The objective of the study was to provide empirical evidence on whether food aid leads to depressed domestic maize prices and reduced maize production in subsequent years in Swaziland. The lack of empirical evidence has often resulted in premature negative conclusions about the impact of food...

Household consumption patterns were investigated to determine the impact of an income shock on household expenditure and to establish the potential for demand-led growth in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal. Household consumption data were collected from sample households in the Embo ward of...

Despite receiving substantial support from the public and private sectors, the mushroom industry in Swaziland is still characterised by extremely low production volumes largely because few farmers have opted to include the mushroom enterprise in their farming systems. Considering the prevailing...

This study investigated the impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and household vulnerability in Swaziland. Personal interviews with 847 selected farming households revealed an increase in sales of crops and livestock to finance funerals and healthcare, a decrease in expenditure on agricultural...

The impact of smallholder commercialisation on food consumption patterns in a rural community of South Africa was investigated. The dietary diversity, nutrient intakes and consumption patterns of certified, partially certified and non-members of an organic farmers’ organisation were...

South African (SA) farmers are faced with a dynamic global economic and trade environment caused by the liberalisation of international markets and rapid advances in information and communication technologies In addition to dealing with the deregulation of domestic agricultural markets in the...

This study presents a production function analysis of fresh milk production in the Highlands of Eritrea, where most dairy farmers in Eritrea are located. To ensure representative production functions, this region was divided into three relatively homogenous study areas, namely Central Zone,...

The objective of this research is to investigate whether agricultural cooperatives can facilitate smallholder farmer access to input and product markets. Farmers in two case study communal areas of KwaZulu-Natal face high transaction costs as reflected primarily in their low levels of education...

A sample survey of 74 commercial dairy farmers was conducted between November 2002 and February 2003 in three Zobatat (zones) of Eritrea to identify factors that affect the adoption of livestock insurance. The results of a logit model indicate that formal education of the farmer and the farmer's...

This paper presents the principles of cooperation and briefly describes the history and development of agricultural cooperatives in developed and less-developed countries, with particular emphasis on South Africa. A new Cooperatives Act, based on international principles of cooperation, was...