Abstract
The market partaking of smallholder farmers in market-oriented production has the perspective to expand profits, upsurge agricultural output and ultimately promote food security. However, the participation of smallholder’s irrigators and homestead gardeners in markets in South Africa remains low despite numerous interventions, especially since the dawn of democracy in 1994. However, up-to-date, there is not enough evidence that these attempts had been met successfully. This paper examines factors influencing smallholders’ choice to partake in markets and volume sold in the Eastern Cape Province. The study employed survey data of 150 irrigated crop farmers. A random sampling procedure was used in the study areas. The study used a Heckman regression to assess factors impelling market participation and volume sold. Results reveal that market participation and volume sold are influenced by socio-economic and technical factors. Based on the results, the needed policy change to encourage group marketing and upgrading of roads to enable smooth accessibility of output markets are highlighted.
Highlights
Agriculture plays a dynamic role in determining the economic, political and social systems of the developing world and remains the major building block in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs)
Descriptive analysis indicated that only 40% was involved in market participation and the same margin did sell their produce to the markets
Mainstream of the farm are headed by males with a proportion of 68.5% while 31.5% were females headed by smallholder irrigated crop farmers
Summary
Agriculture plays a dynamic role in determining the economic, political and social systems of the developing world and remains the major building block in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs). Agriculture is widely seen as an imperative factor in the alleviation of poverty and income generating in Africa, especially crop production (Aliber & Hall, 2012; DAFF, 2010). Crop production is the imperative factor because the crop is a source of vegetable protein, which is used as an easy substitute for animal protein for the mainstream of the remote and urban areas in South Africa which contains vitamins B (Samboko, 2011). Researchers argued that agriculture is estimated to be a source of living and livelihood to 86% of the people who reside in rural areas. As a result of high dependency on agriculture for livelihoods, about 48.3% of the South African population is living below the poverty line especially in the Eastern Cape Province
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