Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Analysis of Production and Consumption of Organic Products in South Africa
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58356
the fully-certified organic group, most of the respondents (45. 45%) saved between R1000-
R5001 whereas most of the partially-certified farmers (37. 84%) saved less than R500 per month.
Most of the non-organic farmers (41. 18%) saved between R501-R1000 per month. Across all
groups, however the level of saving greater than R5000 was minimal.
The farmers also engage in social networks as a risk sharing strategy. There were two main
categories of social networks that the farmers engaged in. These are farmers association and
other social networks most notably burial clubs and stockvels. The farmers association is used
as a vehicle by the organic farmers to gain access to markets for their organic produce while
the burial clubs and stockvels are sources of access to credit and/or loans. In the latter instance,
farmers do not have to produce collateral. The burial clubs and stockvels are common in most
rural areas and are a source of mitigating liquidity and financial risk where possible.
4.3. Consumer awareness, perceptions and consumption decisions
The summary statistics of consumers presented in Table 7 showed that the majority of the
consumers were females within 25-34 age category. Previous studies for example [46] found
that women were the predominant purchasers of organic food and responsible for household
consumption. The younger generation consumers represent an important target group in the
advancement of consumer demand for organic products. The level of education was generally
low especially among rural consumers. The unemployment rates in the former homelands
demonstrates a substantial skewering of the demographic profile of the district and high
dependency rates of those not economically and productively active. It also reflects the levels
of out migration of economically active population from the province to other parts of South
Africa. Unemployment was also lower in urban areas than rural areas. The income distribution
of the respondents is especially concentrated in the R1000 - R5000/month category. However
the majority of the respondents within this category were in the rural areas. This can be
attributed to limited economic activity in rural areas. The household size was within the
provincial estimate of 4-5 persons per household [47] with rural households having higher
numbers. Majority of the respondents had children under the age of 18 years in the household.
The average distance to the nearest shops were estimated at between 6-9kms. In the urban
areas however this was reduced to 1. 38kms.
There is a general understanding of term 'organic foods' among consumers. Consumers
defined organic foods as healthy and nutritious, associated with traditional and or indigenous
methods of production and free from chemicals. There were low levels of awareness about
local standards for organic products, the identification of organic products using an organic
logo, existence of a national organic movement and/or the presence of an organic certification
body in South Africa. Therefore consumers could not readily identify certified organic against
non-certified organic products. Notwithstanding, consumers argued that there was a need for
certification and verification of organic products and hence are unable to make informed
decisions on the organic status of products in the market.
Trust of organic labels can be increased once more information is available to consumers on
the various organic labels, their meaning and on the difference between certified and non
