Seed security and local crop diversity assessment of three local municipalities of uMgungundlovu, KZN (South Africa)

Résumé

Seed security and crop diversification were investigated and proposed as adaptation measures to adverse climate changes, socio-economic hardships, and different environmental shocks. In most cases, seed security and crop diversity assessments are conducted post-disaster; therefore, the diversity, availability, access, and quality dimensions of seeds at the individual farmer level remain poorly understood. The objective of the study was to assess seed security and local crop diversity under the three local municipalities of the uMgungundlovu District. A survey was conducted in three local municipalities (uMshwathi Local Municipality, Mpofana Local Municipality, and Richmond Local Municipality). A Cross-sectional research design combined with a mixed-methods approach was used in this study. Participants were selected through simple random sampling, and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Simpson’s Diversity Index was used to determine the level of diversification, and the Kruskal Wallis Test was used to determine its significance. The research results indicated that all three locations showed a high degree of diversity in currently produced crops; however, Richmond had slightly more diverse crop species (0.91) than uMshwathi (0.90) and Mpofana (0.89), though the difference in diversity was not significant ( p = 0.60) across the three locations. The results further showed that the smallholder farmers experienced mild seed insecurity with a score of 5.65, the lowest among the 12. However, the level of seed insecurity was, respectively, higher in Mpofana (6.11) compared to Richmond (5.33) and uMshwathi (5.48). Our results underscore the significance of seed sovereignty as a strategy for promoting crop diversification, seed security, farmers’ resilience and food security, especially for the smallholder farmers living in remote areas.

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