Investigating the relationship between sustainability and farmer decision-making: a qualitative study of maize farmers in Mpumalanga, South Africa
- Authors: Grewar, Robert
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Sustainable agriculture -- Research -- South Africa Agriculture -- South Africa -- Decision making Corn -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:785 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003906
- Description: The goal of the research paper was to understand the complex relationship between the issue of sustainability and maize farmers’ decision-making processes. The aim is to shed light on the realities experienced by maize farmers in terms of how sustainability impacts on the decisions they make and how the decisions they make impact on sustainability. The importance of the research lies in the current state of affairs in the world in terms of the current economic recession, overpopulation, dire poverty and hunger, and the poor state of the environment. If humankind is to continue its existence on Earth in a happy, healthy world, something is going to have to give. In order for this to happen, people need to start grappling with the concept of sustainability. Focusing on sustainability as a whole is likely to end in despair. However, breaking the problem down into its component pieces will allow people to influence the particular sector in which they operate. It is therefore imperative for research into sustainability to be undertaken in all sectors of society and the economy. Agriculture presents an excellent research area due to its intrinsic link with the environment, society and the economy. Agriculture and its wellbeing is inextricably tied to environmental health. Healthy plants and animals will not grow in unhealthy conditions. Society is to a large degree dependent on agriculture for food, agriculture therefore has a significant impact on social order and function. Agriculture is one of the primary contributors to GDP, particularly in poor and developing nations. As a result, agriculture has an important role to play in ensuring economic sustainability. In order to engage with sustainability from an agricultural perspective it was decided to engage on the farmer-level. Gaining an understanding of their reality in terms of what motivates their decisions is key to understanding the relationship between agriculture and sustainability. Three maize farmers in Mpumalanga, South Africa, were interviewed with the aim of collecting qualitative data and then analysing the data using thematic analysis. The methodology employed enabled the researcher to uncover patterns in the data that constituted themes across the interviews. The following themes emerged: Theme 1: Economic factors are the primary decision driver. This is primarily due to the extent of the financial risk experienced by farmers as a result of market risk, production risk, finance risk, and rising input costs. This results in economic considerations superseding environmental or social concerns in farmers’ decisions. This has a negative impact on the overall sustainability of the farming operation. Theme 2: There has been a decrease in the number of family-run farms. This is attributable to a number of factors including economic failure, fear of loss of land due to land-reform policies, as well as crime. Family-run farms tend to have a greater focus on sustainability due to the vested interest in the next generation taking over the farm. The corporate farming operations that are taking over the farms tend to be more focussed on short-term gains in order to satisfy shareholders. Theme 3: Mechanisation is preferable to manual labour. There has been an alarming decrease in the number of labourers employed on farms. Farmers say this is due to two factors. Firstly, machines are more efficient than labour. Secondly, restrictive labour laws have made famers less keen to employ people. The net effect of these two factors is that unemployment is rising. This has negative consequences for society, the economy, and the environment. Theme 4: Farmers believe they do very little environmental damage. This results in decisions being made that do not consider environmental wellbeing other than soil health. This is because farmers see healthy soil as an integral input that optimises economic performance. Farmers tend to prioritise economic factors in their decisions more than environmental or social factors. This results in an unsustainable perspective. The only ways in which this is likely to change is if the financial risk associated with agriculture is decreased, or if farmers are given financial incentive to change their ways. In order to deal with this issue it is necessary for further research to be conducted. Research needs to be conducted to confirm the results of this study. It is important to know whether the results pertain only to maize farmers in Mpumalanga or whether most farmers in South Africa, and indeed the world, face similar problems. Research should also be conducted to propose policies or procedures to reduce financial risk in agriculture. Research should focus on reducing market risk and reducing input costs, possibly via subsidisation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Grewar, Robert
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Sustainable agriculture -- Research -- South Africa Agriculture -- South Africa -- Decision making Corn -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:785 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003906
- Description: The goal of the research paper was to understand the complex relationship between the issue of sustainability and maize farmers’ decision-making processes. The aim is to shed light on the realities experienced by maize farmers in terms of how sustainability impacts on the decisions they make and how the decisions they make impact on sustainability. The importance of the research lies in the current state of affairs in the world in terms of the current economic recession, overpopulation, dire poverty and hunger, and the poor state of the environment. If humankind is to continue its existence on Earth in a happy, healthy world, something is going to have to give. In order for this to happen, people need to start grappling with the concept of sustainability. Focusing on sustainability as a whole is likely to end in despair. However, breaking the problem down into its component pieces will allow people to influence the particular sector in which they operate. It is therefore imperative for research into sustainability to be undertaken in all sectors of society and the economy. Agriculture presents an excellent research area due to its intrinsic link with the environment, society and the economy. Agriculture and its wellbeing is inextricably tied to environmental health. Healthy plants and animals will not grow in unhealthy conditions. Society is to a large degree dependent on agriculture for food, agriculture therefore has a significant impact on social order and function. Agriculture is one of the primary contributors to GDP, particularly in poor and developing nations. As a result, agriculture has an important role to play in ensuring economic sustainability. In order to engage with sustainability from an agricultural perspective it was decided to engage on the farmer-level. Gaining an understanding of their reality in terms of what motivates their decisions is key to understanding the relationship between agriculture and sustainability. Three maize farmers in Mpumalanga, South Africa, were interviewed with the aim of collecting qualitative data and then analysing the data using thematic analysis. The methodology employed enabled the researcher to uncover patterns in the data that constituted themes across the interviews. The following themes emerged: Theme 1: Economic factors are the primary decision driver. This is primarily due to the extent of the financial risk experienced by farmers as a result of market risk, production risk, finance risk, and rising input costs. This results in economic considerations superseding environmental or social concerns in farmers’ decisions. This has a negative impact on the overall sustainability of the farming operation. Theme 2: There has been a decrease in the number of family-run farms. This is attributable to a number of factors including economic failure, fear of loss of land due to land-reform policies, as well as crime. Family-run farms tend to have a greater focus on sustainability due to the vested interest in the next generation taking over the farm. The corporate farming operations that are taking over the farms tend to be more focussed on short-term gains in order to satisfy shareholders. Theme 3: Mechanisation is preferable to manual labour. There has been an alarming decrease in the number of labourers employed on farms. Farmers say this is due to two factors. Firstly, machines are more efficient than labour. Secondly, restrictive labour laws have made famers less keen to employ people. The net effect of these two factors is that unemployment is rising. This has negative consequences for society, the economy, and the environment. Theme 4: Farmers believe they do very little environmental damage. This results in decisions being made that do not consider environmental wellbeing other than soil health. This is because farmers see healthy soil as an integral input that optimises economic performance. Farmers tend to prioritise economic factors in their decisions more than environmental or social factors. This results in an unsustainable perspective. The only ways in which this is likely to change is if the financial risk associated with agriculture is decreased, or if farmers are given financial incentive to change their ways. In order to deal with this issue it is necessary for further research to be conducted. Research needs to be conducted to confirm the results of this study. It is important to know whether the results pertain only to maize farmers in Mpumalanga or whether most farmers in South Africa, and indeed the world, face similar problems. Research should also be conducted to propose policies or procedures to reduce financial risk in agriculture. Research should focus on reducing market risk and reducing input costs, possibly via subsidisation.
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Preservation or exploitation? : a study of the development of the mining rights legislation on the Witwatersrand goldfields from 1886 to 2008
- Authors: Stott, Joan
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Ostrom, Elinor Chamber of Mines of South Africa Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- Witwatersrand -- History Mineral industries -- Finance -- South Africa Mining law -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEcon
- Identifier: vital:988 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002723
- Description: Elinor Ostrom (2005: 238) assumes that in understanding the make up and behaviour of institutional systems governing natural resources: “Resource users are explicitly thought of as rational egoists who plunder local resources so as to maximise their own short-term benefits. Government officials are implicitly depicted, on the other hand, as seeking, the more general public interest, having the relevant information at hand and the capability of designing optimal policies.” This thesis examines the validity of this assumption through an historical analysis of the deep-level gold mining industry of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The main focus of the assessment is on the institutions of ownership – that is, the development of mining rights and title legislation between 1886 and 2008. The study looks at the legislations’ transformation and implementation from the perspective of the gold mining industry – made up of the mining finance houses and the Chamber of Mines of South Africa – and that of the state. The transformation of the mining industry’s institutional framework was both a choice by government as well as that of the firms in the mining industry. The theoretical framework is constructed from four areas of economic thought. These include: the neoclassical and Keynesian schools of macroeconomic thought; industrial organisation and its relevance to the relationship between firms and the market; institutional and new institutional economics; and finally property rights. The determinants of policy design and the impact of such design on firms and industry is examined. The development, implementation and use of the aforementioned legislation is examined from two perspectives, namely, that of preserver or exploiter. Throughout the history of this prominent South African industry, the motivation for action from the industry or government has oscillated between the two extremes of preserver or exploiter over the time period examined. The conclusion is drawn on an overall and broad focus of actions – with a strong focus on the most recent developments in mining legislation – post-1992.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Stott, Joan
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Ostrom, Elinor Chamber of Mines of South Africa Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- Witwatersrand -- History Mineral industries -- Finance -- South Africa Mining law -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEcon
- Identifier: vital:988 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002723
- Description: Elinor Ostrom (2005: 238) assumes that in understanding the make up and behaviour of institutional systems governing natural resources: “Resource users are explicitly thought of as rational egoists who plunder local resources so as to maximise their own short-term benefits. Government officials are implicitly depicted, on the other hand, as seeking, the more general public interest, having the relevant information at hand and the capability of designing optimal policies.” This thesis examines the validity of this assumption through an historical analysis of the deep-level gold mining industry of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The main focus of the assessment is on the institutions of ownership – that is, the development of mining rights and title legislation between 1886 and 2008. The study looks at the legislations’ transformation and implementation from the perspective of the gold mining industry – made up of the mining finance houses and the Chamber of Mines of South Africa – and that of the state. The transformation of the mining industry’s institutional framework was both a choice by government as well as that of the firms in the mining industry. The theoretical framework is constructed from four areas of economic thought. These include: the neoclassical and Keynesian schools of macroeconomic thought; industrial organisation and its relevance to the relationship between firms and the market; institutional and new institutional economics; and finally property rights. The determinants of policy design and the impact of such design on firms and industry is examined. The development, implementation and use of the aforementioned legislation is examined from two perspectives, namely, that of preserver or exploiter. Throughout the history of this prominent South African industry, the motivation for action from the industry or government has oscillated between the two extremes of preserver or exploiter over the time period examined. The conclusion is drawn on an overall and broad focus of actions – with a strong focus on the most recent developments in mining legislation – post-1992.
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The wreck of the Dutch man o' war, Amsterdam, in December 1817 on the Eastern Cape coast of Southern Africa: an elucidation of the literary and material remains with an annotated translation of the Journal of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer (1814-1818)
- Authors: Bennie, Jennifer Shirley
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Amsterdam (Steamship) , Shipwrecks -- South Africa , Underwater archaeology , Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie , Hofmeijer, Hermanus, 1721-1805--Diaries , Voyages and travels -- History -- 18th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2533 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002385 , Amsterdam (Steamship) , Shipwrecks -- South Africa , Underwater archaeology , Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie , Hofmeijer, Hermanus, 1721-1805--Diaries , Voyages and travels -- History -- 18th century
- Description: This study endeavours to elucidate the journal of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer of the Dutch man 0' war, Amsterdam, which has been transcribed from the original script, translated from Dutch into English and interpreted from a contemporary viewpoint. It offers an opportunity to evaluate a unique primary historical document which records an important historical event. An attempt has been made to contextualise the incident in the light of the early history of the Dutch people. The contribution of the Dutch East India Company (VaC) to the trade and commerce of the Netherlands during the 17th and 18th centuries has been assessed together with the shipbuilding techniques that served to make the Dutch a major seafaring nation. The significance of Texel and Nieuwediep has been examined and the sea route and navigational instruments placed in perspective. The voyage has been analysed in some detail. The background of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer has proved especially interesting. Although he pursued his career with the Dutch Navy, he was born and spent his early years in Cape Town, South Africa. The time spent by the Amsterdam in Batavia, Samaraog and Sourabaya gives an insight into the Dutch possessions overseas. The return voyage, storms and ultimate grounding are of special interest as Hofmeijer records the journey and events on a daily basis. The impact and significance of 217 extra people in the Eastern Cape area did not go unnoticed, and although the event was not well documented, an attempt at some contextualisation has been made. Finally a short overview of maritime archaeology in South Africa and its significance as a relatively new discipline has been included. The study of the material remains of the wreck of the Amsterdam has resulted in a new understanding of wooden ships built in the early 19th century.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bennie, Jennifer Shirley
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Amsterdam (Steamship) , Shipwrecks -- South Africa , Underwater archaeology , Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie , Hofmeijer, Hermanus, 1721-1805--Diaries , Voyages and travels -- History -- 18th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2533 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002385 , Amsterdam (Steamship) , Shipwrecks -- South Africa , Underwater archaeology , Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie , Hofmeijer, Hermanus, 1721-1805--Diaries , Voyages and travels -- History -- 18th century
- Description: This study endeavours to elucidate the journal of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer of the Dutch man 0' war, Amsterdam, which has been transcribed from the original script, translated from Dutch into English and interpreted from a contemporary viewpoint. It offers an opportunity to evaluate a unique primary historical document which records an important historical event. An attempt has been made to contextualise the incident in the light of the early history of the Dutch people. The contribution of the Dutch East India Company (VaC) to the trade and commerce of the Netherlands during the 17th and 18th centuries has been assessed together with the shipbuilding techniques that served to make the Dutch a major seafaring nation. The significance of Texel and Nieuwediep has been examined and the sea route and navigational instruments placed in perspective. The voyage has been analysed in some detail. The background of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer has proved especially interesting. Although he pursued his career with the Dutch Navy, he was born and spent his early years in Cape Town, South Africa. The time spent by the Amsterdam in Batavia, Samaraog and Sourabaya gives an insight into the Dutch possessions overseas. The return voyage, storms and ultimate grounding are of special interest as Hofmeijer records the journey and events on a daily basis. The impact and significance of 217 extra people in the Eastern Cape area did not go unnoticed, and although the event was not well documented, an attempt at some contextualisation has been made. Finally a short overview of maritime archaeology in South Africa and its significance as a relatively new discipline has been included. The study of the material remains of the wreck of the Amsterdam has resulted in a new understanding of wooden ships built in the early 19th century.
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The effects of high school accounting study on first year students' performance in financial accounting at selected South African universities
- Authors: Rowlands, Jeffrey Everard
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) , Accounting -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:873 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001605
- Description: This thesis examines the opinions of a sample of accounting students and a sample of accounting lecturers regarding the effect of prior study of accounting on performance in the first year university financial accounting course. A comparison is also made of actual performance in the first year course of two groups of students, those who have studied accounting at secondary school and those who have not. For the comparison of actual performance data were collected over a three year period (1985-1987). Two separate research designs were used to test for differences in performance. Both research designs indicated that students with secondary school accounting scored higher on early tests and examinations but that the two groups of students scored equally on the final examination. The survey of students' opinions included students from two universities. The major findings showed that students, regardless of whether or not they had studied accounting at secondary level, believed those who had to be advantaged in the first year financial accounting course. The majority of respondents indicated that high school accounting was, in their opinion, a desirable preparation for the university course. The survey of lecturers' opinions included lecturers from 15 South African universities. The findings of primary concern showed that lecturers believed students with prior exposure to accounting to be at an advantage in the first year financial accounting course.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Rowlands, Jeffrey Everard
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Accounting -- Study and teaching (Higher) , Accounting -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:873 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001605
- Description: This thesis examines the opinions of a sample of accounting students and a sample of accounting lecturers regarding the effect of prior study of accounting on performance in the first year university financial accounting course. A comparison is also made of actual performance in the first year course of two groups of students, those who have studied accounting at secondary school and those who have not. For the comparison of actual performance data were collected over a three year period (1985-1987). Two separate research designs were used to test for differences in performance. Both research designs indicated that students with secondary school accounting scored higher on early tests and examinations but that the two groups of students scored equally on the final examination. The survey of students' opinions included students from two universities. The major findings showed that students, regardless of whether or not they had studied accounting at secondary level, believed those who had to be advantaged in the first year financial accounting course. The majority of respondents indicated that high school accounting was, in their opinion, a desirable preparation for the university course. The survey of lecturers' opinions included lecturers from 15 South African universities. The findings of primary concern showed that lecturers believed students with prior exposure to accounting to be at an advantage in the first year financial accounting course.
- Full Text:
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