What do we mean when we say casualisation of farm work is rising?: Evidence from fruit farms in the Western Cape

Du Toit & Ally's (2003) results on the casualisation of farm work in the Western Cape confirmed the worst fears of sociologists: Globalisation and/or labour laws increased casualisation in agriculture. New labour data and a study conducted in 1976 allow one to revisit the casualisation result for the table grape industry of the Hex River Valley. This paper resolves imprecise definitions of regular versus permanent status, and of casual versus seasonal status. It also examines casualisation and job shedding. Results show a decrease in the share of seasonal work and no change in the casual component of seasonal work. The job status of most farm women in the Valley improved as a result of legislative changes implemented since 1994. Outsourcing is present but insignificant at this point. On the whole data for the table grape industry of the Hex River Valley does not support the hypothesis that globalisation and labour market reform caused dramatic increases in casualisation.Farm labour markets, horticulture, Western Cape, Crop Production/Industries, Labor and Human Capital,

Wages and wage elasticities for wine and table grapes in South Africa

A survey of 190 wine and table grape farmers in the Western Cape puts the average wage for farm labour at R928 per month in 2003 and R1123 per month in 2004. Output per worker has doubled since 1983. On farms with grape harvesters, labour is 30 per cent more productive (48 ton/worker) than on farms where wine grapes are picked by hand (37 ton/worker). At 9.75 tons per worker, table grapes are four times as labour-intensive as wine grapes. Resident men dominate the workforce on wine farms, while the resident female workforce is 20 per cent larger than the resident male workforce on table grape farms. Seasonal workers contribute a third of labour in table grapes, and brokers less than ten per cent in either case. In a single-equation short-run Hicksian demand function, wage, output, capital levels and mechanisation intensities are highly significant determinants of employment. Higher wages decrease employment and larger output increases employment. More mechanisation, measured by the number of tractors used to produce a ton of fruit, raises labour intensity too. Grape harvesters could not be shown to reduce jobs. The ten per cent rise in the minimum wage planned for March 2005 could reduce employment by 3.3 per cent in the wine industry and 5.9 per cent in the table grape industry, but it is more likely that the wage increase will be offset against fewer benefits. The average expected impact is about the same as for all agriculture and manufacturing as a whole.Labor and Human Capital,

Wages and wage elasticities for wine and table grapes in South Africa

A survey of 190 wine and table grape farmers in the Western Cape puts the average wage for farm labour at R928 per month in 2003 and R1123 per month in 2004. Output per worker has doubled since 1983. On farms with grape harvesters, labour is 30 per cent more productive (48 ton/worker) than on farms where wine grapes are picked by hand (37 ton/worker). At 9.75 tons per worker, table grapes are four times as labour-intensive as wine grapes. Resident men dominate the workforce on wine farms, while the resident female workforce is 20 per cent larger than the resident male workforce on table grape farms. Seasonal workers contribute a third of labour in table grapes, and brokers less than ten per cent in either case. In a single-equation short-run Hicksian demand function, wage, output, capital levels and mechanisation intensities are highly significant determinants of employment. Higher wages decrease employment and larger output increases employment. More mechanisation, measured by the number of tractors used to produce a ton of fruit, raises labour intensity too. Grape harvesters could not be shown to reduce jobs. The ten per cent rise in the minimum wage planned for March 2005 could reduce employment by 3.3 per cent in the wine industry and 5.9 per cent in the table grape industry, but it is more likely that the wage increase will be offset against fewer benefits. The average expected impact is about the same as for all agriculture and manufacturing as a whole.

THE COST OF MEETING EQUITY: OPPORTUNITY COST OF IRRIGATION IN THE FISH-SUNDAYS SCHEME OF SOUTH AFRICA

In this paper the incremental values of water are calculated for irrigators in the Fish-Sundays Scheme of South Africa's Eastern Cape province. The socio-political pressure for redistribution of agricultural resources provided the imperative for this study. The model of the Fish-Sundays Scheme reflects a survey of 50 000ha of fodder and citrus production. It explicitly models the water demand on sixteen typical farms, for five irrigation technologies, six crops and four livestock activities. The existing allocation generates an average value of R0.0423/m3/year, which increases to R0.0681/m3/year if farmer-to-farmer trading is allowed given existing infrastructure. Unrestricted trade raises the average value to R0.0719/m3/year. The marginal cost of additional water in the source basin is R0.05/m3/year for the first 315 million m3 and R1.27/m3/year to extend capacity beyond that.water value, irrigation, linear programming, South Africa, Eastern Cape, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q15, Q12,

The Koup Fencing Project : community-led job creation in the Karoo

This paper discusses a community-led fencing project in the Koup, an arid predominantly sheep farming district in the South African Karoo. It highlights the role of supportive government officials in sourcing funding and the importance of committed individuals in overcoming collective action problems amongst participating farmers. The project had a strong empowerment dimension in that fencing team leaders were drawn from the ranks of unemployed people in Laingsburg town and they were responsible for recruitment into the project and for the day to day management of the work. Comparative analysis of the socio-economic position of the fence workers with data from the 2011 population census of coloured people living in Laingsburg town suggests that the fence workers were relatively poor and that the project was appropriately targeted for a poverty alleviation programme. This was in part because workers were required to camp on farms for two weeks at a time, thereby resulting in the project automatically selecting for those most committed to earning additional income. The study revealed that the fencing workers identified themselves as general agricultural workers but had skills and experience from other sectors including construction and services. Urban-based agricultural workers have lived in Laingsburg for at least three decades i.e. before the shift of workers off farms that took place across South Africa after 1990. The study sheds light on this long-standing, but under-studied dimension of urban poverty and on the diverse strategies (including reliance on government grants) that people use to combat it in the Karoo

Efficiency and Pooling in Western Cape Wine Grape Production

This paper uses a stochastic frontier and inefficiency model to test the efficiency of grape production in the Western Cape. The data covers two panels of wine grape farms (34 in Robertson and 36 in Worcester) for 2003 and 2004 and 37 table grape farms in De Doorns for 2004 only. Tests show that Cobb Douglas stochastic production frontiers, with variables to explain the inefficiencies are an appropriate representation of the five individual samples. The stochastic frontier results indicate that output can be explained by land, labour and machinery and that efficiency cab be affected by labour quality, age and education of the farmer, location, the percentage of non-bearing vines and expenditures on electricity for irrigation. These data is sufficiently good to produce reasonable results without pooling, but most applied economists would consider the possibility of improving the estimates by pooling the samples. However, pooling tests show that in this situation with small samples, when pooling is permissible it may not be helpful. More effort on determining the true distributions is needed to improve the way such samples are handled and Bayesian methods may be helpful in this respect.Crop Production/Industries, O13, Q12,

What is the appropriate level of aggregation for productivity indices? Comparing district, regional and national measures

This paper examines the appropriate level of aggregation for the construction of total factor productivity (TFP) indices. The dataset covers the magisterial districts and statistical regions of the Western Cape for the years 1952 to 2002. Over these five decades agricultural production in the Western Cape grew twice as fast as in the country as a whole but this average masks substantial regional variation. Results show that TFP growth was negative in the Karoo, moderate in the Swartland, Overberg and Southern Cape, and generally above 2% per year in the Boland and Breede River Valleys, where there is extensive irrigation.Total factor productivity, Western Cape, South Africa, Agribusiness,

A comparison of the performance under field conditions of woolled and mutton sheep flocks in a low rainfall region of South Africa

This paper investigated the relative financial performance of woolled and mutton sheep and the determinants of woolled sheep ownership for 34 full-time sheep farms in Laingsburg South Africa, where rainfall is only 128 millimetres per annum. A comparison of fourteen woolled sheep flocks and eight similar sized mutton flocks revealed 1) a slightly but insignificantly higher unit production cost for wool producers, 2) a 21% but insignificantly higher net farm income per breeding ewe for woolled sheep, 3) a significantly lower tagging percentage for woolled sheep and 4) a significantly lower predation percentage for woolled sheep. The percentage of woolled sheep in the flock was a logit function of farm size, size of the irrigated (crop) area, tradition and terrain ruggedness, although the latter was not significant. Farmers in extensive grazing areas should take notice of woolled sheep’s ability to compete and the wool industry should pay attention to further improving the reproductive performance of this sheep type. The finding of woolled sheep’s apparent lower susceptibility to predators deserves further study as it could become a strong argument for why farmers ought to switch (back) to woolled sheep

An estimate of the recreational value of the Agulhas Plain, South Africa, with special reference to the value of plant biodiversity

The Agulhas Plain is a remarkable recreational site which combines the attraction of a pristine marine environment with exceptional plant biodiversity, rural tranquillity and the novelty of being at the southernmost tip of Africa. The resource is a public good to which the market cannot assign a full value. This paper presents an estimated recreational value based on individual travel cost models and a sample of 370 visitors surveyed in 2010. Trip demands were estimated with zero truncated negative binomial models to account for over-dispersion. The study established a recreational value of R2.167 billion in 2010 prices for the site as a whole. By partitioning the sample into visitors who indicated having been attracted or not to the area by its nature and biodiversity, a net biodiversity value of R2 866 per trip was calculated. Allocated between marine and terrestrial resources based on the proportion of activities related to each type of resource, the value of plant biodiversity was estimated to be R2 268 per hectare in 2010to 2010 prices

Urban Agriculture, Social Enterprise and Box Schemes in Cape Town

The social benefits of urban agriculture, such as improving food security, developing a sense of community and promoting ecological conservation, are well documented in the literature and in practice. However, in order to contribute to sustainable economic development, urban agriculture must also present viable business opportunities. This study set forth fresh produce box schemes operated via a social enterprise model as a context-appropriate, economically viable business opportunity for promoting inclusive socioeconomic development. Using mixed-methods, three box scheme business models were compared and a survey of 354 current subscribers to box schemes in Cape Town was analysed. Qualitative analysis of the box scheme models reveals potential strengths and weaknesses of each enterprise. Survey results presented here indicate that participating households source half their fresh produce and a quarter of their groceries overall from box schemes, demonstrating consumer demand and establishing a market. The survey data further show the social enterprise box scheme to capture a competitive portion of this market and deliver as much consumer satisfaction as other business models, suggesting that this type of enterprise can hold its own in the market. The findings presented in this paper suggest that a social enterprise box scheme is a viable model for urban agriculture-related socioeconomic development in Cape Town