No abstract

The paper examines the delineation and variation in the gender gap and agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting precise challenges in the provision of gendersensitive rural advisory services and offered strategies for gender mainstreaming for rural agricultural advisory services. Literature on the gender gap and advisory services were extensively reviewed. The result of the study revealed that improving gender equity through agricultural production may translate into a contribution towards poverty reduction and improving sub-Saharan African economies. In addition, proper designing of extension and rural advisory services programmes could be a promising strategy for terminating the existing gap between men and women in agriculture. The customary laws, socio-cultural and religious norms, and gender-blind policies that often inhibit women from enjoying their rights and access to and control of productive resources, economic opportunities and decision making must be repelled. The paper concludes that equitable organisational culture underpinned by organisational policies must be developed. An inclusive enabling atmosphere is also critical in the provision of gender-sensitive rural advisory services. It is recommended that the enactment of policies that will erase the gender gap in African agriculture could be beneficial, not only for women, but also for their families and communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Climate change is a threat to agricultural productivity and the overwhelming effects of climate change hinders the quest for sustainable agriculture, with the aim of satisfying the increasing demands for food and fiber. Adaptation to the ever-changing climate is a necessity for the agricultural sector. The study was conducted in Nkomazi Local Municipality. The study assessed the adoption of conservation agriculture in relation to climate change by smallholder farmers. Focus group discussion, structured and semistructured questionnaires were used to randomly collect data from selected smallholder farmers. The data was analyzed using the binary logistics regression model to determine adoption behavior of farmers in the use of conservation agriculture. Logistic regression result show that several predictor variables were found to significantly influence the adoption behavior of smallholder farmers in the area. The study noted the existence of significant variables to include age, education, household size, income, number of children, and adoption of conservation agricultural practice. Marital status of the farmers was found not to be significant and never to influence the adoption behavior of farmers with a p-value of (0.911) and co-efficient of (0.102). Furthermore, thoughtful decision process and smallholder farmers' capacity development and training on conservation techniques must be accentuated. It is therefore, recommended that future research be undertaken on the extent to which the effects of climate change affect farmer's productivity as well as the lack of youth involvement in agricultural production in the study area.

Finance, incubation, managerial support initiatives, and technological innovation have all been identified as major drivers of SMEs’ business location. Despite the importance of SMEs, little attention has been paid to business research regarding the impact of government support, business style, and entrepreneurial sustainability on SME activities in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas. Identifying the necessary support for SMEs in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas is critical for the government as well as stakeholders and SME owners in assessing their survival status and other goal-setting achievements. The article’s central question is whether government support, business style, and entrepreneurship sustainability affect SME operations differently depending on location (rural, semi-urban, or urban). The MANOVA technique was used for the analysis to determine whether there is a significant difference between groups on a composite dependent variable as well as the univariate results for each dependent variable separately. Because conducting a series of studies (ANOVA) reveals the possibility of an inflated Type 1 error, MANOVA is preferred. The test re-test reliability method (trustworthiness assessment of the questionnaire) and the Cronbach Alpha test (internal consistency of instrument sections) yielded satisfactory results of 0.70 and 0.875, respectively. Government support (GS), business style (BS), and entrepreneurial sustainability were used as dependent variables (SE). The independent variable was the business location. On the combined dependent variables, there was a statistically significant difference between SME location: F (3, 902) = 20.388, p = 0.001, Wilks’ Lambda = 0.88, partial eta squared = 0.06. When the results for the dependent variables were considered separately, they all reached statistical significance, using a Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.017. BS: F (1, 904) = 13.29, p ≤ 001, partial eta squared = 0.03. GS: F (1, 904) = 30.28, p ≤ 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.06. SE: F (1, 904) = 8.08, p ≤ 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.02. The findings show that locational effects on government support have a knock-on effect on the business plan and long-term entrepreneurship. As a result, the government must reconsider its rural activities to ensure that support is distributed equitably across levels of location.

The study examined the adoption of water conservation practices and challenges encountered by smallholder farmers in water resource conservation in Enyibe, Ermelo South Africa. The data were collected using structured questionnaires, observation and focus group discussion. Frequency, mean and logistics regression were used for data analysis. Age (β=1.238), sex (β=-1.497), level of education (β=-1.062), access to irrigation facilities (β=1.690), payment of water tariff (β=1.369) and agricultural extension advice (β=-.631) were significant and associated with adoption of water conservation practice. The identified constraints in the adoption process were inadequate technical guidelines, financial, government policies, and inadequate knowledge of water conservation practices. There is need to improve information, showcase the benefits of water conservation, and ensure maintenance of water conservation infrastructure. Concerted effort must be made to establish robust database on water resource conservation and sources of water utilised in the area. Keywords: Sustainable, water conservation, constraints, adoption

The agricultural support initiatives in South Africa are numerous and are aimed at reducing poverty. One of these progressive support initiatives for agricultural development in South Africa is the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP). The paper examined the various levels of investments in CASP, evaluated the prospects and challenges, and bench marked the national and provincial investment and implications for extension in South Africa. For the purpose of this study, qualitative methods involving the review of government commissioned reports, working papers, key debates on CASP, online sources, books, peer reviewed journals, etc. were used. The study found that prioritisation of resource allocation is essential in supporting long-term government investments for CASP. The gap in knowledge and information regarding the nature and status of CASP in agricultural development cannot be overemphasised. Reflecting on the findings, a coordinated policy environment to allow the support and participation of the private business investors to fill the investment gap in agriculture is recommended. Furthermore, investing in the prime movers of agriculture: agricultural research and development, human capital development, biophysical capital formation, and improved institutions remains distinctive.

The study compared two smallholder agricultural irrigation schemes in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Random selection was adopted and a total of 120 households were chosen from the two study sites. The descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for data interpretation and analysis. In Zanyokwe and Shiloh schemes: findings reveal that farm experience (β=-.077) and (β=-118), size of farmland (β=9.970) and (β.013), permission to occupy (β=.970) and (β-439), farm resources (β=-1.430) and (β=1.993), water for irrigation (β=1.299) and β=2.197), access to market information (β=.768) and β=-807), and production output (β=-1.390) and β=-2.330) were significant variables influencing the choice to continue farming on both schemes. The major constraints of beneficiaries were low farm income, inadequate land size, and inadequate farm assets. The study concluded that motivation and involvement of farmers in policy decision making remains critical for success. It is therefore, recommended that training to prepare farmers with multiple skills in sustainable agriculture is paramount.

Ecosystems play a huge role in support of human life, this is evident through their provision of food, fiber, water and fuel. However, these potentials are reduced through human activities, which comes with the lack of conservation of our forests. Deforestation is one of the major issues as far as sustainable development is concerned. Deforestation contributes towards soil erosion, particularly, in forests across the world. Soil erosion deprives human beings of the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of harvesting the forests’ potential towards supporting human life, which includes the release of oxygen and the uptake of carbon dioxide. Thus, the concept of conservation agriculture becomes of paramount importance. Hence, this paper explored the implications of Conservation Agriculture in Forest management and evaluated policies in place to promote the adoption and use of conservation agriculture across the globe.