Agricultural Production In South Africa Research Articles

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Factors Influencing Water Use Behaviour and the Efficiency of Agricultural Production in South Africa

Water use behaviour and efficiency are essential topics regarding water scarcity. Water is a life-sustaining resource used for various activities within the three primary sectors: agricultural, industrial, and domestic. Increasing competition among these sectors could affect the availability and sustainability of water use. The higher demand for agricultural-related commodities emphasizes the efficient and productive use of water. Still, to achieve this, the behaviour of consumers regarding water use needs to be changed. This systematic review paper aims to highlight the factors affecting water use behaviour and efficiency for agricultural production in South Africa. It further aims to determine how agricultural producers change their behaviour to improve their water use efficiency. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria were used as a reporting framework and guidelines to identify the articles included in the review. The review only included articles focussing on agricultural water use behaviour and efficiency and articles written in English and excluded articles from web pages, blogs, magazines, etc. The databases used for the review were Google Scholar and Web of Science. The articles were reviewed by the five authors to avoid the risk of bias, along with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final review included 30 peer-reviewed articles. A word frequency table was developed using the NVivo 14 software to conduct a thematic analysis for the review. The main factors which played a role in the water use behaviour and efficiency of farmers were (i) climate and adaptation strategies, (ii) policy and water pricing, and (iii) agricultural production and management. Each category elaborated on how water use could be improved and the different measures adopted to incorporate sustainable farm water use. This could be a guideline for farmers, stakeholders, and policymakers to improve and enhance water use behaviour and efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly South Africa. This could ultimately assist in efficiently using the water while enhancing sustainability within the agricultural sector and attaining Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) six, which is to increase water use efficiency. The limitation of this study was that it was only narrowed down to the geographical context of South Africa. This review was funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa (Project Number: C20222023-00798). This review was not registered.

Agrivoltaic Systems: Potential Opportunities for South Africa

South Africa has seen a drastic uptake of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with an increasing number of solar farms over the last decade. From an available land perspective, there is also much potential to significantly expand the generation capacity, when compared to the rest of the world. More than 80% of the land area has a solar resource greater than 1600 kWh/m2/yr. Over 79% of the land is used for agricultural purposes, yet only 22.5% of the installed PV capacity is in the agricultural sector. This highlights the potential of dual land usage with agrivoltaic systems. This paper investigates the opportunities to develop such systems by considering agricultural production in South Africa that may be suitable – to pave the way forward for the implementation of appropriate agrivoltaic systems in the country. A Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis was undertaken, considering the solar resource and land with a slope of less than 2 degree – to minimise construction costs. Current large-scale solar projects in South Africa indicate that at least 0.6 GWh of electricity can be generated annually per hectare. The current total capacity (of all sources) generated around 237 TWh of electricity in 2022. To generate an equal amount of electricity with agrivoltaic systems would then (roughly) require less than 400 thousand hectares of agricultural land; or less than 2% of the available land suitable for agrivoltaic systems (depending on the designed panel density). Further site-specific techno-economic analyses are underway to provide greater insight into the potential opportunities for South Africa.

The Umlindi Newsletter: Disseminating Climate-Related Information on the Management of Natural Disaster and Agricultural Production in South Africa

The Umlindi newsletter was developed to provide information towards climate advisories, considering, for instance, drought conditions, presented in a relevant manner for the agricultural and disaster sectors in South Africa. This newsletter, which is disseminated on a monthly basis, provides information derived from climate-related monitoring products obtained from an integration of remote sensing and in situ data from weather stations. It contains useful indicators, such as rainfall, vegetation, and fire conditions, that provide an overview of conditions across the country. The present study demonstrates how these natural resource indices are integrated and consolidated for utilization by farmers, policy-makers, private organizations, and the general public to make day-to-day decisions on the management and mitigation of natural disasters. However, there is a need to expand these baseline observation initiatives, including the following: (1) forecasting future conditions to strengthen coping mechanisms of government, farmers, and communities at large; and (2) incorporating information on other natural disasters such as floods and extreme heat. In the context of South Africa, this information is important to improve disaster preparedness and management for agricultural productivity. In a global context, the Umlindi newsletter can be insightful for developing and disseminating natural resources information on adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and variability impacts to other regions facing similar risks. Furthermore, while international organizations also provide natural resource information, the Umlindi newsletter may be distinguished by its regional focus and linkages to individual communities. It bridges the gap between global environmental data and local decision-making by illustrating how global scientific knowledge may be applied locally.

Effects of Climate Change on Agricultural Production in South Africa

Effects of Climate Change on Agricultural Production in South Africa

The Impact of Government Expenditure in Agriculture and Other Selected Variables on the Value of Agricultural Production in South Africa (1983–2019): Vector Autoregressive Approach

South African agriculture has the potential to stimulate growth in other economic sectors, but dwindling budgetary allocations to agriculture over time and the nature of other impacting factors on the value of agricultural production have not received much attention in recent times. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of government expenditure in agriculture, annual average rainfall, consumer price index, food import value, and population on the value of agricultural production with a specific focus on government expenditure in agriculture for the period 1983 to 2019. Using the Johansen cointegration test, the results reveal that there is a long-run relationship among the variables. The Granger causality test results suggest that government expenditure in agriculture does not Granger cause the value of agricultural production. However, the two variables are linked through other variables in the model, such that an increase in government expenditure in agriculture, average annual rainfall, and population were shown to ultimately increase the value of agricultural production based on vector autoregressive (VAR) model analysis. In contrast, an increase in the consumer price index and food import value is detrimental to the value of agricultural production. These studies’ findings have policy implications for increased government expenditure.

Minimum Wages and Agricultural Production in South Africa

Minimum Wages and Agricultural Production in South Africa

The Economic Implications of Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust) on Agricultural Production in South Africa

ABSTRACTRobinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust) is an invasive deciduous, broad-leaved tree that has the potential to be widely distributed across South Africa. It has invaded all nine South African provinces. The potential economic impact of R. pseudoacacia on agricultural production stems from the tree’s ability to reduce the carrying capacity for livestock. This study estimated the potential economic implications of R. pseudoacacia on agricultural production in South Africa, specifically the livestock sector. R. pseudoacacia’s potential distribution was calculated by using a maximum-entropy predictive habitat model, MaxEnt. The distribution of livestock, based on grazing capacity (ha/large stock unit) in South Africa, was then determined. The potential direct economic impacts were estimated by assessing the impact of the potential distribution of R. pseudoacacia on the carrying capacity for livestock. The results showed that an infestation of R. pseudoacacia has the potential to reduce the total gross margin in the livestock sector by between approximately R135 million and R674 million, dependent on the level of invasion. The potential levels of foregone income and business activity found in this study reaffirm the need to devote resources to develop a viable, economical and effective control.

EU Product Standards and Export Diversification in Nigeria and South Africa

The issue of export diversification has been receiving attention among scholars and policymakers. However, African countries face critical challenges in improving domestic capacity to meet production and quality standards required in the foreign markets.Premised on this, this study explores how standards affect agriculture and textile products exported to the EU market, by the two biggest economies in SSA between 1995 and 2004. Employing the Hirschman concentration index as a measure of diversification in the context of a modified poisson model of gravity trade theory, findings show that standards and harmonized standards are of no significant effect on South African agricultural export diversification while in Nigeria, standards have significant effect on agricultural export diversification but have no effect on textiles. Moreover, harmonized standards show positive effect on agricultural export concentration but have no effect on textile exports in South Africa. However, harmonized standards plays no role in the diversification of Nigerian agricultural and textile export varieties. The study therefore recommends that producers of agricultural products in South Africa should focus on single, country specific standards while producers of agricultural products in Nigeria should adopt harmonized standards to promote bilateral trade and develop quality products to improve competition in the EU markets.

Efficiency in South African agriculture: a two-stage fuzzy approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency of agricultural production in South Africa from 1970 to 2014, using an integrated two-stage fuzzy approach.Design/methodology/approachFuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution is used to assess the relative efficiency of agriculture in South Africa over the course of the years in the first stage. In the second stage, fuzzy regressions based on different rule-based systems are used to predict the impact of socio-economic and demographic variables on agricultural efficiency. They are compared with the bootstrapped truncated regressions with conditional α levels proposed in Wanke et al. (2016a).FindingsThe results show that the fuzzy efficiency estimates ranged from 0.40 to 0.68 implying inefficiency in South African agriculture. The results further reveal that research and development, land quality, health expenditure–population growth ratio have a significant, positive impact on efficiency levels, besides the GINI index. In terms of accuracy, fuzzy regressions outperformed the bootstrapped truncated regressions with conditional α levels proposed in Wanke et al. (2015).Practical implicationsPolicies to increase social expenditure especially in terms of health and hence productivity should be prioritized. Also policies aimed at conserving the environment and hence the quality of land is needed.Originality/valueThe paper is original and has not been previously published elsewhere.

Spatial Differences in Stunting and Household Agricultural Production in South Africa: (Re-)Examining the Links Using National Panel Survey Data

South Africa is one of only a handful of countries in which the prevalence of child stunting has increased over the period during which progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been monitored. One explanation for this reversal is that Big Food retail chains have been contributing to a low quality diet across the country, particularly in poor urban households. To examine this claim, we use nationally representative longitudinal data (2008–2014) to trace 6 years of stunting's evolution among South African children and adolescents aged 0–19, with particular attention to how the prevalence of stunting differs between urban (14.9%) and rural (19.6%) areas and how the drivers of poor nutrition vary spatially.The results suggest that, conditional on household income, subsistence farming is associated with a lower probability of stunting. Even more important, although under-nutrition retains a strong spatial component, once observable differences in living standards are controlled for, the higher tendency for children in deep rural households to suffer from (severe) stunting reverses.

Implications of increasing world oil scarcity for national food security in South Africa

ABSTRACTEconomic and social stability depend on a healthy, functioning and affordable system of agricultural production and food distribution. In recent years, however, international and domestic food prices have risen considerably, partly as a result of rising oil prices. A growing body of literature indicates that world oil supplies will become increasingly scarce and expensive in the coming years, due to the depletion of easily extractable reserves. This poses a significant threat to agricultural production in South Africa, which is overwhelmingly derived from oil-intensive commercial farming. To mitigate the risk of serious disruptions to food production and distribution, the agriculture sector may require government support in the form of temporary fuel subsidies and, possibly, prioritised fuel access in order to cope with oil price shocks and potential fuel scarcity. Furthermore, to boost resilience and improve sustainability for the longer term, the agriculture sector should embark on a programme aimed at gradually reducing the reliance on petroleum products by adopting practices such as conservation agriculture and agro-ecological farming methods. In addition, since the current food distribution system is heavily reliant on road transport, and thus exposed to fuel price and supply shocks, the mitigation strategy should aim at a partial relocalisation of agricultural production and consumption, for example, by developing urban agriculture.

Parameterization and Testing of AquaCrop for a South African Bambara Groundnut Landrace

The aim of this study was to parameterize and test the generic crop model AquaCrop for a local bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc] landrace. Such a model should be water driven and assist in the promotion of neglected and underutilized species as possible future crops under water‐limited conditions. AquaCrop was parameterized for a South African bambara groundnut landrace using data from controlled field and rain shelter experiments conducted during two seasons (2010/2011 and 2011/2012) at Pretoria, South Africa. Observed weather, soil physical, and measured crop parameters from optimum experiments conducted during 2010/2011 were used to develop respective climate, soil, and crop files in AquaCrop and to parameterize the model. Model parameterization for bambara groundnut showed a very good fit for canopy cover (R2 = 0.94, Willmott’s d index of agreement = 0.99, RMSE = 3.37%) and biomass (R2 = 0.96, d index = 0.99, RMSE = 1.29 Mg ha–1). The model also predicted final biomass (RMSE = 1.70 Mg ha–1) and yield (RMSE = 0.29 Mg ha–1) reasonably well. Model testing showed good fit for canopy cover under irrigated (R2 = 0.86, d index = 0.96, RMSE = 9.72%) and rainfed field conditions (R2 = 0.95, d index = 0.97, RMSE = 6.18%) compared with simulation of results from rain shelter experiments. The model simulated final biomass and yield of bambara groundnut very well under field conditions. The model’s performance under rainfed conditions make it particularly suited for extrapolation to marginal areas of agricultural production in South Africa and the region.

Impacts of literacy rate and human development indices on agricultural production in South Africa

Agriculture is an important sector in South Africa, and the impact that education and human development would have made in this sector via non-white small scale farming was limited through biased policies of the apartheid era. Due to apartheid laws, South Africa found itself with high levels of unskilled labour force. This study seeks to find the impacts of literacy rate and human development indices on agricultural production using Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Test approach to co-integration. A long run relationship among the variables, agricultural production (agriculture GDP), literacy rate and human development indices were found. Literacy rate has a positively significant effect on agricultural production in the long run while Human Development Index has a positive and significant impact in the short run. This indicates that the apartheid regime fell short in recognizing the positive effect of education in the agricultural sector by denying a descent education to the majority of non-whites which were farm labourers or small scale farmers. This study provides some policy recommendations.  

South African Food Security and Climate Change: Agriculture Futures

Abstract The projected changes in planted area, yield per area, net exports/imports and prices for five major agricultural crops in South Africa were simulated using the projections of four Global Circulation Models (GCMs) under three socio-economic scenarios. The GCM projections show consistent strong warming over the subcontinent, but disagree with respect to future precipitation, from slight wetting (particularly on the eastern side) to overall slight drying. The future crop yields were simulated using the DSSAT crop model suite. The planted area, commodity prices and net exports were simulated using the IMPACT global food trade model. The results indicate slightly rising to stable yields per unit area up to 2050, despite climate change, largely due to the inbuilt assumption of ongoing agronomic and genetic improvements. Vulnerability to food insecurity increases in the future under all but the most optimistic development scenarios, and is exacerbated by climate change, especially through global-scale, market- related mechanisms. Policies to increase local agricultural production in South Africa, decrease climate sensitivity and access to international markets are highlighted.

THE LONG‐TERM ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING LEGISLATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

AbstractThe marketing of most agricultural products in South Africa was subject to intervention by statutory bodies over a period of some 60 years. At the time of the promulgation of the first legislation there was a vigorous debate on the predicted economic effects; in 1983 one of the architects of these instruments published a justification in these pages, followed in 2000 by a “post‐mortem,” which confirmed most of the negative predictions that had been made. The purpose in this article is to revisit this debate and to provide a first assessment of the long‐term impacts of the legislation.

Climate Change and Agricultural Production in South Africa: Impacts and Adaptation options

The primary aim of the paper was to identify the impacts and adaptation options of climate variability and change on agricultural production in Limpopo province. The following objectives were identified: to understand the impacts of climate variability and change on agricultural production in Limpopo province ; to assess the impacts of climate variability and change on agricultural production in Limpopo province and to identify adaptation measures that reduces the impacts of climate variability and change on agricultural production in Limpopo province. A representative sample of 300 farmers aged 16 – 65+ years (46 percent males and 54 percent females) participated in the study. The study involved Sekhukhune and Capricorn districts, with 56 percent farmers in Capricorn and 44 percent in Sekhukhune district. The following 11 local municipalities were visited: Elias Motsoaledi, Makhuduthamaga, Fetakgomo, Ephraim Mogale, Tubatse, Lepelle Nkumpi, Blouberg, Aganang, Polokwane, and Molemole. Statistics was used to determine climate variability and change impact on agricultural production. Results indicate that farmers are aware that Limpopo province is getting warmer and drier with increased frequency of droughts, changes in the timing of rains, observed trends of temperature and precipitation. This paper also confirmed that being full time farmer, gender, information on climate change, information received through extension services and adaptation to climate change are some of the important determinants of agricultural production, food scarcity and unemployment. The paper also presented perceived adaptation strategies of selected Limpopo province farmers. Some of their perceived adaptation strategies included: (a) soil management strategies, (b) water management strategies and (c) others like use of subsidies and use of insurance. Other important adaptation options being used by farmers were also discussed in this paper including different adaptation measures against colds, heat, frost, abnormal wind, hail, lack of extension support, nematodes, insecticides, worms, temperature and rainfall. The results of this paper are potentially valuable to the agricultural sector considering the threates that climate change poses across climate sensitive sectors

Econometric estimation of Armington elasticities for selected agricultural products in South Africa

Price transmission behaviour is used to model the impacts of different trade regimes; if this behaviour is not modelled correctly, the trade impacts can be either under- or overestimated. Due to the lack of elasticities of substitution pertaining to selected imported and domestically produced agricultural products in South Africa, ‘Armington’ elasticities, using quarterly data from 1995-2006 and three different models, based on the time series properties of the data, are estimated in this paper. Considering the long-run elasticity results, soyabeans (whether broken or not) and meat of bovine animals (frozen) are the most sensitive import products, followed by maize, meat of bovine animals (fresh or chilled), sunflower seeds, and wheat and meslin. Regarding the short-run elasticity, soyabeans are the most sensitive import product, followed by meat of bovine animals (fresh or chilled); meat of swine (fresh, chilled or frozen) is the least sensitive import product.

Unlocking the rural tourism potential of the Limpopo province of South Africa: Some strategic guidelines

Inadequate economic restructuring and a decline in agricultural production in South Africa have reduced the economic opportunities of rural communities. They have limited the economic development options of rural areas, rendering older development strategies less viable and forcing many to look for alternative methods to help them survive and prosper. Rural tourism and its associated businesses have emerged among the most popular non-traditional options for rural development, because of their ability to generate income and jobs. This study examines national and international strategies for developing tourism, and investigates the opinions of participants in the tourism industry of the Limpopo province, with a view to identifying the key strategic issues that can ensure the success of rural tourism. The research consisted of a literature study, field surveys, and interviews with policy-makers and administrators, tourism operators, academics and tourists. The results identify rural tourism as a viable development tool for Limpopo province. Six strategic issues were identified as fundamental for its success. It is believed that these guidelines could also be applied to other rural provinces, thus creating a generic strategy for developing rural tourism.

South African Wool Marketing

As in many countries, the marketing of agricultural products in South Africa is one characterised by a complex pattern of regulations and institutional intervention. Since the 1930s the marketing of South African wool has passed through a full range of alternative structures. Originally wool was marketed in South Africa through a free market system of private sales and auctions. During World War II and the years 1972-93 full acquisition schemes operated, and also buffer stock (surplus removal) schemes in the years 1946-51 and 1958-72. After the suspension of the single channel pool scheme in June 1993 the marketing of wool in South Africa reverted to a structure of auctions and private sales. In practice the marketing of wool has finally reverted to close to its original form, as did the South African Wool Board which gave up its marketing functions and today concentrates on the promotion of wool and conduct of scientific and economic research.

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF ADVERTISING IN AGRICULTURE: A REVIEW / Ekonomiese aspekte van advertensiewese in die landbousektor: 'n Oorsig

Abstract In a dynamic world of change, promotion of agricultural commodities will inevitably become more important, particularly with respect to intensification in the nature of competition, the complexity in distribution and differences between consumer and producer prices. The impact of advertising as a means of promoting agricultural commodities, have to be evaluated in terms of consumer response and the effectiveness of advertising agricultural products, by assuming that advertising can increase the level of sales at any given price by Shifting the demand curve for a specific product to the right, or increase the price or both. Although South Africa is a part of Africa, it has a highly developed and sophisticated marketing structure which necessitates the analysis and decomposition of foreign advertising research done in Europe and America for possible application in South Africa, due to the virtually non-existence of research on generic or brand advertising of agricultural products in South Africa. E...