https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/30858 Tue, 12 May 2026 18:26:29 GMT 2026-05-12T18:26:29Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32088 Assessment of the food security status of Zimbabwean immigrants living in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal Hlatshwayo, Mavis Food insecurity is a global concern on upward trajectory and common amongst economic and political immigrants. The food security status of Zimbabwean immigrants in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa was investigated from 379 randomly selected immigrants. Food security was measured using Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), Household Dietary Diversity Index (HDDS) and Coping Strategy Index (CSI). The socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents showed that most immigrants were males 66%, 52.2% were younger (18-38 years) and 91.4% were employed. Most respondents 51% had tertiary education and 35.9%, earned between R3001-R4500. Based on the HFIAS, food insecurity assessment showed that that majority (75%) were food insecure, with 14% mildly food insecure, 33% moderately food secure and 28% severely food insecure. HDDS showed that 99.4% (n=378) of the respondents had a high dietary score. Dietary changes were the most adopted CSI strategy followed by rationing strategies. Food insecurity was perceived to be due to reduced /loss of employment, socio-political factors of theft, insecurity /violence, political crisis, lack of land ownership and high food prices. Age, immigration status and employment type were significantly correlated with food insecurity. Food insecurity was high in this study. However, in terms of the severity, results from HFIAS and CSI showed that most respondents were moderately food insecure. Household food insecurity was mainly due to food prices, reduced /loss of employment, and socio-political factors. Based on the findings of this study, efficient immigration processes, food aid and policies to monitor and stabilise the informal job sector are recommended.; Voedselonsekerheid is 'n groeiende wêreldwye kommer wat algemeen voorkom onder ekonomiese en politieke immigrante. Die voedselsekerheidstatus van Zimbabwiese immigrante in Pietermaritzburg, Suid-Afrika, is ondersoek aan die hand van 379 immigrante wat lukraak gekies is. Voedselsekerheid is met behulp van die Huishoudelike Voedselonsekerheidstoegangskaal (HVOTS), Huishoudelike Dieetdiversiteitstelling (HDDT) en Hanteringstrategie-indeks (HSI) gemeet. Die vi sosiodemografiese kenmerke van die respondente het aangedui dat die meerderheid manlik was (66%), 52.2% was in die ouderdomsgroep 18–38 jaar en 91.4% het gewerk. Die meeste van die respondente (51%) het tersiêre onderrig gehad en 35.9% het tussen R3 001 en R4 500 verdien. Volgens die HVOTS, het die voedselonsekerheidsassessering aangedui dat die meerderheid (75%) van die respondente voedselonseker was, met 14% effens voedselonseker, 33% matig voedselonseker en 28% erg voedselonseker. Die HDDT het aangedui dat 99.4% (n=378) van die respondente 'n hoë dieettelling gehad het. Dieetveranderinge was die HIS-strategie wat die meeste gebruik is, gevolg deur rantsoeneringstrategieë. Voedselonsekerheid is toegeskryf aan minder werksgeleenthede/werksverlies en sosiopolitieke faktore soos diefstal, onveiligheid/geweld, politieke krisis, gebrek aan grondeienaarskap en hoë kospryse. Ouderdom, immigrasiestatus en tipe indiensneming is aansienlik gekorreleer met voedselonsekerheid. Voedselonsekerheid was hoog in hierdie studie. Ten opsigte van ernstigheid het die HFIAS en HSI egter aangedui dat die meerderheid van die respondente matig voedselonseker was. Huishoudelike voedselonsekerheid is hoofsaaklik toegeskryf aan kospryse, minder werksgeleenthede/werksverlies en sosiopolitieke faktore. Op grond van die resultate van hierdie studie, word doeltreffende immigrasieprosesse, voedselbystand, en beleide om werk in die informele sektor te monitor en te stabiliseer aanbeveel. Abstract in English with Afrikaans translations. Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32088 2023-11-28T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32017 Assessment of the impact of renewable energy supply, carbon dioxide emissions, trade, and economic growth nexus on maize production from 1979-2021 Nevhutalu, Vhugala Charity The economy most susceptible to climate change is the agriculture sector. Agricultural production is negatively affected by weather patterns and temperature which ultimately impacts the sector’s economy. Food insecurity and a disturbance in the food supply chain are the aftereffects of climate change. A study by Wu et al. (2021). It is foretold that renewable energy utilization will reduce emissions responsible for climate change. The United Nations (UN) has also laid out a global mandate of “a clean and inexpensive energy for all” as part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study specifically focuses on SDG 7 (affordable clean energy) and 13 (climate change). Many industrialized and emerging nations use maize as an energy crop; South Africa has rarely made use of this potential owing to valid food security concerns. Maize production trends in this study showed growth throughout the years despite a few declines which were mostly as a result of climate change. Trade trends also pointed out that there is minimal maize regional trade between South Africa and the rest of the African countries. At the aggregate level, maize production for human, and animal consumption and for biofuel feedstock depends on several macroeconomic factors, some of which were explored in this study. This study was backed by several macroeconomic theories namely: the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), the Mercantilist Theory of Trade, the Export-Led Growth Theory, and the Endogenous Growth Theory. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of Carbon Dioxide Emissions (CO2), Renewable Energy Supply, Trade, and Economic Growth on maize production in South Africa from 1979 to 2021. The nexus offered vital insights on initiatives that could be prioritised to advance renewable energy in the South African agriculture industry. An Auto Regressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) model using Bounds test econometric approach was employed to estimate the short and long-run nexus between renewable energy supply, carbon dioxide emissions, trade, economic growth, and the production of maize. The existence of unit root in the time-series data was examined using the Augment Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron tests; the robustness of the long-run estimate was assessed using the Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) and Canonical Cointegration Regression (CCR) models. The Pair-wise Granger Causality test was used to test for causality between carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy supply, trade, economic growth, and maize production. The short-run results indicated that Carbon Dioxide Emissions reduce maize production and renewable energy supply increases maize production both in the short-run and long-run. Granger causality results indicated a unidirectional causality between carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, and maize production. A bidirectional causality was observed between renewable energy supply and maize production. This study contributes to economic policy regarding the energy-climate nexus in South Africa's agricultural industry. The agricultural industry is not only an energy consumer but also has the potential to contribute to renewable energy, specifically bioenergy through the supply of biomass. Considering that maize is a major global energy crop, its demand globally trickles down to maize-producing countries, and this has implications for supply and demand locally and globally. The study’s emerging insights may be used to guide the use of renewable energy biomass supply and the impact of climate change on the agricultural economy (maize production). Text in English Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32017 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32016 Assessment of the effects of climate change, renewable energy consumption, economic and population growth on sugarcane productivity in South Africa from 1972-2021 Ndaba, Nonkululeko Sugarcane production in South Africa is influenced by several factors, including environmental dynamics (climate change, carbon dioxide emissions), consumption of renewable energy, population expansion, and economic growth. Understanding the intricate interdependencies between these variables is essential for sustainable agricultural planning. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method, this study examines the effects of climate change, renewable energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, population growth, and economic growth on sugarcane production in South Africa. The study utilizes time-series data collected annually from various institutions between 1972 and 2021. This methodology facilitates a comprehensive assessment of both short- and long-term dynamics and their interactions by considering the variables of interest in this study. In the long run, temperature and carbon dioxide levels have a statistically significant negative impact on sugarcane yield, with significance levels at 10% and 1%, respectively. Conversely, rainfall, renewable energy consumption, and gross domestic product exhibit a statistically significant positive relationship with sugarcane yield. In the short run, the analysis showed that rainfall has a statistically significant negative effect on sugarcane yield at the 1% significance level. However, renewable energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have statistically significant positive effects on sugarcane yield, both at the 10% significance level. The causality results indicated insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship between sugarcane yield and temperature, renewable energy consumption, GDP, carbon dioxide emissions, and population growth. Nevertheless, a uni-directional causal relationship was identified from rainfall to sugarcane yield, indicating that changes in rainfall patterns may lead to changes in sugarcane yield. The study recommends focusing on growing the renewable energy sector by allocating resources to agriculture for bioenergy production. Text in English Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32016 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32015 Smallholder sugarcane producers’ perceptions and practices in bioenergy production in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa Mabila, Delisile Priscilla Smallholder sugarcane production has an important role in promoting the participation of smallholder farmers in the bioenergy sector. There is not much which is known about smallholder farmers’ potential and willingness to engage in the bioenergy sector. The main objective of the research was to assess small-scale farmers’ potential and willingness to engage in bioenergy production from sugarcane. The specific objectives of the study were to determine factors affecting small-scale sugarcane producers’ potential to participate in bioenergy production; assess the current practices and the level of engagement in bioenergy production of smallholder sugarcane producers; evaluate factors affecting farmers’ willingness to participate in bioenergy production from sugarcane; and highlight what resources and institutional support is required for the smallholders to fully participate in the bioenergy sector. Bioenergy is a form of renewable produced from biomass, primarily derived from plants such as forest residues, woody crops, and crop waste, among others. Renewable energy helps to reduce the carbon footprint of energy sources. Smallholder farmers have an opportunity to contribute to the reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation. The study was conducted with smallholder sugarcane farmers in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. A quantitative research approach was employed for the research. Following an ethical clearance with Reference 2022/CAES_HREC/050 from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science's Health and Research Ethics Committee, Thus, given a population of 893 smallholder farmers, a sample size of 269 smallholders was generated using Microsoft Excel's rand function. A total of 134 farmers were interviewed in November 2021. The data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Both descriptive statistics and econometric model were used to analyze the data. Two regression models (Ordinal Least Squares regression and Principal Components Regression were estimated). Data was analyzed using both SPSS V28 and STATA 17. The findings showed that none of the farmers are currently engaged in bioenergy production. However, interest to engage in the sector was very high. Sugarcane harvesting is mainly manual, though a few uses mechanical harvesting, which is expensive. Most of the farmers burn their sugarcane before harvesting. Four factors were significant in influencing the bagasse potential from farmers ‘sugarcane production. These were the farmer’s age, land ownership, access to credit and cooperative membership. Also, four factors were significant in influencing them willingness to participate in the bioenergy sector these were land under sugarcane production, land tenure security and their perceptions on land and food security. The study concludes that it is important to focus on young farmers to promote the bioenergy sector in smallholder farming. Inadequate land inhibits smallholder sugarcane farmers from seizing opportunities from the bioenergy sector. The current financial support mechanisms for smallholder farmers in the sugarcane industry and collective action arrangements do not enhance farmers’ propensity to participate in bioenergy production. It was also concluded that improving the land tenure security of smallholder sugarcane farmers would enhance their willingness to participate in bioenergy production. Furthermore, smallholder farmers who believe that the production of bioenergy requires large tracts of land are more willing to engage in bioenergy production compared to their counterparts. This is because of the anticipation of support which comes with such kinds of projects. Unfavourable opinions on the possible compromise between food security and bioenergy. The study advocates for youth development activities to boost young participation in sugarcane cultivation. A revamp of the financial support system and collective action arrangements would enhance the participation of farmers in the bioenergy sector. The farmers’ sugarcane trash management practices should be changed. Green harvesting should be promoted in smallholder sugarcane farming. Knowledge is critical and thus training is needed to improve the farmers’ knowledge of trash management practices, bioenergy, and associated processes. Land reform/ redistribution in the country should support the creation of secure land tenure rights for farmers. The farmers’ fears regarding the bioenergy sector should be addressed before any intervention. The negative perceptions can derail any progress made in promoting bioenergy within the smallholder farming sector. There is also a need to ensure that any bioenergy programme in the smallholder sugarcane sector should not affect the production of crops for food security. Text in English Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32015 2024-09-29T00:00:00Z