Effect of extension service(s) and socio-economic characteristics on the livelihood of Nguni cattle development project beneficiaries in North West Province: a Tobit-Ols Regression approach

Abstract

The place of extension and advisory service(s) in enhancing farmer's knowledge, skills, as well as technologies cannot be overemphasised. This study was carried out in the North West Province of South Africa, with the aim of assessing the effect of the extension service(s) combined with socio-economic characteristics on the livelihood of the Nguni Cattle Development Project beneficiaries. Random sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 128 beneficiaries from the 187 beneficiaries involved in the project. A final 76 beneficiaries participated in the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the data analysis. The descriptive results showed that an average age of 55 years was recorded in the study, respondents were predominantly male and married, with an average household size of five people, having 16 years of farming experience, and with an average farm size of 400.5 hectares. Ordinary Least Square regression and the Tobit regression model were tested and found to be a good fit to the data. Furthermore, variables such as gender (p<0.05), cattle rearing experience (p<0.05), extension visits (p<0.10), marketing strategies/ opportunities (p<0.05), cattle production (p<0.10), and milk production (p<0.10) were found to have a significant association with the livelihood of the beneficiaries in the study. Based on the current findings, urgent and timely policy interventions are needed in providing relevant information through extension and advisory services to the beneficiaries of this programme in order to enhance their productivity and livelihood.

Keywords: Socio-economic characteristics, extension services, livelihood, Nguni Cattle Development Project, North West Province