Open AccessIdentification of farmers problems for development intervention programme: a case study facilitated by the political head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), North West Province
Author(s) -
M.B. Matiwane,
V. Matiwane
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir landbouvoorligting/south african journal of agricultural extension
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2413-3221
pISSN - 0301-603X
DOI - 10.17159/2413-3221/2021/v49n1a10773
Subject(s) - participatory rural appraisal , intervention (counseling) , identification (biology) , data collection , agriculture , business , citizen journalism , production (economics) , socioeconomics , economic growth , operations management , geography , political science , engineering , economics , sociology , medicine , nursing , social science , law , biology , botany , macroeconomics , archaeology
The study intended to identify the problems of the farmers and prioritise them for extension intervention. The study was facilitated by the political head of the department within a hundred days of the resumption of duty. Meetings were facilitated through district offices of both the department and municipalities. The identification of farmers’ problems focused mainly on production, financial and infrastructural projects.
Data was collected through a participatory rural appraisal approach. Farmers were allowed to express problems affecting them in a meeting setup. The extension officers (E.O) captured problems expressed by farmers and classify them according to the questionnaire template developed.
The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to capture and analyse data. The data was presented to extension officers and management of DARD. The major findings of the study revealed that :( 1) Water supply, (2) Availability of land, (3) Livestock theft, (4) production inputs, (5) Machinery, and (6) fencing were major problems of the farmers. The recommendation of the study was that: (a) Problems be resolved according to their importance and (b) preference for implementation of extension intervention programmes to be a bottom-up than a top-down approach.