The nexus of underutilised crops production systems and value chains: implication for food security in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Abstract

Utilising underutilised crops can help with food and nutrition security and rural development, but production, consumption, and value chain challenges still need to be addressed. Due to a variety of socioeconomic barriers, smallholder farmers—who are crucial to the production and selling of underutilised crops—are unable to adopt resilient and sustainable production systems or participate in the value chains. The intertwined relationship between crop production systems, value chains, and their implications for food security in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa holds significant insights for sustainable development. This study aimed to explore the nexus, with a focus on understanding the dynamics and interdependencies between smallholder farmers’ crop production practices and the value chains they engage in. The central objective is to unravel the multifaceted effects of this interplay on household food security within the context of KwaZulu-Natal. The study focuses on underutilised crops, specifically sweet potato, and taro roots, which have the potential to contribute significantly to household food security and nutrition in the country. The specific objectives of the study were (i) To analyse the socio-economic determinants of production systems of underutilised crops. (ii) To investigate factors influencing smallholder farmers’ decisions to consume underutilised crops. (iii) To evaluate determinants of smallholder farmers’ participation in crop value chains, and (iv) To explore the relationship between crop production systems and value chains and their implication in household food insecurity in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study used primary data, which was collected from a total of 300 smallholder farmers who were selected through simple random sampling. The study focused on two rural areas (Umbumbulu and Swayimana) in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, based on the predominance of underutilised crops by smallholder farmers. While analysing the socio-economic factors influencing the choice of crop production systems, the multivariate probit analysis reveals that use of credit, farm size, education, and extension services significantly influence farmers' decisions to adopt underutilised crop production systems. Moreover, the study identifies challenges related to credit availability and land access that hinder the adoption of more sustainable and economically viable production systems. This study also investigated the factors affecting the decision of smallholder farmers to consume underutilised crops. The binary logistic regression model found that farmers' perception on production (p<0.01), perception on awareness of underutilised crops (p<0.1), membership to farmers' group (p<0.05), willingness to buy underutilised crops (p<0.01), and gender of the household head (p<0.05), and off-farm income (p<0.05) had a negative impact on the decision to consume underutilised crops. On the other hand, government grants (p<0.05), perception on taste (p<0.1), household size (p<0.05), education level of a household head (p<0.1), and marital status (p<0.01) had a positive impact on the decision to consume underutilised crops. The study further evaluated the factors influencing value chain intensity of participation among smallholder farmers. The double hurdle results show that market channels, produce wasted, access to credit, pest and disease management practices, and access to irrigation system are key factors determining farmers' decision to participate in the value chain and the intensity of their participation. The study explored the relationship between crop production systems and value chains and its implications for household food insecurity. Principal Component Analysis transformed the correlated variables into three distinct domains: modern agro-production practices, sustainable market integration, and traditional knowledge. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) showed that in the overall sampled population, 33% of smallholder farmers were food secure, mildly food insecure (36%), 22% were moderately food insecure, and lastly, 9% of smallholder farmers were severely food insecure. Ordered probit results show that sustainable market integration (PC2) (p<0.01), traditional knowledge focus (PC3) (p<0.1), education (p<0.01), and livestock owned (p<0.01) significantly and negatively impact household food insecurity. Household size (p<0.01), household food expenditure (p<0.01), floods (p<0.1), and cash credit (p<0.1) significantly and positively affect household food insecurity. This study reveals a complex association between crop production systems, value chains, and household food security, highlighting the critical role of sustainable market integration and traditional agricultural practices in shaping agricultural dynamics and food security outcomes. Incorporating these insights into policy and practice can foster sustainable agricultural development and improve food security outcomes.