Spatial diversity of livelihoods and farming systems in the Mbashe municipality (Eastern cape province, South Africa) : Participatory zoning component of the farming systems survey in the Mbashe municipality (RULIV Program - GTZ)

The Rural Livelihoods programme (RULIV) of GTZ contracted with ARDRI in April 2001, to carry out a research project on Fanning Systems Diagnosis Survey in the newly demarcated Mbashe Municipality. The objective of the study was to collect basic quantitative information about livelihoods and farming in the Mbashe area incorporating the Magisterial Districts of Willowvale, Idutywa and Elliotdale, in the former Transkei. The findings of this study would give baseline information, which different stakeholders would use to plan various interventions in the area. In addition, the information from this study would also be used in subsequent surveys to enable the evaluation of change brought about by the combined impact of the programme and macro-economic developments. This procedure constitutes a longitudinal study enabling assessment of regional change in livelihoods and farming. The proposed suite of studies for the diagnosis phase includes a participatory zoning approach. In the case of the Mbashe Municipal Area (EC), two issues of interest have been expressed: - What is the geographical diversity of rural livelihood systems, and more especially farming systems? - To what extent major roads (especially the N2) and urban centres influence rural areas? (Résumé d'auteur