Abstract
Smallholder livestock farmers (SLF) are important in research and policy development agenda because of the everlasting issue of food insecurity and the livelihoods in sub-Sahara Africa. Lack of access to technologies and information, poor infrastructure and lack of access to markets and environmental factors play a key role in deterring sustainable smallholder livestock farming. In recent years, studies have provided evidence that livestock species can play a role towards solving household food insecurity and enhancing Africa’s resilient livelihoods, particularly in rural settings. However, no studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of emerging technologies (available information technologies) as risk mitigation tools for smallholder livestock farmers. The study used survey data from 278 interviewer-administered questionnaires and 13 in-depth interviews village herds from Dumba, Mapayi, Old Nuli and Shabwe to explore whether rural SLF would use the emerging technologies to enhance their operations, and mitigate supply chain risk, exposures to stock theft and loss. Empirical results show the overwhelming need for the use of emerging technologies by the SLF, and that emerging technologies have significant and positive effects on the risk management activities. SLF indicated that, using digital technologies, they could enhance their risk mitigation and value chains. The results of the study have several policy implications. For instance, the agricultural comparative advantage should be improved through various emerging agricultural technologies. Moreover, the immediate rural development service networks for SLF could be strengthened through the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to reduce livestock risk exposures, disasters and market reactions. Although rural livestock farming in Beitbridge has survived over the years at a subsistence level, the paper provides some interesting and pertinent findings, and projects some possible future research pathways.
Highlights
In the past decade, studies on food security in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa have increased in response to the intensifying food insecurity challenge which stems from many factors including natural hazards, conflicts, economic crises, diseases and politics [1]
Studies have suggested that in rural communities, there is need to move towards more non-farm enterprises since, in the past decade [19], climate change has adversely affected the farm output, subsequently affecting the livelihood of those solely depending on farm output [18]
In this study, when respondents were asked about the household livelihood options, results, as presented in Table 1, it was revealed that livestock farming is a core livelihood option for the people living in rural Beitbridge
Summary
Studies on food security in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa have increased in response to the intensifying food insecurity challenge which stems from many factors including natural hazards, conflicts, economic crises, diseases and politics [1]. Despite the growing body of research, the number of food-insecure individuals and households in sub-Saharan Africa has been increasing, and in recent years studies focusing on finding solutions to the detrimental problem of food insecurity are increasingly arguing that livestock species can play a key role towards solving household and global food insecurity [5]. These claims are, met by the stark reality that livestock systems in most sub-Saharan Africa’s rural communities, such as Beitbridge in Zimbabwe, are fragile [6]. The fragility of the livestock systems—as well as other key systems—emanates from many factors including the lack of supporting infrastructure, climate change and poor markets [7]
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