The maize filière at Dzindi, a smallholder irrigation scheme in Limpopo Province
2004
Van Averbeke, W. | Perret, Sylvain
The paper reports on the actors, activities and artefacts featuring in the journey from seed to plate of maize grown at Dzindi, a smallholder irrigation project near Thohoyandou in Limpopo Province. The objective was to document the local system of production, storage, transformation and transaction of this commodity. Data obtained from a survey of 21 plot holders were complemented with field observations and semi-structured interviews with actors other than farmers. Data analysis made use of the Triple-A framework for the study of filières vivrières (food commodity chains). At Dzindi, maize grew during summer covering about 60% of the total production surface. Production practices were a combination of modern (mechanised and chemical) and traditional (organic and manual). About 15% of the crop was harvested as green cobs, most of which were sold to hawkers. The rest (85%) was harvested as grain, 54% for home consumption and 30.8% for sale or donation. Maize kept for home consumption was stored and transformed into maize meal using two different storage and processing systems. Among many farmers, securing their annual household requirement was a primary concern. This was linked to the way in which they conceptualised household food security. Avenues for improving production of maize in function of the two purposes, i.e. selling as green cobs or harvest as dry grain, were identified. (Résumé d'auteur)
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