Socio-economic dimensions of small-scale agriculture: A principal component analysis

Abstract

In order to study the different dimensions of small-scale farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, a principal component analysis was conducted on data obtained from a sample survey of 160 households. The following socio-economic components were extracted: Component 1 is an emerging commercial and mechanised household (i.e. it uses machinery), while Component 2 is a landless farm household that is more educated and earns more non-farm income, largely from contractor services. Component 3 is a non-farm female-headed household that depends on income from land renting and a non-farm job. This is a resource-poor household. Component 4 is a small intensive garden farmer household headed by a more educated female with better access to institutional services. Component 5 is a less educated, female-headed and land-poor household that rents in more land and is an intensive producer. Component 6 is a land-less household that rents in land and is also involved in contractor services. The implication is that policies aimed at assisting small-scale farmers should take into account the different dimensions of farmers, as economic policies may influence different households differently.