Drivers of the level of market participation among smallholder urban vegetable farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Urban Farm DB summary

This study surveyed 156 smallholder urban vegetable farmers in the Sobantu and Mphophomeni township areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, using a structured questionnaire and multi-stage sampling, and analyzed drivers of market participation and its level using descriptive statistics and a double-hurdle model. Of the 156 farmers, 127 were market participants and 29 were non-participants. A logistic model found market participation decisions were significantly influenced by credit use (p = 0.004), free inputs (p = 0.096), access to market information (p = 0.001), access to labour (p = 0.014), and smartphone ownership (p = 0.083). A fractional response model found the level of market participation was significantly influenced by age (p = 0.093), cooperative membership (p = 0.002), road condition (p = 0.001), storage (p = 0.016), and distance to input markets (p = 0.069).