A preliminary report on the state of agrarian rural households has found that the collaboration of different stakeholders and social justice organisations can play a crucial role in improving the lives and livelihoods of agrarian households and end poverty in South Africa through farming.
The study conducted by Tshintsha Amakhaya, the Human Sciences Research Council, and Brot fur die Welt and CCFD – Terre Solidaire is aimed at providing a foundation for advocacy efforts to achieve social, economic, and environmental justice in rural South Africa.
The report stated that over 60% of agrarian households are living below the food poverty line and targeted interventions are necessary to address widespread hunger and malnutrition.
Shocking stats show poverty
According to the report, a key finding of the research is that most agrarian households are poor and vulnerable, farm dweller households. They are the most vulnerable and impoverished with the lowest incomes from wages or agricultural sales and are disproportionately female-headed.
“Farmworker households are poor, but comparatively less vulnerable and poor than farm dweller households. Farmer households are the least impoverished and vulnerable of agrarian households.
“Farm dweller households have the lowest incomes, followed by farmworker households, and farmer households,” the report stated.
Related stories
- Strategic collaborations drive rural development initiatives
- NW MEC aims to tackle poverty and rural development
The report stated that most agrarian households are impoverished and unable to meet their basic nutrition requirements, despite living and working in the rural areas where food is produced.
“Relative to the earlier 2011/2012 study where household food expenditure was close to the poverty line, the 2023 ARHE research shows agrarian households notably below poverty line, and households have therefore become worse off in the past decade.”
On living standards, the report indicated that many households still stay in unbearable living conditions with no clean water and sanitation, exposing them to illnesses and diseases.
Meanwhile, the research also showed that the majority of smallholder (small-scale farmer) households combine farming with other income-generating and livelihood activities. The study also revealed that current state and private sector efforts to support small-scale black (African) farmers are inadequate and unlikely to benefit the majority of such farmers.
“In the 2023 survey, the most common (i.e. frequent) source of income for farmers and farm dweller households is social welfare grants, followed by wage income. For farmworker households, wages constitute the largest proportion (i.e. value) to their income.”
‘Fix land reform and improve services’
“Many agrarian households do not farm for themselves, and wage earnings and social welfare grants are the most common (frequently) cited sources of income for many, including farming households,” the report stated.
It also revealed that agrarian households are not just marginal and vulnerable because of their poverty, but they are susceptible to external shocks, as is evident in the climate, pandemic and economic-related shocks of the last decade.
Some of the recommendations of the report included fixing land reform, addressing food insecurity, improving agricultural support, improving basic services, responding to climate change, and promoting community development.
“Access to information and resources is critical for improving agricultural productivity and sustainability. There is a need to ensure that agricultural support services, agricultural extension, training and even input subsidies, are accessible to all agrarian households.
“An important objective remains to push for the development of local food systems that promote the production and consumption of nutritious and culturally appropriate foods,” the report stated.
ALSO READ: EduPlant transforms schools into food gardening powerhouses
Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain.
