Doctoral Degrees (Sustainable Food Systems and Development)
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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Sustainable Food Systems and Development) by Advisor "Swanepoel, J. W."
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Item Open Access Capacity of extension and advisory services in supporting farmers to adapt to climate change in the Eastern Cape, South Africa(University of the Free State, 2023) Makamane, Anathi Siphesihle; Swanepoel, J. W.; Loki, O.This study investigates the capacity-building needs of agricultural extension practitioners in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, focusing on their awareness and understanding of climate change and their ability to effectively communicate climate change adaptation strategies to smallholder farmers. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, including questionnaire surveys and focus group discussions, to gather data from a sample of 126 extension practitioners and managers selected using random sampling. The findings reveal that while most practitioners are aware of climate change and its impacts on agriculture, there are significant knowledge gaps due to limited formal and informal training on climate change. Furthermore, the study identifies a lack of capacity-building initiatives, with the majority of practitioners (80.2%) having never received formal or informal climate change training. The study highlights the need for a coordinated strategy for capacity-building and climate change adaptation to enhance practitioners' understanding and communication skills. Additionally, the study explores farmers' perceptions of extension practitioners' capacities related to climate change adaptation. Data from 175 farmers indicate that 72.6% perceive practitioners as knowledgeable about climate change and value the information they receive from them. Farmers also emphasize the importance of technical climate knowledge and continuous training for practitioners. The study recommends regular engagement with practitioners, ongoing training focusing on technical skills, and renewed attention to the management and education of indigenous knowledge. Furthermore, the study examines the channels used by extension practitioners to deliver services and the factors influencing the use of these channels. It finds that 60.3% of practitioners prefer interpersonal channels for communication, such as in-person visits and farmer-to-farmer interactions, over mass media and ICTs. The study suggests expanding written communication as a source of information and using mass media as communication channels to enhance practitioners' preparedness for climate change communication. Overall, the study underscores the need for targeted capacity-building initiatives, ongoing training, and improved communication channels to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change in the Eastern Cape Province. These findings have important implications for policy and practice, highlighting the importance of continuous professional development and training for extension practitioners to effectively address climate change challenges in agriculture.Item Open Access Integrated innovation strategies on sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in Lejweleputswa district, Free State Province, South Africa(University of the Free State, 2023) Gantsho, Siyaze Knowledge; van Niekerk, J. A.; Swanepoel, J. W.Agriculture is practiced in rural areas characterised by extreme poverty. In the Lejweleputswa district, crop farming cooperatives, together with other agricultural production activities, are significant economic engine. Conversely, modern crop producers are reluctant to incorporate innovation into their routine farming practices. This paper, which focuses on integrated innovation methods that support agricultural cooperatives, is a component of a PhD research project conducted in the province of Free State in the Lejweleputswa district municipality. The lack of enthusiasm among cooperative members in integrating innovation techniques into business operations as a trending factor for sustainability made agriculture cooperatives unsustainable, according to the study's research topic. The primary objective was to examine the impact of integrated innovation strategies on the sustainability of agriculture cooperatives in Lejweleputswa district, Free State province in order to make a policy recommendation for sustainability. The descriptive study analysis was conducted on 139 cooperative members from 25 different agriculture cooperatives. Data was collected using survey questions that were standardised. Likert scales with 5 points were used to assess these survey questions. Collected data sets were analysed using SPSS version 28 software. The data was found to be reliable as a Cronbach’s alpha was found to be 0.927 and 0.861 for product and process innovation strategy implementation. The average correlation coefficient was observed to be 0.6 which denotes an overall positive correlation between variables. The one sample test was used to determine the p-value (Sig-value), which was found to be less than 0.05. Pearson correlation coefficient was found to be 0.68 on average, denoting that there is a positive relationship between variables of organisational strategies. The p-value (0.026) < 0.05 indicated a statistically significant difference between the variables. The F-value for marketing innovation strategies variables was found to be less than the degree of freedom, 1.552 and 3.0, respectively. Thus, the hypothesis was accepted. The one-sample t test was also used to determine the mean, standard deviation, and the p-values of the results. All the mean values were significantly higher than 3, and p-values were found to be all less than 0.05, thus indicating that respondents agree with the discussed challenges. The findings indicated that RSMEA, NNFI and CFI were within the acceptable ranges for good model fit at 0.049, 0.953 and 0.957, respectively. This implies that the hypothesised model was a good fit for collected data. It was observed that only 40.29% agreed to have received financial support from FDI’s and only 58.27% agreed to have received non-financial support from government agencies. The results suggest that agricultural cooperatives are not motivated to use innovative marketing techniques. It is determined that most the Lejweleputswa district's agricultural cooperatives have a poor opinion of marketing innovation. The result of the study proves the hypothesis that the implementation of innovation strategies is significantly low in agriculture cooperatives.