This paper begins by arguing that agricultural economics has an important contribution to make to the economic transition of the new democratic South Africa. Policies are required to reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality, but does the work of agricultural economists provide the policy...

This study investigates possible causes of poverty afflicting a community of land reform beneficiaries in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. The 38 beneficiary households had previously been clustered into four groups displaying different symptoms of poverty. Linear Discriminant Analysis was used...

The main objective of the study was to examine the determinants of households' food security using a logistic regression procedure. The model was initially fitted with eleven factors, of which six were found to be significant, and all exhibited the expected signs. These include farmland size, ox...

This study investigated the impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and household vulnerability in Swaziland. Personal interviews with 847 selected farming households revealed an increase in sales of crops and livestock to finance funerals and healthcare, a decrease in expenditure on agricultural...

The impact of smallholder commercialisation on food consumption patterns in a rural community of South Africa was investigated. The dietary diversity, nutrient intakes and consumption patterns of certified, partially certified and non-members of an organic farmers’ organisation were...

This study identifies different dimensions of poverty affecting the current and future well-being of households within a community of land reform beneficiaries in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. A census survey of the beneficiary households was conducted in May 2002 to gather data on poverty...

Wide, weather-induced fluctuations in maize production lead to recurrent food shortages in Zambia's maize consuming regions, while the cassava-growing regions of the north enjoy stable food production, even in drought years. Noting this striking correlation between drought vulnerability and the...

The paper investigates the impact of employing in-field rainwater harvesting (IRWH) production techniques on household food security for communal farmers in Thaba Nchu, by estimating the minimum area of land that a representative household needs to cultivate in order to meet its requirements....

The dualistic nature of the South African economy manifests itself to a large extent in the agricultural sector, where ownership and access to land was previously reserved and is still mainly controlled by white farmers. This has contributed to the huge disparities in the income levels of black...

Growing international attention has focussed on the potential role of urban agriculture in poverty alleviation. The aim in this paper is to analyse the existing challenge of urban poverty in South Africa and examine the potential role of urban agriculture as a component of a pro-poor urban...