Characterization of farming systems in land reform farms of the Waterberg District Municipality, RSA

Land reform in South Africa brought changes to farms in the aspects of resource endowment, production orientation and farm operation styles. This study characterized the farming systems in land reform farms on the basis of activities being practiced, production orientation, scale of production and farm operation style. Fifty-one farms that represented the diversity in land reform programmes, and in production orientations and operation styles were selected. Ten percent of the active households per farm in the sampled farms 87 were selected for interviews by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were also held to acquire information regarding the farms as enterprises. Using Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) and Two-Step Cluster analysis, eleven distinctive farming clusters were identified. The clusters distinguished between livestock, crop, mixed operations at high, medium, low input scale, and operation style entity, individual and a combination of these. From the cluster analysis results, it was clear that land reform has broadened the farming systems. Relevant stakeholders should align their support with farm needs in accordance with the apparent farming systems and their viability for business/livelihoods sustainability for improvement purposes.