Integrated innovation strategies on sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in Lejweleputswa district, Free State Province, South Africa
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Date
2023
Authors
Gantsho, Siyaze Knowledge
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
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.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D. (Sustainable Agriculture))--University of the Free State, 2023
Keywords
Innovation, strategy, sustainability, innovation strategies, agriculture cooperative