Advancing local economic development through agricultural support initiatives

Agriculture is a vital activity that drives the local economy. This study explores agricultural support in South Africa. This research focuses on initiatives local governments take to bolster agriculture and promote economic growth, recognising that agriculture plays a crucial role in the financial foundation of rural communities. There is slow growth in the local agricultural sector in most rural settlements due to inadequate support from local authorities. Specifically, the study aims to explore and strengthen agricultural support in the Mnquma local municipality area by examining existing local economic development strategy initiatives, particularly those related to agriculture, and then empowering these initiatives to fully support rural settlements. The study employed a mixed approach with stratified random sampling to collect data. The sample size was limited to 68 rural farmers in the Mnquma local municipality area, specifically wards 24, 25, 26, and 27. The questionnaire responses included 77 rural farmers plus one agricultural and forestry officer in the Local Economic Development unit, making the total sample size 78 for the study. The data were analysed both statistically and qualitatively using SPSS and Atlas. Ti. The findings demonstrate that current support initiatives are practical and beneficial to rural farming, as indicated by the high level of satisfaction reported by rural farmers regarding the assistance provided by the municipality. The main issue is the lack of constant support, innovation, and adequate funding from the city for rural farmers. The study recommended a list of solutions to combat these challenges, such as increasing the number of supported farmers annually, increasing the budget for the agriculture and forestry office, standardising innovation and skillset in the agriculture and forestry office in Mnquma local municipality to maximise support, maximising monitoring procedures, accountability, transparency and intergovernmental collaborations.