Women’s economic empowerment has been South Africa’s policy priority since the country became a democracy. This paper examines the domains associated with the economic empowerment of small-scale female agro-processors in South Africa. A sequential exploratory mixed methods research design and a close-ended questionnaire were used to collect quantitative data from 503 small-scale agro-processors in five provinces. Qualitative data were collected during five focus group sessions aided by the focus group guide. The results show that production decision-making (β = 0,140; p = 0,003), access to productive resources (β = 0.140, p = 0.001), time allocation (β = 0.327, p = 0.000), and intervention (β = –0.353, p = 0.004) are the critical domains of small-scale agro-processing empowerment. The study revealed that only four domains of women’s economic empowerment have significantly improved the economic status of small-scale agro-processors. However, the combination of income, leadership, and intervention (β = 0.009, p = 0.015) was also a significant influencing factor. The study recommends that small-scale agroprocessors be provided with necessary policies and legislative control over their production decisions. This authority is coupled with broadening access to productive resources, time allocation, grants, leadership, and projects to actively empower these entrepreneurs.
The indicators of the internal resources factors in the small-scale agroprocessing in South Africa have a complicated cluster of networks, inventory, and trademarks compared to the commercial agro-processing sector. However, it has been identified that the internal resources endowment of small-scale agroprocessors is extremely weak. The study was carried out in the five provinces of South Africa, and the sample size was made up of 503 respondents. Face-to-face interviews were employed to collect the data in a sequential explanatory mixedmethods design, where quantitative data collection was through closed-ended questionnaires, and qualitative was through focus group sessions. The results revealed that the network (β = 0.440, p = 0.000) forms an integral part of the factors that influence the small-scale agro-processors internal resource status in these enterprises. While trademark (β = 0.142, p = 0.000) and inventory (β = 0.138, p = 0.000) were found to have second and third impact respectively. As a result of the reported weakness in the business networks in the small-scale agro-processing enterprises, it is recommended that these enterprises form lobby organizations that will enable the internal resources base of these enterprises. B Manasoe ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mr. Benjamin Manasoe graduated with a Master of Commerce in Economics and a Master of Philosophy in Information and Knowledge Management from the University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch University. He is a PhD candidate at the North West University's Business School. His primary research interests include agro-processing, tourism, small-scale or enterprise development, marketing, and agricultural education. Prof. Victor M. Mmbengwa holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Free State (UFS), South Africa. He is currently holding a position as a manager at the National Agricultural Marketing Council and an associate extraordinaire professor at North-West University (NWU).
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