This study applied a transaction cost approach to the analysis of cattle marketing behaviour among smallholder farmers in communal land areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The objective was to test the effects of information, negotiation, and monitoring costs on the decision to sell to private buyers, speculators or at auction. The theoretical predictions of transaction cost economics were tested based on primary data collected from 230 cattle farm households in 13 communities of the Okhahlamba Local Municipality. The results of a multinomial logit regression revealed some unique insights. They showed that the probability of selling at auction vs selling at the farm gate increased during the end-of-year festive season, indicating the scope of market uncertainty surrounding auctions. They also showed that the probability of selling at auction vs selling to speculators increased with proximity to the auction marketplace and decreased with knowledge of the buyer, suggesting higher opportunity costs of time and efforts associated with selling at auction, and considerable negotiation and monitoring costs incurred when selling to speculators. Other significant predictors of auction channel selection were volume supplied and farmer's age. This study concludes with some implications for the livestock marketing policy in South Africa.
The adoption and utilization of social media as an advisory tool among smallholder farmers is relatively unexplored. Social media has the potential to enhance communication, making agricultural information easily available in the sector. This study investigated the relationship between the attributes of the diffusion of innovation theory and the socio-economic characteristics that influence social media adoption. An independent samples t-test and a one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. The sample size was 217 smallholder farmers in the Nkomazi local municipality. The results revealed that the difference in the diffusion of innovation attributes based on gender, age, co-operative membership, and level of education had a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that extension services and other stakeholders including those in the private sector and policymakers should encourage wider adoption of social media by smallholder farmers. Governments need to invest in infrastructure such as community computer labs for training and access to social media. Open-access social media platforms that allow free internet access should also be considered for development. Additionally, policymakers should consider developing guidelines that encourage online advisory services, learning and information dissemination.
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