The South African policy sphere hails the commercialisation of small-scale farming as the answer to a myriad of socio-economic, ecological and political challenges of rural livelihoods. Yet the low agricultural productivity of this sector challenges the realisation of this pathway. Through comparison with large-scale farmers, this review sought to elicit the main reasons for differences in productivity and explore the prospects of small-scale farming. It highlights that low productivity of small-scale farming cannot be solely ascribed to biophysical constraints and that differences rather arise at farm and regional level. Therefore, intervention strategies should not be solely sought at field scale, which seems to be the norm. While the prospects of small-scale farming may seem gloomy at first glance, opportunities such as investing in horticulture exist. Prospects for small-scale farming are limited by the country's very competitive and thriving large-scale farming that saturate most agricultural markets. A key conclusion from this review is that we still do not know enough about small-scale farming systems in South Africa. For example, what is the contribution of small-scale farming to the living income of households? Are farming households food and nutrition secure? In particular, the role of agriculture in improving rural livelihoods is poorly understood. Farming is likely to remain an important supplementary livelihood opportunity for the majority of rural households. As such, small-scale farming needs to be rethought as part of a broader livelihood strategy by all stakeholders while continuously seeking alternative entry points towards thriving rural livelihoods. This means provision of support for transition to more commercial farming activities for those with interest and sufficient resources, while alternative employment or social protection is provided for others. A key question for research is what types of farming (crops and livestock) and what scale of operation is needed to achieve commercial success in different regions.
Global water scarcity and salinity of irrigated lands remain a concern. Shallow groundwater tables, often present in irrigation areas, may serve as energy‐efficient water sources, but they may also restrict leaching. This study quantified the salinity effects on water use and grain yield of irrigated malt barley in the presence of a shallow groundwater table. A lysimeter experiment was conducted over two seasons on sandy and sandy loam soils in Bloemfontein, South Africa. A Cocktail barley cultivar was irrigated with five irrigation water quality levels (ECi), i.e. control (1.5), 4.5, 6, 9 and 12 dS m−1. Salinity of the constant (1.2 m) groundwater table corresponded to ECi.Saline irrigation water had cumulative depressive effect on evapotranspiration, groundwater table depletion and grain yield as well as water productivity. Increasing ECi from the control to 12 dS m−1 reduced grain yield by 91 and 89% for the sandy and sandy loam soil, respectively, in the second season. The relationship between grain yield and salinity was dynamic (R2 = 0.8) and more sigmoidal than linear. Given the fluctuating nature of shallow groundwater and its close association with periodic waterlogging, revision of salinity threshold values and yield–salinity relationships for major cash crops remains critical. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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