Creating self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods amongst small-scale sugarcane farmers

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Creating ‘self-reliance’ and improving ‘livelihood sustainability’ amongst small-scale sugarcane farmers remains challenging in part because the underpinning theories are poorly understood.

Methodology

This study comprised a literature review to clarify the two concepts and a field study conducted amongst small-scale sugarcane farmers in South Africa.

Findings

Key to fostering sustainable livelihoods is developing human capital. Self-reliance lies in human capacity and thus impacts directly on achieving livelihood objectives. The process of developing self-reliance among farmers embraces understanding the characteristics of small-scale farmers and building farmers' capacity to run their farming enterprises, ensure sustainability of the enterprise and continuously learn. Farmers’ perspectives show that self-reliance indicators are interconnected and interdependent. Building farmer capacity goes beyond improving knowledge and skills to genuine inclusive participation in farmer development programmes especially inclusion in decision-making.

Practical implications

Understanding the significance of self-reliance helps extension workers prioritise building human capital as the starting point in strengthening livelihoods, and guides planning, implementing and evaluating extension programmes enhancing the capacity of farmers to run their farming operations, ensure sustainability and continuously learn.

Theoretical implications

This reinforces the growing understanding that extension is primarily a function of developing human capacity rather than finding specific technological solutions to challenges faced by farmers. The findings provide fresh insight into livelihoods and extension theory, bringing them closer together.

Value

Strengthening the theoretical connection between livelihoods and extension gives each more power and functionality and increases synergy between them.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-reliance
• sustainable livelihoods
• agricultural extension
• small-scale farmer
• resilience
• human capital

Acknowledgements

This paper comprises of part of a Masters thesis. I hereby acknowledge the assistance of Prof. S. H. Worth for supervision; NRF and University of KwaZulu-Natal for financial assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Research Foundation (NRF) under Scarce Skills Development Funding [grant number SFH14080888818] and Inyuvesi Yakwazulu-Natali; South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement under College of Engineering and Agricultural Science (CEAS) funding.

Notes on contributors

Sithembiso Ndlela

Mr. Sithembiso Ndlela is an Agricultural Advisor at Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) in Mpumalanga, South Africa. He is also PhD student at the university of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has taught some agricultural extension modules at UKZN in undergraduate level and has involved in research for reviewing some of UKZN curricula under University Capacity Development Programme.

S. Worth

Prof S. Worth is the senior academic in agricultural extension and education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa. He has trained many Masters and PhD students and published widely in his field, and is especially skilled at curriculum development and facilitation. He refashioned UKZN’s Agricultural Extension programme introducing a learning-based approach to extension centred on building farmer capacity. His expertise is recognised by provincial and national governments in South Africa, as well as overseas organisations dealing with agricultural education and extension. He is also Director of the African Centre for Food Security based at UKZN.