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Purchases of agricultural land for diverse reasons, such as recreation or aesthetic appeal (collectively referred to as lifestyle purposes), has implications for agricultural land valuations, commercial agriculture and the acquisition of land for redistribution purposes. This paper reports on the extent of purchases of agricultural land for diverse reasons within an intensive and extensive agricultural farming area in the Western Cape, gathered through a survey of land buyers between January 2005 and October 2007. Descriptive statistics provide demographical information of buyers, their reasons for purchasing farms and the importance of specific characteristics of agricultural properties considered in such purchases. Analyses of variance convey more information regarding the different characteristics of agricultural properties considered by agricultural and lifestyle buyers. Survey results indicated that farm purchases for alternative purposes were substantial: more than half of all transactions in both the intensive and extensive area were for lifestyle reasons. Lifestyle buyers mostly rely on income from outside the agricultural sector for their livelihoods and financing of purchased properties, therefore they could focus on characteristics of farms unrelated to commercial agricultural production in their decision to buy agricultural properties. Characteristics such as the recreational opportunities provided by the property and its aesthetic beauty, including natural scenery, beautiful views and locations within a valley and set against a mountain, appealed to these buyers.

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Primary Eurostat data of EU imports of agricultural products from selected southern hemisphere countries -namely, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand -was used

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The aim of this research was to develop a generic decision tree model that captures and integrates in a logical and orderly manner the impacts of production and marketing activities that determine the profitability of flower production for export. The model has to indicate options necessitating choices between alternative production and marketing activities and has to show the impact of a particular choice on the profitability of the total operation. The model should be easily adaptable to evaluate the suitability of various flowers for export. The model was applied to describe the income and cost determinants and relevant choices with regard to the production of Protea Magnifica (Queen Protea) in the Western Cape to be sold on Dutch flower auctions.

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