Assessment of the Effectiveness of Agricultural Extension Services in Enhancing Food Security among Smallholder Maize Farmers in Makhado Local Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Food security is a pressing concern not only in South Africa, but globally. According to the National Food Security indicators, South Africa is food secure nationally, but the same cannot be said at the household level. Meanwhile, agricultural extension services (AES) play a crucial role in supporting smallholder farmers through the provision of usable information, which can enhance food production and ultimately improve food security. The services rendered by extension workers provide farmers with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to improve their agricultural practices and increase productivity. The study was conducted in the Makhado Local Municipality, of Limpopo province, South Africa. It involved collecting data from a random sample of 250 smallholder maize farmers which was subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics, Freer Greer Thorbecke (FGT) index of poverty measures, and Probit model. The results show that most respondents were male (53.6%) and aged above 60 (60.0%). A sizeable number of the respondents were educated, with 50.8% having secondary education. The study highlights the significant role of AES in improving food security, with 74.8% of respondents indicating enhancement of AES as a measure to improve food security. In achieving sustainable food security, structural barriers such as inadequate land access, water scarcity, and limited training opportunities were also identified as critical constraints. Probit model results indicate that, with a coefficient of age and access to credit, it was statistically significant at the 5% significant level, and they had a negative relationship with food security status. Moreover, the study also uncovered that effective extension services and access to the market had a negative relationship with food security status, and they were significant at a 1% level. The income level and land size were statistically significant at 5% but positively related to food security status. The study, therefore, recommends strengthening AES, improving market access, and increasing access to credit for smallholder farmers. Thus, tackling food insecurity requires a comprehensive strategy that considers the interplay of demographic, economic, and institutional factors.