Determinants of rural on-farm livelihoods diversification: the case of Intsika Yethu Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to identify the factors influencing households to diversify rural on-farm livelihood activities in Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. This is against a background where literature suggests low livelihoods diversification among rural households despite several claimed benefits of diversification. Cross-sectional survey data was randomly collected for this study in October 2018 from 190 rural households in Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. A structured questionnaire was used for that purpose. Ordered logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that diversification of on-farm livelihood activities was influenced by the gender of household head, education level of household head, household size, and number of livestock units owned. To promote on-farm livelihoods diversification in rural areas, the paper suggests targeting gender differential, informal education and awareness, labor dynamics associated with on-farm livelihood activities and household livestock units.

The Pull and Push Factors of Farm Income Diversification among Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook) Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

“…In an attempt to better the family's well-being and break out from the captivity of poverty, diversification remains the best option. The finding is in agreement with the assertion put forward by Sallawu et al (2016), Akpan et al (2017a), Etuk et al (2018), Tyenjana and Taruvinga (2019) and Teji (2020).…”

“…Since agriculture yields less income than other sectors, an advance in years of formal education of fluted pumpkin-based farmers would increase the potential of them moving away from agricultural production to better-yielding livelihood options. The result agrees with Ahmed (2012), Agyeman et al (2014), Ogbanje et al (2014), Oyewole et al (2015), Ababbo (2015), Sallawu et al (2016), Akpan et al (2017a), Adeoye et al (2019), Yusuf et al (2019), Tyenjana and Taruvinga (2019) and Teji (2020).…”

“…Besides, Yusuf et al, (2019) in northern Nigeria identified farmers' age, educational qualification, household size and farming experience as determinants of income diversification. Moreover, Tyenjana and Taruvinga (2019) identified the sex of the household head, educational attainment, family size, and livestock ownership as factors influencing livelihood diversification in South Africa.…”

The contribution of livelihood diversification activities to poverty reduction of ethnic minority households: A case study in Son La Province, Vietnam

“…In term of measuring livelihood diversification: Based on the previous studies, there are different ways of estimating the level of household livelihood diversification. However, nowadays the indices of livelihood diversification calculated using Simpson Diversification Index (SID) was used by many studies (Chuong et al, 2015;John et al, 2020;Minyiwab et al, 2024;Tashikalma et al, 2015;Tyenjana and Taruvinga, 2019). Then, this study adopted the indices of livelihood diversification using Simpson Diversification Index in measuring livelihood diversification of ethnic minority households.…”

The competitiveness of agribusinesses in South Africa in relation to entrepreneurship and compliance with standards

“…According to Bourdieu (1986), firms possess various forms of capital, such as human, social, and economic capital, that are interchangeable and may be converted into tangible resources and effective power. Previous studies have examined the influence of various forms of capital on agribusinesses (Teklehaimanot et al, 2017;Thindisa, 2014;Tyenjana and Taruvinga, 2019), and a common theme which emanates from these studies is that EC is best analysed as a multi-dimensional construct which then has links to increased performance. In a multi-country study of early-stage entrepreneurs, a positive relationship between entrepreneurial competencies (perceived capacity, perceived opportunity, and role models) and the performance of smallholder farmers was found to positively and significantly influence performance, based on 125 cases selected from 59 countries (Barazandeh et al, 2015).…”