The Impact of Agricultural Intervention Programs in Farmer Growth and Development in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

This thesis provides a platform from which new strategies and programs are created for effective farmer development. The Mpumalanga Provincial Government receives unbiased feedback and suggestions from the Beneficiaries of land reform support. The post Apartheid Democratic Government took over a skewed land distribution where black people owned a very small portion of agricultural land. The priority was to not only to transfer more land to blacks but also to ensure that the transferred land continued to be productive. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of farmer support. The purpose of this study was to analyze progress made by previously disadvantaged farmers (through these programs) towards inclusion into the agricultural economy. Finally, this study investigates the reasons that cause many of these Beneficiaries not to move up to the levels of commercial farmers. I hold a view that the manner in which these programs are conducted give rise to dependency among the Beneficiaries, which makes them not to want to be independent from Government.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the study1

Problem Statement21

Purpose of the study26

Rationale of the study27

Significance of the study28

Hypothesis28

Research Objectives28

Research Questions28

Nature of the study29

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW35

Agricultural Reforms and Interventions35

Role Of Agriculture In Society45

Development Programs In Agriculture77

LRAD80

DARDLA89

South African Land Reform Legislation95

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY104

Research Approach104

Research Design104

Data Collecting Techniques105

Sampling106

Resources106

Data Analysis107

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS & DISCUSSION108

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS112

Limitations of this study121

REFERENCESS124

APPENDICES130

Questionnaire for the Departmental Senior District Official130

Questionnaire for the extention officer132

Questionnaire for the focus group of Beneficiaries133

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

The Victor Khanye Local Municipality is a category B Municipality.  It has a collective executive system combined with a ward participatory system in terms of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1998 (Anonyms, 2006).

The Victor Khanye Local Municipality is situated in Mpumalanga province, within the Nkangala District Municipal jurisdiction. It is located in the Western Highveld of the Nkangala District Municipality (Bentler, 1981).

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, in the Gauteng Province, borders the Delmas Local Municipality to the west. It is bordered to the north by the Kungwini Local Municipality, to the south by the Govan Mbeki and Lesedi Local Municipalities1 (Aktas, 2001).

From the founding of the ANC in 1911 in response to the threat of what became the 1913 Land Act, to the rise of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) in the 1920s, to SACP organising drives in the Northern Transvaal, to current struggles to organize the country's one million farm workers, land and the agrarian question has been ...