Smallholder sheep farmers’ perception of production constraints and competitiveness strategies in South Africa

Abstract

Sheep production in South Africa has experienced some growth though very slow, and as such production cannot meet demand in the local market. This study aimed to determine the factor influencing the competitiveness of smallholder sheep farmers’ and constraints faced by sheep farmers in South Africa. A farm-level cross-sectional data of 217 smallholder livestock farmers in South Africa were used to identify the factors influencing the competitiveness of smallholder sheep farmers in South Africa. The Porter's Diamond Model Framework was used to measure the competitiveness of sheep production in the study areas and principal component analysis was applied to assess the constraints faced by sheep farmers. The study results found that smallholder sheep farmers in the study area are faced with numerous production constraints, which inhibit their productivity and competitiveness. The most severe constraints include marketing, stock theft, lack of capital, diseases and parasite, and high feed cost. The study suggest that smallholder sheep farmers in the study areas can be competitive and experience growth through the creation of agribusiness enabling environments by promoting policies and strategies that will boost investments in sheep production across the value chain.