The contributions of smallholder farmers toward household food security in Chabelane Village in Limpopo province, South Africa

Abstract

Although South Africa is considered to be food secure at the country level, majority of the households within the country remain food insecure (De Cock et al., 2013). Food inaccessibility in many rural areas of South Africa has manifested itself in many ways, but has positioned poor households to struggle to meet their basic household requirements and be more vulnerable to food insecurity (De Cock et al., 2013; D’Haese et al., 2013). The aim of this study was to investigate the contributions of smallholder farmers toward household food security in Chabelane Village, in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study applied sustainable livelihood as its theoretical framework. Quota sample method was used to select 50 smallholder farmers in Chabelane village. Data was collected through observation; semi-structured interviews and the data was analysed using thematic analysis method. This study has highlighted the prevalence of food insecurity among the smallholder farmers in Chabelane Village. Household food security in rural areas is a significant matter, as it is necessary to have appropriate access to healthy foods to lead an active life. Furthermore, the study highlighted the smallholder farmers’ agricultural practices which are crop farming and livestock farming. Moreover, increased food supply, increased power purchase parity, job opportunities and income generation were highlighted as the contributions of the smallholder farmers towards household food security. However, the smallholder farmers in this study area experienced challenges such as lack of finances, water shortages, lack of access to formal market, lack of farm inputs, lack of infrastructure, lack of knowledge about soil type, and technological barriers. This study recommend access to markets, improved infrastructures and water access system, in order for smallholder farmers to be productive. This study further recommends access to financial aid through access to loans from the financial institutions, raising awareness to smallholder farmers about the knowledge on how to access formal markets and educating smallholder farmers about soil types and how to utilise smartphones for digital agriculture. Additionally, the study further recommends Department of Agriculture or municipality to provide water tanks or borehole for smallholder farmers to have undisrupted access to water for productive farming practice. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the contributions of smallholder farmers towards household food security by providing valuable insights into the relationship between food security and the smallholder farmers, particularly in Chabelane Village, Limpopo province, South Africa.