As rural poverty deepens over much of Sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder transformation has become more urgent than ever before. A majority of rural people derive their livelihoods from agriculture, hence the urgent need for transforming the sector. The South African government launched a comprehensive land reform programme at the dawn of democracy in the country on the assumption that constraints on land size would be eliminated to make room for a more inclusive agricultural economy. The present study sought to assess how cultivated area affects food security and the profits of maize and cabbage farmers. The purposive sampling technique was used for the selection of study sites, from which 158 irrigators and homestead gardeners were selected. The data were then subjected to analysis by defining a maximum likelihood estimator that combines the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) and one-way error correction model, to determine the factors influencing food security and farm profits. The model revealed diverse relationships, suggesting that location, farm type and income were important variables in explaining food security. The area under cultivation was found to influence profits for both crops. Policies in favour of technology adoption, market access and input use would greatly incentivize farmers to cultivate larger plots of land.

Food insecurity remains a pressing issue globally, exacerbated in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, where rural communities face significant challenges in accessing nutritious food. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is particularly vulnerable, with high levels of poverty and limited infrastructure contributing to food insecurity among its rural households. In response to these challenges, family food gardens have emerged as a promising strategy to enhance local food production, improve dietary diversity, and foster economic resilience within these communities. Despite the potential benefits of family food gardens, empirical evidence of their effectiveness in mitigating food insecurity at the household level in the Eastern Cape Province is scarce and remains limited. Understanding the factors that influence the success of these gardens, including socio-economic, environmental, and institutional determinants, is crucial for optimizing their impact and scalability. Hence, this study sought to comprehensively explore and investigate the role of family food gardens in improving food security within rural households in the Eastern Cape Province. It seeks to identify the determinants that contribute to the success of these gardens and their potential to alleviate food insecurity. The study made use of a descriptive research design, and the study utilized purposive sampling to gather data from 130 rural households via structured questionnaires. Data analyses incorporated in the study included the Household Dietary Diversity Score and logit regression model to explore the impacts and determinants of family food gardens on food security. The study findings underscore the significant positive contributions of family food gardens to rural communities. They serve as vital sources of fresh crops and vegetables, supplementing household nutrition and providing temporary employment. Constraints identified in the study include financial limitations, theft, water scarcity, inadequate fencing, and limited market access. The study insights highlight the fact that socio-economic and institutional factors such as age, gender, household income, and access to credit are critical influencers of family food garden success. These empirical results offer practical implications for policymakers, governmental agencies, and local communities seeking to promote sustainable agricultural practices and alleviate food insecurity. The research highlights how essential family food gardens are for improving food security among rural families in the Eastern Cape Province. The findings suggest that a joint effort is needed from the government, policymakers, NGOs, and local communities to overcome challenges and make the most of social and economic resources. By working together, these groups can enhance the role of family food gardens, making them a more effective solution for local food production and a stronger defence against food insecurity in the region.

Background: Farm productivity on smallholder family-owned crop farms remains low despite several interventions to transform agriculture especially in developing countries. Farmers in rural areas face serious constraints that impede their productive capacities for the principal dietary staple, notably maize. Smallholder farmers have access to unprofitable markets that in turn make their enterprises less profitable. Efforts to commercialise smallholder maize production have not yielded desired results. This study, therefore, estimates profit efficiency and its determinants in the smallholder cropping systems in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.Methodology: A random sample of 158 smallholder maize farmers was selected. A normalised translog profit function was then fitted by means of a one-step estimation of technical efficiency and its determinants using the STATA software.Results: The results indicate that cost of fertiliser and area under cultivation for maize were the positive drivers of profitability. Complementarities among resources were very important determinants of profit.Conclusion: The study concludes that family-owned farms have a positive effect on crop production. Farm profits rise with cultivated area in maize farms. Therefore, the study recommends that policy favouring smallholder commercialisation would improve farm profits.

Shocks such as Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters erode the resilience of many poor households against hunger by further threatening productive capacities. It is projected that over 690 million people around the world went hungry in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the vulnerabilities and insufficiencies of global food systems. Food security is a human right and the government of South Africa is legally bound by the constitution to ensure food security for all. However, food insecurity in the country is owing to insufficient access to food because of structural poverty and inequality dynamics with a strong racial footprint rather than a shortage of food. Additionally, the rising cost of living, limited investment in agricultural development, and high dependency ratios especially in low-income households are some of the factors contributing to food insecurity in the country. Consequently, household-level food security is a major challenge to the South African government and policymakers. The government has strong social and economic rights commitments in place to achieve this goal and improve the lives of rural communities that are dependent on agriculture as a source of livelihood. Using household survey data, the study seeks to investigate the role played by cash transfers on household productive capacities and food security status within the context of a small pace of transition from homestead to irrigated farming in the former homelands of the Eastern Cape Province. The lower bound poverty line of R 758 (on average $57 USD), was used to determine household food security status. Simple random sampling was employed to select 158 respondents. The propensity score matching method was employed using the Nearest Neighbour and Kernel matching techniques to estimate the treatment effects and compare the outcomes of participation in irrigation farming and receipts of cash transfers in comparison with the non-irrigators. Both matching methods revealed that irrigation farming enhanced the per capita food expenditure by at least ZAR 2 738.88 and ZAR 2 790.37, which then improves household food security. The findings also revealed that cash transfers increase the farmers’ production activities by ZAR 1 467.90 and ZAR 1 478.00. Evidently, the cash transfers necessitate the purchase of more and improved production inputs and access to climate-smart practices such as irrigation, which then improves irrigators’ production capacities and, as a result, reduces vulnerability and improves livelihoods and food security.

As global tourism rises, wildlife habitats deteriorate, leading to human-animal competition and a surge in illegal activities threatening wildlife conservation. This necessitates new conservation approaches. Effective wildlife conservation is crucial for sustainable tourism and leaving a legacy. This chapter explores AI's role in enhancing sustainable tourism through wildlife conservation as well as maps the research landscape. Literature review and science mapping using Scopus and VOSviewer revealed a growing interest in this field post-2010. Limited empirical research addresses the intersection of AI, sustainable tourism, and wildlife conservation comprehensively. Future research should focus on AI solutions for sustainable tourism through wildlife conservation, as AI continues to revolutionise various disciplines and systems.

The sustainable use of medicinal plants by smallholder farmers in the Amatole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, plays a vital role in rural livelihoods. Despite challenges such as limited inputs, capital, institutional support and market access, the cultivation of medicinal plants significantly contributes to smallholder welfare. However, research valuing this production remains limited. We therefore assessed the welfare effects of smallholder participation in medicinal plant cultivation in Amatole. Primary data were collected from 150 smallholder farmers using structured questionnaires and a multi-stage stratified sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and propensity score matching were used for analysis. Findings indicate that female farmers dominate medicinal plant production, with an average age of 44 and 10 years of schooling. The average household size was six, with family labour supporting production. The average farm size was 1 hectare. Extension services played a key role in improving farmers’ knowledge. Participation was profitable, with an average monthly household income of ZAR19 091.72 and a return on investment of 0.71. Binary logistic regression showed that gender, household size, experience, extension visits and environmental protection positively influenced participation, while age and education had negative effects. Propensity score matching results revealed a significant positive impact of cultivation on farmers’ welfare, with an increase of ZAR5624.64 in farm returns at the 5% significance level. To enhance outcomes, we recommend targeted policies that improve funding, extension services and support for female and experienced farmers. Scaling up medicinal plant cultivation can improve rural livelihoods and advance sustainable development in the Amatole District Municipality.