Journal Article
Farmer-oriented predictors of smallholder urban pig farming challenges and adoption of sustainable management practices in the Cape Metropole, South Africa
Rebecca Mmamakgone Mathobela; Obert Chenjerayi Chikwanha; Chenaimoyo Lufutuko Faith Katiyatiya; Annelin Henriehetta Molotsi; Munyaradzi Chris Marufu; Phillip Evert Strydom; Cletos Mapiye
Environment, Development and Sustainability · Vol. 28, Issue 4 · pp. 8357-8381 · 2024
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of farmers’ challenges and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) is crucial for the sustainable development of the small-scale urban pig enterprise in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 160 structured questionnaires were individually administered to determine factors driving small-scale farmers’ challenges and adoption of SAPs in the Cape Metropole District, South Africa. Key challenges reported by the farmers were piglet mortality (88% of respondents), limited access to communal water taps (42%), feed scarcity (36%), and shortage of pig housing material (30%). Marginal effects from logistic regression revealed that farmers’ chances to experience key challenges were high ( P ≤ 0.05) among African traditional religion believers, exotic pig breed owners, single source income earners and young farmers. Key SAPs adopted by farmers included restricted feeding (78% of respondents), controlled mating (70%), biosecurity (50%) and record keeping (50%). The probability of farmers’ failure to adopt key SAPs was high among the less educated, young farmers and African traditional religion believers ( P ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, consideration of farmer-oriented factors that have been associated with increasing the likelihood of experiencing challenges and non-adoption of SAPs in development initiatives could enhance small-scale urban pig production in the studied areas.