Poverty Status among Irrigators and Homestead Gardeners in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

The study analysed the poverty status and the determinants among farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Primary data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire and a total of 267 respondents were chosen using a multi-stage random sampling technique. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, poverty index (Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT), logit regression, and correlation matrix. The headcount index of the pooled data indicated that 49 percent of the respondents in the study area was poor with poverty severity and poverty gap indices of 0.15 and 0.25 respectively. The depth of poverty was higher and severe among the female homestead gardeners in Tyhefu and farmers with less than 2ha of farmland. The logit regression revealed that years spent in school, household size, size of cultivated farmland, extension services, and being a member of an association have a significant influence on the likelihood of being poor. Only the age of the respondents was not significant. The study therefore recommends that institutions in charge of credit facilities, education, and extension services be strengthened to give farmers meaningful wellbeing.