Understanding the Drivers of Production in South African Farming Systems: A Case Study of the Vhembe District, Limpopo South Africa

Farming systems in South Africa operate against the backdrop of constantly changing environmental, political, and socio-economic conditions. Farming systems are commonly defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a population of individual farm systems that have broadly similar resource bases, enterprise patterns, household livelihoods and constraints, and for which similar development strategies and interventions would be appropriate. Historically farming systems in South Africa have been characterised by dualism in which large-scale commercial farmers co-exist with small-scale farmers. Although the two farming systems are impacted by the same drivers of production (land, labour, capital, and enterprise), however, they respond to these drivers differently and the nature of the responses reveal their connectivity and possible approaches to sustaining them. A systems thinking approach is best suited to draw possible scenarios of how farming systems in the Vhembe district located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa will respond to changes with respect to the four drivers. In this area, large-scale commercial farming forms a significant component of the production of a number of subtropical crops that contribute to the country's agricultural economy particularly through exports. Simultaneously 90% of rural communities in the district depend mainly on small-scale agriculture to sustain their livelihoods and generate income. The paper provides an overview of the drivers of production for the two farming systems in the Vhembe district and explores how the government can successfully promote development through agriculture by building capacity for the joint success of the two farming systems.