Decoding market access: a quantitative analysis of challenges faced by small-scale farmers

Small-scale farming is crucial for rural development and food security in South Africa, yet farmers face significant barriers to formal market access. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of hindrances to market access for small-scale farmers in Jozini. The study employs the Asset Vulnerability Analytical Framework to assess how critical assets – land, water, financial capital, and farming equipment – shape market access challenges for small-scale farmers. This cross-sectional study utilized data gathered from small-scale farmers in Jozini Municipality through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize the sample characteristics. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to analyze the relationships among the eight identified market access hindrances faced by small-scale farmers, and the t-test was conducted to assess the association between the hindrances index and the effectiveness of market access interventions for small-scale farmers. On average, over 85.0% of farmers in Jozini identified seven out of eight factors as major barriers to market participation, with the exception of agro-food market requirements, which were reported by 60.4% of farmers. All hindrances were significantly associated with each other, except for inadequate markets in rural areas and agro-food market requirements (p-value = 0.057). Farmers facing barriers were more likely to sell in informal markets (88.7%) compared to those without hindrances (79.2%). Farmers with market access hindrances rated interventions 7.8 points lower on average (p = 0.020) than those without hindrances. The study recommends infrastructure development, financial support, cooperative formation, and capacity-building programmes.