The empirical results reveal that mean technical, allocative, and economic efficiency levels are at 0.95, 0.41 and 0.39, respectively. The study also found that land (farm size), seedlings, labour, pesticides and water have a positively significant relationship with the production of tomatoes in the study area. Therefore, it is recommended that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development provide farmers with enough extension services by employing more extension personnel. Government programmes such as the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme should be intensified – through the pillar of training and capacity building – to reach the small-scale farmers in the municipality, whereby farmers should be provided with training on the recommended minimum and maximum application of inputs like pesticides, fertilisers, seedlings and water in tomato production.

The study aims to estimate empirically the relationship between economic growth and unemployment rate in Limpopo Province of South Africa. The analysis used quarterly data covering the period 2008-2018 which was obtained from Statistics South Africa. The study employed, difference model, dynamic model, and granger causality test for data analysis, in order to consider both, short term and long term possible relationship Based on the difference model estimation of the coefficient was done and the coefficient was found to be -0.22. From Granger causality test, causal relationship between these two variables doesn’t exist meaning that change in the growth rate of real GDP doesn’t cause change in the rate of unemployment and vice-versa. Inapplicable of the law indicates that a cyclical recovery will not be accompanied by reduction of unemployment. Furthermore, this might reflect the sizable structural and/or frictional component of unemployment in Limpopo Province. Lastly, the country's economic policies have not been suitable for fostering development that can reduce unemployment and this could be due to lack of appropriate composition of public sector and private sector.

This study aims to estimate sorghum supply elasticity in South Africa. The study used time series data spanning from 1998 to 2016, obtained from the abstracts of agricultural statistics. The Variance Error Correction Model was employed; the study used two dependent variables, these being area and yield response functions. The results have shown that the area response function was found to be a robust model as most of the variables were significant, responsive and elastic. Maize price, as a competing crop for sorghum, negatively influenced the area allocation; however, the remaining variableshad a positive impact on area allocation in the long-run. The yield response function was found not to be robust and hence not adopted. It was therefore concluded that the area response function is more robust than the yield response function, hence sorghum production has shown more response to areaallocation than yield. The findings further indicated that the error correction term for area and for the yield response function was –1.55 and –1.30, respectively. This indicated that the two models were able to revert to equilibrium. Based on the findings, the study recommends that amongst other methods to enhance sorghum output, producers could use improved varieties or hybrids, as this action would result in allocation of more land to sorghum production, following price change.