Identification of plot size effects on commercialization of small‐scale agriculture in KwaZulu

The aim of this paper was to identify plot size effects on a broadly defined commercialization concept in rural KwaZulu. Dissatisfaction with conventional production function approaches led to the use of Discriminant Analysis to identify differences between small (< 1 ha) and large (> 1 ha) plot households. A further division was made according to whether or not a household sold agricultural produce. Of the three potential discriminant functions two explained group differences with statistical significance. The first function separated groups according to plot size. Important variables in this function included: seed cost/ha, proportion of land under suger‐cane, number of implements owned, and the presence of a permanent male household head. The second function separated according to farm income production. Important variables in this function Included: the presence of a permanent male household head, number of migrants, draught hire/ha, fertilizer costs/ha and land rent costs/ha. Results appeared similar to those of previous studies using alternative methods.

Notes

The authors are respectively, a Master's student and Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Natal (Pmb). Work was carried out in the HSRC sponsored Policy Research Unit Authors’ views do not necessarily reflect those of the HSRC.