Determinants Of Production And Market Participation Of Small-Scale Groundnut Farmers In Legodi, Ramphele And Mokgohloa Villages In Polokwane Municipality, Limpopo Province

Abstract

This study relied on small-scale groundnut farmers aiming to analyse the factors affecting their production and market participation under Polokwane Municipality. A purposive simple random sampling technique and probability proportional to sample size were used to collect primary data from 50 small-scale groundnut farmers using semi-structured questionnaires. The results depicted that 42% (21) of the small-scale groundnut farmers participated in the market whilst 58% (29) did not participate. Multiple Linear Regression and Logistic Regression model were employed to determine factors affecting production and market participation of small-scale groundnut farmers. The empirical results showed that factors such as age, educational level, marital status, credit access, land size, market distance and groundnut yield were found to be significantly influencing production and market participation in the study. This raise immediate necessities for government interventions to successfully uplift the livelihood of the sampled participants. In support of these empirical results, policy makers need to put more effort in the facilitation of access to credit, access to arable land and improved farmer support programs that will supply small-scale groundnut farmers with production inputs and awareness about effective market availability in rural and urban areas.