Transport for women-led agricultural projects in the Capricorn District: a necessity for social change

Abstract

The Department of Agriculture as well as Roads and Transport provide support to initiating of agricultural projects. The difficulty though is that the departments withdraw this support at a critical time, thus providing enough reasons for the project to collapse. This paper assessed whether women received adequate support from Departments of Land Affairs and Agriculture as well as Roads and Transport. The study was undertaken because Agricultural development, in Africa is seen as a vital tool for combating poverty in many households. In this paper agricultural development is seen as one of the ways in which the Sustainable Goals 1 and 3 can be achieved, if and when local governance structures emphasize this need. Moreover, the researchers hope to show the link between transport and the possibilities of socio-economic development in the agricultural sector if and when transportation is facilitated. Furthermore, the need for gender equality and women's empowerment will be emphasized in agricultural activities, particularly labour. The study draws from two women-led projects namely, the Lahlapapadi Goat Project and Kwadikwaneng Nursery in the Capricorn District of Limpopo, South Africa. To realize this broader objective and its underlying tasks, the researchers adopted qualitative feminist methodologies. These employ in-depth interviews, focus group discussions in conjunction with visual techniques involving photography and videography