Abstract:
Small-scale farming is usually intended to
contribute to food security, which could
assist in the reduction of poverty. Despite
South Africa being food secure at the national
level, food insecurity exists at household
level. In South Africa, the implementation of
household level food security programmes,
including women's food security projects,
have been some of the most important
interventions. This article aims to evaluate
the financial viability and sustainability of
women's food security projects in South
Africa. A cross sectional study of women's
perceptions about the impact of the food
security projects on their households was
undertaken. Data was collected from 45
female food security project participants
for the 2012/13 agricultural season. Gross margin analysis was used to assess the financial
viability and straight line depreciation
was used to assess sustainability. The results
show the projects as financially viable and
are perceived to be contributing significantly
to household issues of food security. The lingering question is whether such programmes
can be scaled up. Governance
systems can be used for the scaling up
process. In smallholder irrigation systems,
communities are slowly getting involved
in the management of natural resources
and enhancing or replacing state-based
governance systems. Water user associations
have been developed on smallholder
irrigations systems. Through the inclusion
of specific conditions in the constitutions of
such governance systems, scaling up and
sustainability could be achieved.
