Mkhongi Felicity Aphiwe, Musakwa Walter, Mokhele Tholang
Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2093, South Africa.
Geospatial Analytics Unit, eResearch Knowledge Centre, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa.
Heliyon. 2024 Oct 30;10(21):e39971. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39971. eCollection 2024 Nov 15.
Smallholder agriculture plays a crucial role in achieving food security, particularly at the household level. However, fallow fields are progressively increasing in former homelands of South Africa. While substantial efforts have been devoted towards addressing food insecurity, access to arable land has not translated to sustainable crop production for smallholder farmers in former homelands of the country. This paper analyses household food security in the context of deagrarianization in two villages, Ambros (Eastern Cape) and Maramanzhi (Limpopo). Using a mixed-method approach, a total of 106 semi-structured questionnaires were administered through face-to-face interviews with household heads. Descriptive statistics were analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0 computer program. Meanwhile, qualitative data was coded and content analysis was conducted on NVivo 12 software. The key findings revealed that the primary household income in the study area was earned from social grants. Furthermore, home gardens, with an average size of 4100m2 in Ambros and 4400m2 in Maramanzhi village, played a crucial role in supporting household crop production. However, food insecurity threatened the sustainability of rural livelihoods because the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) indicator highlighted that a majority of 54% of households in Ambros and 69% in Maramanzhi were mildly food insecure. Food insecurity challenges varied between the two villages but these were mainly perpetuated by food shortages caused by insufficient monthly income and waning household crop production. Although acquiring food was rated as a very important reason for cultivating in both villages, deagrarianization eroded opportunities for increased crop production. Among other solutions, this study recommends that the government improve the delivery of basic services such as water to promote household crop production and the revitalization of fallow fields. These transformations can potentially enhance food security, income and employment opportunities for rural households, contributing to the sustainability of rural livelihoods.
小农农业在实现粮食安全方面发挥着关键作用，尤其是在家庭层面。然而，在南非的前家园地区，休耕地正在逐渐增加。尽管已经付出了巨大努力来解决粮食不安全问题，但对于该国前家园地区的小农来说，获得耕地并没有转化为可持续的作物生产。本文分析了两个村庄——安布罗斯（东开普省）和马腊曼齐（林波波省）——在去农业化背景下的家庭粮食安全状况。采用混合方法，通过与户主进行面对面访谈，共发放了106份半结构化问卷。使用IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0计算机程序对描述性统计数据进行分析。同时，对定性数据进行编码，并在NVivo 12软件上进行内容分析。主要研究结果显示，研究区域内家庭的主要收入来自社会补助金。此外，家庭菜园在支持家庭作物生产方面发挥了关键作用，安布罗斯村家庭菜园的平均面积为4100平方米，马腊曼齐村为4400平方米。然而，粮食不安全威胁着农村生计的可持续性，因为家庭粮食不安全获取量表（HFIAS）指标显示，安布罗斯村54%的家庭以及马腊曼齐村69%的家庭存在轻度粮食不安全问题。两个村庄的粮食不安全挑战各不相同，但主要是由月收入不足和家庭作物产量下降导致的粮食短缺长期存在所致。尽管获取食物在两个村庄都被视为耕种的一个非常重要的原因，但去农业化削弱了增加作物产量的机会。在其他解决方案中，本研究建议政府改善水等基本服务的供应，以促进家庭作物生产和休耕地的复垦。这些转变有可能增强农村家庭的粮食安全、收入和就业机会，促进农村生计的可持续性。
