Production Performance among The Restitution Farm Beneficiaries in Waterberg District, South Africa

Farmland was regarded as the most important asset used to enhance agricultural productivity in developing countries to improve the livelihoods of restitution farm beneficiaries. Most, unfortunately, recent reports show decreased agricultural productivity in most developing countries. In South Africa, the Land restitution program was introduced to restore land to people dispossessed by apartheid government after 1913. However, production in the restitution farms has declined. This study aimed to address the non-performance of the restitution farms in Waterberg District and evaluate their production performance. A questionnaire was administered to gather quantitative data on the farms’ production and the benefits accrued from the farms. Data was captured using Geographic Information System (GIS), and then a remote sensing analysis method was used to map restitution farms to illustrate farms performance. Statistical Package for the Social Scientists (SPSS) version 25 was used to compute statistics on-farm production. About 83% of beneficiaries have not benefitted from the 32 farms, while 61.6% did not have markets, and 64% reported a lack of farms income. Generally, lack of farm production impeded beneficiaries from receiving benefits and employment. The study recommended that private organizations and sector departments work together to assist beneficiaries with capacity building, marketing of farm produce, and funds to improve production

Satisfaction of Restituted Farms Beneficiaries with Performance of Farms in Waterberg District, South Africa

South African government guided by the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994, implemented land restitution as one of the pillars of land reform programme. The mandate was to promote land ownership and equality between white and black people. This study determined the extent to which farm beneficiaries are satisfied with the performance of the restituted farms in Waterberg District. Quantitative approach was used to examine closed-ended data using stratified random sampling procedure. Interviews, photo-voice and non-participatory observation methods were additionally used to collect data through qualitative approach. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 25) was used to compute descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations while content analysis was used for the qualitative data. The study revealed that participation in the restituted farms was dominated by males (73.0 %). About 77 % of the farm beneficiaries were not satisfied with the performance of the farms and 60.5 % of them confirmed that their livelihoods were not changed due to lack of farm income. Moreover, (90.3 %) reported that farms did not create job opportunities for beneficiaries. It is recommended that intervention strategy, be implemented to enhance farm performance that will satisfy farm beneficiaries

The application of omics in ruminant production: a review in the tropical and sub-tropical animal production context

The demand for animal products (e.g. dairy and beef) in tropical regions is expected to increase in parallel with the public demand for sustainable practices, due to factors such as population growth and climate change. The necessity to increase animal production output must be achieved with better management and production technologies. For this to happen, novel research methodologies, animal selection and postgenomic tools play a pivotal role. Indeed, improving breeder selection programs, the quality of meat and dairy products as well as animal health will contribute to higher sustainability and productivity. This would surely benefit regions where resource quality and quantity are increasingly unstable, and research is still very incipient, which is the case of many regions in the tropics. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate how omics-based approaches play a major role in animal science, particularly concerning ruminant production systems and research associated to the tropics and developing countriesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Can restitution change lives of farm beneficiaries? Case of Waterberg district municipality, South Africa

Despite interventions by South African government to implement land restitution after 1994, land ownership, unsustainable livelihoods, poor agricultural extension services, lack of funding, lack of farm implements and poverty among restituted farm owners remain a major challenge, hence, farmers’ livelihoods have not improved since they occupied the farms. It has been shown that, for example, in countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Brazil, Zimbabwe and South Africa, land restitution has been a failure, therefore, this article wants to provide answers to the issue why ownership of the farms has not changed the livelihoods of the farmers. Stratified random sampling was used to select study participants while qualitative data from key informants was collected through group discussions, photo-voice sessions, non-participatory observation, and interview methods while a questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from farm beneficiaries. Thematic content analysis was used with the qualitative data, while the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for quantitative data to compute descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations.  Almost (98.5%) of the respondents, 73.0% of whom were men and 25.5% women agreed that the livelihoods of farm beneficiaries in Waterberg district are still the same. It is therefore imperative to develop an intervention strategy to ensure enhancement of beneficiaries’ livelihoods

Diversity of Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in Bats and Their Blood-Feeding Ectoparasites from South Africa and Swaziland

In addition to several emerging viruses, bats have been reported to host multiple bacteria but their zoonotic threats remain poorly understood, especially in Africa where the diversity of bats is important. Here, we investigated the presence and diversity of Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in bats and their ectoparasites (Diptera and Siphonaptera) collected across South Africa and Swaziland. We collected 384 blood samples and 14 ectoparasites across 29 different bat species and found positive samples in four insectivorous and two frugivorous bat species, as well as their Nycteribiidae flies. Phylogenetic analyses revealed diverse Bartonella genotypes and one main group of Rickettsia, distinct from those previously reported in bats and their ectoparasites, and for some closely related to human pathogens. Our results suggest a differential pattern of host specificity depending on bat species. Bartonella spp. identified in bat flies and blood were identical supporting that bat flies may serve as vectors. Our results represent the first report of bat-borne Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in these countries and highlight the potential role of bats as reservoirs of human bacterial pathogens