Conclusion

The extent of poverty in Jozini demands that Poverty Reduction Projects (PRPs), such as the agriculture and food security initiatives of government be designed and implemented democratically through community participation to achieve meaningful change and sustainable results for the beneficiary communities. Poor rural people are locked in a vicious cycle of deprivation that leaves them silenced. Rural communities suffer the most marginalisation and exclusion from service delivery, yet they do not exercise political voice as do their urban counterparts. This lack of political response has often left government officials complacent and relaxed about the way they deal with rural communities. Rural communities have a majority female population and the tendency is for youth and largely men to go to urban areas to look for waged employment opportunities.

The lack of support for agriculture and land-based economic initiatives has left rural communities disillusioned and despondent about the prospects of land based economic upliftment. As such most people view employment creation as the only way out of the punishing poverty in which they currently find themselves. Rural communities often are ambivalent about their circumstances – they describe their situation in terms of discomfort resulting from the lack of basic amenities, such as water, electricity, energy and good health for instance, rather than according to how much money they spend per day. They relate their poverty to indicators such as the number and quality of meals they can eat per day, their ability to send a child to school, the type of houses they stay in, their ability to access energy, water and produce a good harvest, among other things.

Asked what interventions they expected from government, participants suggested that government should support them with fencing, adequate land, water supply and marketing for their produce. What is common in these areas, as in many rural areas of South Africa, is the heavy reliance on the state for social assistance (through grants). There is also an indication that the extended family system is under immense pressure and no longer a reliable source of support. Agricultural development in rural areas should be linked with small, home-based businesses, such as Bed and Breakfast, tourist ventures, social services such as luncheon clubs and drop-in-centres to create an integrated rural livelihood and to contribute to economic growth.

Key indicators of vulnerability identified include: lack of skills and education; lack of employment opportunities, exposure to HIV infection and cyclical drought. Food garden producers are aware of the links between their work and the potential to intervene in mitigating these vulnerability factors. Many households use the money from their vegetables and animals to support the education of their children. They also identify their traditional food as an important source of nutrition for people living with HIV/AIDS. The skills level for agriculture production could be enhanced and increased. Farmers have a wide range of skills that could be used to increase local capacity. A farmer such as Mr Sithole from Makhathini for instance, is a natural extension officer and his skills could be shared to increase the capacity of the agriculture department. However, there is little evidence to suggest that there exist the opportunities or the infrastructure for such skills to be translated into wider benefits for the local communities and work that generates adequate household income.

Rural communities would benefit greatly from acquiring skills and that could facilitate income-generating projects or entry into gainful employment, access to technical and business skills training, and better access to land. Small producers suffer because they lack financial management support. Development projects supported by various government departments and the municipality are poorly integrated, as are local municipal structures. Shortages of extension and development staff (LED, CDW, and CLOs), lack or shortage of working transport and insufficient support from national government also add to the isolation and marginalisation of rural communities like Jozini.

In summary, the key themes arising in Jozini on social and economic development highlight the importance of addressing the participation potential of local communities and their involvement in development on one hand, and addressing the infrastructural development backlogs, unemployment, endemic poverty and general vulnerability of the communities, on the other hand. Notwithstanding the lack of investment and coherent agricultural development policy for smallholders, policy makers still acknowledge the potential for agriculture to drive rural development.

Political focus in agriculture as a panacea of the rural development backlog stems from a number of assumptions, among which are, the perceptions that land in the rural areas is in abundance; that rural people are already engaged in food production of some sort at varying levels; that agriculture is a natural rural activity which with a bit of encouragement could lead to livelihood improvements; and that food crop production could continue with minimal government intervention and resource injection. Closer interaction between policy makers, development practitioners and the NGO sector supporting such initiatives with the beneficiary communities, would actually indicate the extent to which these assumptions are largely erroneous and contribute to low levels of rural change.

Communication challenges are numerous: there is a distinct lack of information about how to start community projects and small businesses; language and geographic location (and isolation) impact on how communities receive and process information; there are also perceived barriers, such as political affiliation and the politicisation of development programmes. The IDP has been touted as an important communication vehicle, but officials at local government level see it as a control mechanism imposed by national government and not as an effective tool for monitoring and evaluation or for encouraging community participation. The IDP is therefore not properly used either by the municipality or by the community it serves to effect necessary change. The MCR is an important aspect of any attempt for development communication in Jozini which could foster and assist in many other areas, if properly harnesses.