Contribution of women-run indigenous to rural household food security in Thulamela Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

Indigenous entrepreneurship (IE), notably led by women, is garnering attention for its positive impact on economic growth and empowerment in rural communities. While these businesses show resilience and the ability to address household food security issues, they continue to face obstacles, such as a lack of representation and limited access to capital. This study was undertaken in Matanagri Village to assess the impact of women-run indigenous companies on rural households' food security in Thulamela municipality. A mixed-methods approach, particularly an exploratory sequential research design, was adopted. Qualitative data were collected face‑to‑face from 23 purposively selected participants using semi‑structured questionnaires in phase one. Qualitative insights derived from phase one analysis was used to develop a six‑point Likert‑scale questionnaire of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with 6 representing “Not applicable”. It was then administered face‑to‑face to 33 participants, including those from phase one to collect quantitative data. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to collect data from the participants. Qualitative data were analysed inductively through thematic analysis in ATLAS.ti version 25. Quantitative data were subjected to analysis in SPSS through descriptive statistics, composite scoring, one‑sample t‑tests, and Spear-man correlation analysis through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 software. The findings revealed that elderly women were the most involved in IE, with crop‑based farming as the dominant form in Matangari Village. These findings thus highlight how agriculture still remains as the backbone of rural livelihoods. The study found that indigenous firms conducted by women are typically small-scale and community-based, with informal or exclusive ownership. It also demonstrated that the individuals' objectives for founding their businesses were household survival and economic security. However, difficulties such as limited financial assistance, vulnerability to climate shocks, and insufficient branding and marketing competence continue to be obstacles. Descriptive results showed branding and marketing was ranked as the most severe constraint (M = 5.00, SD = 0.000, Rank = 1). Furthermore, a one‑sample t‑test further confirmed that, on the six‑point Likert scale (with “6 = Not applicable” coded as system‑missing), the composite scores for environmental and production challenges (M = 4.24, SD = 1.03, t(32) = 6.911, p < 0.001) and management, market, and institutional challenges (M = 3.91, SD = 0.87, t(32) = 6.068, p < 0.001) were significantly above the neutral midpoint of 3. The study found that income from women-run indigenous firms improves household finances and supports other sources of income, including grants. Furthermore, it was discovered that meals from these businesses lower household food prices while increasing the range of foods accessible.This was further confirmed by the correlation analysis, which revealed strong positive links between household nutrition and food security with household food production (rₛ = 0.686, p < .001) and household bills coverage (rₛ = 0.474, p < .022).The study thus, recommends that targeted programs are needed to encourage youth participation and succession planning, enabling the inter-generational transfer of indigenous knowledge. The study also recommends developing a comprehensive database to document women‑run indigenous enterprises separately from mainstream enterprises, thereby supporting evidence‑based policy-making.