Agrotechnology

The status of the agricultural income earned by to the smallholder producer of Lejweleputswa district, free state province, South Africa

4^th International Conference on Agriculture & Horticulture

July 13-15, 2015 Beijing, China

Ndishavhelafhi Manari, L L Maliwichi and T K Pfumayaramba

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Agrotechnol

Abstract:

The main objective is to determine the factors that affect smallholder agriculture producerâ??s income on Lejweleputswa district Free State province of South Africa. A probability sampling method that involves simple random technique was used to select the desired sample of 120 smallholder respondents. Data were collected using sets of pre-tested questionnaire through face to face interview, telephone interview and self administered questionnaire. A Gross margin was used to assess the status of the agricultural income earned by the smallholder producers.The studies have discovered that most of the smallholder producers were earning lower income where at some instances it was at the negative. Since the 1950s government and donors have spent large amounts money on agricultural credit programmes supporting farmers. To date, it is more than a decade since DAFF (Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries) initiated the national agricultural support programme. In 2016, the African Union (AU) together with the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) created an agricultural initiative called the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) with the goal of pursuing economic growth through agriculture-led development. One of the aims of the CAADP is to reduce poverty and hunger on the continent and achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG). This aim has lead to the birth of CASP in 2004 by the South African Government to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty. The provincial Department are the custodians to implement the programme not just as to make the production infrastructure available but as the strategy to meet the MDG goal to â??eradicate extreme poverty and hungerâ??and indirectly supporting goal to â??promote gender equality and empowerment of womenâ?? by encouraging women to penetrate in food production as it is currently male dominated and â??reduce child mortalityâ?? by increasing food production and access to healthy food by all.