Communication and decision making among fruit growers in the Phaswana area of Northern Province

Abstract

Potential farmers identified in the study were mainly males and were of a higher socio-economic status and had greater access to agricultural resources than average households. They were still living in varying degrees of poverty and lacking agricultural support services. Decision-making was mainly male dominated, but wives played a greater role in decision implementation. It was concluded that there was a proportion of small-scale farmers who had the potential to become commercial farmers, provided the necessary institutional support was available. New strategies aimed at alleviating rural poverty, and successfully involving members of disadvantaged communities in commercial agriculture need to include land reform, capacity and institution building, scientific communication planning, as well as developing appropriate farming systems, taking cognisance of socio-cultural factors.