UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference

1. Socio-economic drivers of agricultural land
abandonment in the smallholder sector in
Peddie, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Millar, B. and Gambiza, J.
Rhodes University
10 April 2013 UNCCD Scientific Conference, Bonn, Germany 1

2. Introduction
• Anthropocene (Rockstrom, 2010: www.TED.com): quadruple squeeze
• Drivers of land abandonment
• Objectives of study:
1. challenges smallholder crop farmers faced
2. socio-economic drivers of land abandonment
3. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) obtained from abandoned fields
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3. Study Area
• Rainfall
• Soils
• Vegetation
• Socio-economic
variables
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4. Methods
1. Interviews
2. Sampling procedure
3. Data analyses
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5. Results
80
Percentage of respondents
70
60
50
40
30
Cultivators
20 Non-cultivators
10
0
Sources of income
Fig. 1. Sources of income for respondents (n= 300)
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6. Results
90
Percentage of respondents
80
70
60
50
40
30 Cultivators
20 Non-cultivators
10
0
Employment status
Fig. 2. Employment status of cultivators and non-cultivators (n= 300)
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7. Results
70
Percentage of respondents
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Challenges
Fig. 3. Challenges faced by cultivators (n= 150)
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8. Results
70
Percentage of respondents
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Reasons for no longer cultivating
Fig. 4. Factors influencing non-cultivators to abandon cultivation (n= 150)
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9. Percentage of respondents
Results
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Reasons for no longer cultivating
Fig. 5. Cultivators’ perceptions on why non-cultivators abandoned
cultivation (n= 150)
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10. Results
100
Percentage of respondents
90
80
70
60
50
40
30 Cultivators
20 Non-Cultivators
10
0
Resources obtained from abandoned fields
Fig. 6. Resources obtained from abandoned agricultural fields (n= 300)
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11. Conclusions
• Both biophysical and socio-economic factors were important drivers
• NTFPs important resources from abandoned lands
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12. Policy recommendations
• Large majority of smallholder farmers dependent on social grants
• High unemployment rate yet farmers abandoning farming
• Land abandonment likely to threaten food security
• Government needs to address challenge of lack of agricultural inputs
• Need to promote SLM practices to improve soil fertility
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13. Acknowledgements
• Rhodes University Joint Research Council Grant for sponsoring the research
• UNCCD for sponsoring JG to attend the Conference
• Smallholder farmers for sharing their views with us
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