Evaluating the objectives of establishing backyard gardens in the peri-urban and rural households of South Africa

Backyard gardens possess unique features that make them a potential source of livelihood among the rural poor households. The study aimed to assess the factors influencing households to establish backyard gardening in the Bojanala District in the North West Province of South Africa. Primary data was collected through semi-structured questionnaire administered to 220 purposively selected participants actively engaged in backyard gardening. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Multinomial Logistic Regression with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23.0. The results showed that most households cultivated 100% of the land allocated for backyard gardens mainly to produce food for home consumption. Moreover, the outputs from multinomial regression analysis revealed that being employed and involved in non-farm activities were significant factors influencing the participants to establish backyard gardens to produce food for home consumption. It is recommended that households in the study area should cultivate the whole area reserved for backyard gardens and rent unutilised space to earn income. Again, the working class in peri-urban and rural areas of the Bojanala district should establish backyard gardens as a mechanism to sustainably produce food for their families and save money for purchasing food.