TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE LAND AND WATER USE MANAGEMENT Constraints and opportunities for research and development in the farming systems of Mankwe and Madikwe Districts, North West Province, South Africa Working Document Series 103 South Africa – 2002 TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE LAND AND WATER USE MANAGEMENT Constraints and opportunities for research and development in the farming systems of Mankwe and Madikwe Districts, North West Province, South Africa Romel B. Armecin Johannah Motswatswe Surika Rabe Vamsidhar Reddy TS Kamal Vatta Bayan Yesperova This report is the product of team work with equal contribution from the authors whose names are listed in alphabetical order International Centre for development North West Department of oriented Research in Agriculture Agriculture, Conservation and (ICRA) Environment (NWDACE), Eastern PO Box 88, 6700 AB Wageningen Region, Private Bag X82070 The Netherlands Steen Street 37, Rustenburg South Africa ABSTRACT The Mankwe and Madikwe Districts have serious problems regarding the conservation of natural resources. These areas are characterised by severe infrastructural deficiencies such as lack of irrigation equipment, roads, drinking, handling facilities for livestock, and fencing. Communal practices in time resulted in the reduction of genetic diversity of fauna and flora, which in turn created pressure on resources. The area is progressively drier from east to west with an annual rainfall of less than 600mm per annum. The study followed the Agriculture Research for Development (ARD) procedure developed by ICRA to achieve the objectives set for the field study. The village households were classified into six different household types on the basis of their sources of income and the nature of agricultural enterprises. Primary data were collected from 50 households spread over different household types. The proportion of the farming households in the area is 34.3 per cent, with the remaining neither growing crops in arable land nor having livestock. Almost 95 per cent of the farming households have only livestock. The division of labour and decision-making in various agricultural activities highlights male dominance. There is a lot of variation in the access of men and women to various household resources. It is further observed that males have more control over these resources than females. Agricultural activities depend mainly on water from boreholes, which is usually insufficient because of the low underground water level. Due to poor resource availability, i.e. marginal soils, low, erratic rainfall (less than 600mm per annum), crop production is very limited in these areas. Vandalism of infrastructure further de- motivates communities from continuing with crop production. Rearing of cattle is a cultural practice and is treated as a major investment. The current stocking rate is double the carrying capacity, which causes overgrazing and hence degradation of resources like land and water. Communal land use coupled to the objectives of rearing cattle, the possible occurrence of droughts and erratic rainfall, are the major factors that cause natural resource mismanagement. Rainfall, HIV/AIDS, government policies, the unemployment situation, global trade trends and marketing are important driving forces concerning land and water use. These driving forces are combined in two different manners, giving rise to two extreme scenarios: one will be favourable for the sustainability of land and water resources in the area; the other will not be favourable. The R&D options were screened for their contribution towards environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic competitiveness. The R&D options were screened and prioritised with both the Task Team and farmers. The first ten prioritised options are grouped, and a process flow is recommended. This flow emphasises at facilitating the formation of enterprise/commodity based homogeneous farmers’ groups. The knowledge and skills of these groups could be improved in various aspects of repair and maintenance of land and water infrastructure. Later, these groups could merge together in big co- operatives. It is expected that this flow will help in focusing extension efforts making them more effective in future. Due to time constraints, the team could not investigate issues such as feasibility of community based conservancies, trends in the effectiveness of rainfall, economic and i technical viability of cropping, and qualitative and quantitative impact of the HIV/AIDS on agriculture in the study area. It is suggested that the host institute carry out these studies in future. A detailed proposal was developed for a pilot project on targeted extension and facilitation of enterprise/commodity based homogeneous farmers’ groups. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The members of the South African team (2002) would like to express their sincere gratitude to the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA), for providing them with the opportunity to share the wonderful experience of a participatory research. We also express our gratitude to the North West Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (NWDACE) for hosting this study and providing us with the necessary infrastructure. The efforts of the Director Mr. Ike Sebotja in formulating a highly co-operating and effective Task Team are sincerely appreciated. We express our thanks to the Task Team members, Messrs Ben Stevens, Elija Sedumedi, Casey Last, Abe Shabangu and Aartjan Verschoor. Their involvement in the field study helped in improving the quality of the report. We are indebted to Mr Ben Stevens, Deputy Director, for his continuous involvement in the study. He tried his best to ensure the personal welfare of the team. He also helped the team to achieve all the desired outputs within the time schedule. The team remained connected to the outside world through his inter-net connection. Casey Last, Assistant Director, provided the relevant information about the study area. His formal and informal discussions with the team helped to focus our activities and re-energise the team. Mr. A. Shabangu, Assistant Director, ensured the availability of his extension staff as and when required. We appreciate the help he provided throughout the study. We acknowledge the invaluable help provided by Aartjan Verschoor. He provided us with scientific information in the form of secondary literature and valuable discussions. We are grateful for his presence and support during all the important workshops. We are thankful to Ms Annelie de Beer for her valuable comments in the workshops. Thanks are also due to Paul Mothlabe, Khali Samonne, Simon Menoe, Joseph Ramokgadi, Kleintjie Mosiane and Hope Sefanyetso. These are Extension Officers of Madikwe and Mankwe ADC. They helped as interpreters during the data collection and farmers’ workshops. We also express our thanks to the staff of NWDACE for their efforts to make us feel at home. We appreciate the active involvement of all stakeholders throughout the study. We express our gratitude to the representatives of Department of Land Affairs, Department of Water Affairs, Magalies Water Board, Agricultural Research Council, Moses Kotane Local Municipality, various NGOs and Tribal Authorities for their useful inputs during the stakeholder meeting and workshops. We are also thankful to Mr Joe Ntsie, out driver, who drove the team throughout the study period, even during odd hours, and also to Mr. Serekwane, the driver from Madikwe ADC. We extend our special thanks to our reviewer, Dr Driek Enserink, who gave us encouragement, suggestions and constructive criticism in the process of this study. iii Last but not the least, we express our gratitude to all those whose names are not mentioned but have contributed directly or indirectly towards the field study. ICRA TEAM iv THE ICRA TEAM 2002, SOUTH AFRICA Name/Country/ Postal address Phone/fax/ Discipline e-mail Romel B. Armecin National Abaca Research +: +63 53 563 7012 Centre (NARC) +63 919 234 2193 Philippines Leyte State University : +63 53 335 2653 ViSCA, Baybay, Leyte Fax: +63 53 335 2601 Soil Science 6521-A Philippines Email:[email protected] [email protected] Johannah Motswatswe Mothotlung ADC +: +27 12 709 2411 Private Bag x5041 +27 82 434 09778 South Africa Brits 0250 : +27 12 709 2606 South Africa Email: [email protected] Livestock Production Surika Rabe Dept. of Agriculture, +: +27 72 4472872 Conservation and : +27 14 592 8261-2 South Africa Environment (NWDACE) Fax: +27 14 594 0333 Private Bag x 82070 Email:[email protected] Livestock Science Steenstreet 37, Rustenburg [email protected] South Africa Vamsidhar Reddy TS Agriculture Man Ecology +: +91 8581 53213 # II – 253 – D – 7 : + 91 8571 22943/ 27137 India Colony Ring Road Fax: + 91 8571 27137 Madanapalli – 517325 Email: [email protected] Entomology India Kamal Vatta Department of Economics and +: +91 161 451623 Sociology : +91 161 407008 India Punjab Agricultural Fax: +91 161 400945 University +91 161 451903 Agricultural Economics Ludhiana-141 004, India Email: [email protected] [email protected] Bayan Yessperova National Centre for +: +274 31502 Agricultural Research : +3272 625668 Kazakhstan Department of Scientific Fax: +3272 623831 Cooperation with foreign Email: [email protected] Socio-economics Country 79, Ablaikhana Street 480091, Almaty, Kazakhstan v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Acknowledgements iii The ICRA team, South Africa v Table of contents vii List of tables x List of figures x List of boxes xi List of