REVIEWING THE ROLE OF EXTENSION OFFICERS IN SUSTAINING HOUSEHOLD FOOD GARDENS: EVIDENCE FROM GAUTENG PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA.

Abstract

Given the poor socio-economic conditions in South Africa, food gardens are a convenient approach for households to access fresh and affordable produce, which then enhances food security status. In Gauteng province, the department of agriculture and rural development (GDARD) offers support to over 100 food garden projects that are mainly situated in underdeveloped and vulnerable communities. These food gardens receive support from Agricultural advisors (AAs) through the provision of production inputs and technical assistance. As with any agricultural production, the sustainability of the gardens relies on the provision of adequate agricultural extension and advisory services. This necessitates the profiling of AA attributes that contribute to the sustainability of food gardens. Using the AA list from GDARD, 35 extension AAs and food garden beneficiaries were interviewed to capture soft and hard attributes of AAs that influence the potential of food gardens. The results indicate that generally, AAs have a good perception of food gardens. However, procurement processes and budgetary constraints in the departments hinder their capacity to provide adequate support to most vulnerable projects that still depend heavily on departmental support. The difficulty becomes gauging the level of transparency from the AAs concerning their difficulties to ensure that those good relationships are maintained with project members. From the project’s side, poor communication, inconsistent visibility, lack of standard operation procedure, limited knowledge of extension approaches, limited source of information, and general interpersonal skills were identified as significant obstacles that hinder the impact of AAs in sustaining food gardens. Despite these complexities, AAs remain vital in food gardens as they have an opportunity to assist with improving production, identifying markets for excess produce, and facilitate the various projects’ plans to improve the functioning of the projects. Therefore, the department has the responsibility to invest in the development of AAs to improve on their competency towards sustainable food gardens.