Abstract
Smallholder crop production contributes significantly towards improving rural livelihoods and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty and zero hunger. However, a progressive decline in field cultivation has been experienced in the former homelands of South Africa. Regrettably, these agrarian changes continue to escalate, amid high poverty, unemployment and household food insecurity challenges in the country. Thus, this research aims to examine cultivation trends to understand deagrarianization in Ambros and Maramanzhi villages, South Africa. The study combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the patterns, socio-economic and ecological drivers of deagrarianization, the impacts of deagrarianization on household food security, as well as land use and land cover changes in the study sites. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires from a total of 106 randomly selected household heads, as well as 4 purposively selected key informants and 4 transact walks with smallholder farmers. All statistical analysis was completed using SPSS 27.0. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12 software. Spatial data were adopted to conduct land use and land cover changes. These changes were analyzed on ArcGIS Pro and Google Earth. The key findings indicated that a deagrarianization process, defined by a heterogeneous decline in field cultivation is affecting Ambros and Maramanzhi villages. Household heads and smallholder farmers alluded to a concerning decline in the area of cultivated fields in Maramanzhi and Ambros villages. The long-term spatio-temporal analysis of land cover changes also revealed that fallow fields increased in Ambros and Maramanzhi villages between 2005 and 2023. This deagrarianization largely stems from the colonial and apartheid government policies which altered settlement patterns and land uses, resulting in inequalities in land ownership and access to resources in South Africa. However, other socioeconomic and ecological factors, such as lack of inputs, financial constraints and erratic rainfall patterns, influenced the disengagements from cultivation. Due to the impacts of deagrarianization, most households rely on food purchases. However, household income is not sufficient to purchase all the household food required on a monthly basis. Consequently, households in the study area experience various food access challenges. Based on the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, 54% of households in Ambros and 69% in Maramanzhi
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experienced mild food insecurity. Considering these findings, expanding access to extension services could be a crucial strategy for assisting smallholder farmers to revive fallow fields. This strategy would significantly contribute to accentuating household crop production and opportunities to increase rural household income. It is imperative that policymakers actively include smallholder farmers in the formulation and execution of policies targeted at enhancing agriculture. This approach would ensure that the perceptions, needs and challenges of smallholder farmers are integrated into policy implementation, resulting in increased agricultural participation. Furthermore, consistent monitoring and evaluation of agricultural projects are crucial to ensure that agricultural development programmes are sustainable and can address local challenges.
Keywords: cultivation, deagrarianization, food insecurity, former homelands, rural livelihoods, South Africa.