Project topics and materials
Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »
Land ownership
The Province has a dualistic agricultural economy, which comprises a well-developed commercial sector (in the former South African areas) and a predominantly subsistence sector in the former Bophuthatswana homeland (Keyter, 1990, as cited by Visser et al., 2002).
The main objective of subsistence farming is to provide for household consumption, and it includes smaller and medium-scale agriculture, based upon diversified production and family labour. Of the total area of farmland in the Province, 33% lies in the former homelands (developing agriculture) with 67% being used for commercial agricultural enterprises. In the former homelands, 29% of the land is arable (71% grazing land) with the figures in commercial agriculture being 35% arable and 65% grazing land (Figure 4.5 below). Excluding the former homelands, there are approximately 7 600 commercial farming units in the Province. The number of small-scale farmers in the former homelands amounts to approximately 147 000 (Anon., 2008; Anon., 2010).
Soil types
Large areas of yellow shifting sands occur in the north-western region of the Province, while a plinthic catena of yellowish-brown sandy loam is characteristic of the Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Bojanala Districts. The Ngaka Modiri Molema District has areas covered by red or brown non-shifting sands with rock. This region also has weakly developed lime soils associated with dolomite limestone formations. The south-western region also has areas characterised by undifferentiated rock and lithosols. Lithosols are shallow soils containing coarse fragments and solid rock at depths less than 30 cm.
The north-eastern portion of the Province has been shown to have lithosols of arenaceous sediments. The southern and central regions have black and red clays, as well as ferrisiallitic soils of sands, loams and clays. The drier, western region is characterised by red and yellow arenosols, while the south-west has calcareous sands and loams and erinaceous lithosols (Meyer et al., 2002).
Sources of water
Water is one of the most critical and limiting natural resources. The four sources of water available in the Province are surface water, groundwater, imported water and re-usable effluent.
Surface water – this comprises rivers, dams, pans, wetlands and dolomite eyes fed by underground springs. Apart from the highly variable precipitation from year to year, one of the most important factors affecting surface water in the Province is the highly variable but low actual runoff. Runoff, as a percentage of precipitation, ranges from less than 1% in the west to approximately 7% in the eastern parts of the Province. Average runoff for the Province is 6%, which is below the average of 9% for Southern Africa (Schulze, 1997).
Rivers – being a predominantly dry Province, it has very few perennial rivers. Of the six major drainage basins in South Africa, the Limpopo, Orange and the Vaal partly fall within the boundaries of the Province. With the exception of the Vaal River, the highly variable runoff from the non-perennial water sources prohibits direct utilization by runoff-river abstraction on a large scale from major rivers in the Province.
Catchments – The Limpopo River headwaters flow in a general northerly direction before diverting eastward, forming the border between South Africa and Botswana. The entire catchment of the Groot Marico River, which is one of the major headwater tributaries of the Limpopo, is located within the Province. The sources of the Ngotwane River, as well as the catchments of a number of other tributaries of the Limpopo river system, lie within the boundaries of the Province, namely the Elands and Hex Rivers, which join the Crocodile.
Other rivers of the Limpopo River system that lie within the Province are the Magalies, Olifants, Moretele and Tolwane Rivers.
The Vaal River, which forms the southern boundary of the Province with the Free State, rises on the western slopes of the northern sector of the Drakensberg range in Mpumalanga, and flows about 900 km westwards across the interior plateau (Including Gauteng and the North West Province). It joins the Orange River near Douglas in the Northern Cape. Apart from the Molopo River, it is the only west-flowing river system in the North West Province and is known for its exceptional flood plains, wetland systems, dolomite eyes and natural riverine vegetation in the lower reaches. Major tributaries of the Vaal River, which have entire catchments within the North West Province, are the Harts, Dry Harts, Schoonspruit, Makwassiespruit and Bamboesspruit Rivers. The Mooi River, another major Vaal River system tributary, has its headwaters in the North West Province, but is joined by a number of tributaries flowing from Gauteng.
The Molopo River, which rises from the Molopo Eye near Mafikeng, flows westwards to form the northern border of the North West Province with Botswana. The Molopo River was once a tributary of the Orange River system, but being blocked by high dunes, it no longer reaches the Orange River (Midgley, Pitman & Middleton, 1994). It is currently non-perennial as its water is heavily abstracted at source. This river has a number of tributaries which fall within the Province, namely the Ramatlabamaspruit, Setlagolespruit, Ganyesaspruit and Pepanespruit, all of which are non-perennial. The Mathlaawaringspruit, a tributary of the Kuruman River, is the most south-westerly drainage line in the Province.
Impoundments – excluding farm dams, the North West Province has thirty-seven large dams, ranging in yields from 0,41 m³ per year (Feloana Dam) to 1 264,40 m³ per year (Bloemhof Dam).
Groundwater – although the North West Province has few surface water resources, it has a large reservoir of subterranean water in the form of fractured aquifers and dolomitic compartments. According to Nel et al. (1995), as cited by Anon. (2008), groundwater regions in the North West Province can be divided into the following areas: (i) Ghaap plateau Dolomites, and (ii) Coetzersdam-Louwna.
Granite – Gneiss region, (iii) Vryburg Basin, (iv) Kalahari Basin: Penrith-Radnor, (v) Western Transvaal Dolomite, (vi) other groundwater reserves. Although groundwater recharge varies from around 3 to 95 mm per year, the average for the Province is less than 10 mm per year, the lowest in South Africa (Schulze, 1997).
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.3 OBJECTIVES
1.4 HYPOTHESIS
1.5 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.6 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW PARTICIPATION IN PROJECTS
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 PARTICIPATION
2.3 PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES
2.4 FARMERS‟ OR CLIENT NEEDS ASSESSMENT
2.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH AREA
3.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.5 STUDY POPULATION AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE
3.6 INSTRUMENTATION AND DATA COLLECTION
3.7 INTERVIEW PROCEDURE
3.8 DATA ANALYSIS
3.9 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF DATA
3.10 MEASUREMENT OF THE STUDY VARIABLES
3.11 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER 4: NORTH WEST PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA: AN OVERVIEW
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND SIZE
4.3 TOPOGRAPHY
4.4 HISTORY
4.5 MUNICIPALITIES OF THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE
4.6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC FEATURES
4.7 STATUS OF AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 5: A DESCRIPTION AND COMPARISON OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICER RESPONDENTS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 LOCATION OF THE PROJECTS IN LOCAL AND DISTRICT OFFICES OF THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE
5.3 AGE DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.4 MARITAL STATUS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.5 GENDER OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.6 FAMILY SIZE OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.7 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.8 PROFESSION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.9 EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.10 NON-FARMING INCOME OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.11 INCOME AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.12 TYPE OF FUNDED PROGRAMMES ACCORDING TO PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
5.13 THE LEGAL REGISTRATION OF THE PROJECTS
5.14 PROJECT ACCESSIBILITY
5.15 SUMMARY OF MOST IMPORTANT FINDINGS
CHAPTER 6: THE PERCEPTION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS ABOUT THE BENEFICIARIES’ NEEDS IN PROJECTS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 NEED AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE
6.3 TRAINING NEEDS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
6.4 NEEDS ASSESSMENT
6.5 KNOWLEDGE AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE
6.6 SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FINDINGS
CHAPTER 7: PARTICIPATION IN PROJECTS AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
7.1 PARTICIPATION AT PLANNING STAGE AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
7.2 THE ROLE OF THE MARKET AS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF A PROJECT
7.3 KNOWLEDGE OF PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
7.4 THE LEVEL OF PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES IN PROJECTS AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
7.5 COMMUNITY SUPPORT AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
7.6 THE DEGREE OF PARTICIPATION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
7.7 THE ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS OF THE PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
7.8 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXTENSION AND OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
CHAPTER 8: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
8.1 INTRODUCTION
8.2 A DESCRIPTION AND COMPARISON OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
8.3 OBJECTIVE 1 AND HYPOTHESIS 1
8.4 OBJECTIVE 2 AND HYPOTHESIS 2
8.5 OBJECTIVE 3 AND HYPOTHESIS 1
8.6 OBJECTIVE 4 AND HYPOTHESIS 3
CHAPTER 9: RECOMMENDATIONS
9.1 INTRODUCTION
9.2 A DESCRIPTION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICER RESPONDENTS
9.3 INCOME AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
9.4 THE PERCEPTION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS ABOUT THE BENEFICIARIES‟ NEEDS IN PROJECTS
9.5 THE PERCEPTION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS ABOUT PARTICIPATION IN PROJECTS
9.6 THE SELECTION OF PROJECT
9.7 THE DEGREE OF PARTICIPATION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
9.8 PROJECT PARTICIPANTS‟ CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE PROJECT FROM INITIAL PHASE TO FULLY-FLEDGED PRODUCTION PHASE
9.9 THE EXTENT OF COLLABORATION OF PROJECT MEMBERS
9.10 THE EXTENSION AND OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES AS PERCEIVED BY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENSION OFFICERS
9.11 THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION SOURCE
9.12 OBJECTIVE 5
REFERENCES
