Economic challenges limiting small-scale commercial farming development in rural areas of South Africa

Abstract

Small-scale commercial farming has been recognised as a congruent strategy for local economic development. However, there are entrepreneurial challenges that are aggravated by the state of the economy, natural factors and weak agrarian edification system limiting growth in this sector. The fact that small-scale commercial farming is prioritized in the development agendas of the majority of African nations reflects how important it is in promoting food security and job creation. A number of agronomic limitations, including a limited farming entrepreneurship skill, severe climate change, drought, limited access to cash, and water shortages, have been recognized as major obstacles to the growth of small-scale commercial farming. As a result, the study presents the obstacles to entrepreneurship and small-scale commercial farmers in South Africa's rural areas. Two hundred and seventeen small-scale commercial farmers were chosen using a multi-stage sample technique. Quantitative data were collected through a survey in which structured questionnaires were used. Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 26 and Microsoft Excel version 2016 software were used as data analysis tools. Friedman means ranking technique was used to categorize the challenges in ascending order. Pearson chi-square was used to determine the relationship between the variables. The computed results revealed that financial, water, access to the market, crops and animal diseases were the most prevalent challenges. Subsequently, these farmers have poor financial management, marketing, packaging, cross-breeding and human management skills and this is exacerbating the challenges faced. Based on the results of this investigation, the paper recommends that the establishment of training programmes to improve entrepreneurship skills should be offered to these farmers, depending on the type of farming. Agricultural policies should be based on current evidence and should also be based on regular assessments. This improves the readjustment of relevant policies for the development of small-scale commercial farming. The study recommends that building of strong government intervention, farming stakeholder participation in policy formulation and adequate support for small-scale commercial farmers’ schemes in rural areas should be prioritised. Key words: Challenges, Small-scale commercial farming, economic challenges, entrepreneurial constraints, rural areas