16 pages, Lack of access to agricultural extension and advisory services has been identified as one of the major challenges facing emerging farmers in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of access to these services by emerging livestock farmers in uThungulu District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal. A survey design was used with face-to-face interviews to collect data using a semi-structured questionnaire. A sample of 1 437 was randomly selected from 4 792 emerging livestock farmers in the district. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 software. The results show that more than 90% of emerging livestock farmers in the district had high access to public extension and 14% had access to private extension, in addition. About 32% of the respondents also had access to extension and advisory services from agricultural cooperatives. There was an improvement in access to these services by emerging farmers compared to the past. The involvement of the private sector and cooperatives in rendering extension and advisory services to emerging livestock farmers shows that various stakeholders are involved in improving emerging livestock farmers in the province.
20 pages, Smallholder agriculture is one of the imperative segments in the South African economy and it remains the imperative sector for livelihood generation. Farmers use mass media to access information needed for agricultural purposes to enhance agricultural practice and profitability. This study investigates the socio-economic drivers of using mass media for agricultural purposes by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study applied a descriptive survey research design to interview 200 smallholder farmers using a semi-structured survey. Data engendered were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Logistic regression model. The investigation outcome displays that 80% of the smallholder farmers currently use mass media for agricultural purposes. The study concludes that socioeconomic factors influence the use of mass media for agricultural purposes by smallholder farmers. Therefore, the study recommends the government to train farmers on the use of mass media usage and subsidize farmers so that they can purchase these modern technology tools.
