Abstract

This paper therefore addresses the challenges facing the home garden farmers in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Sixty households farmer were selected through systematic sampling from Nkokonbe municipality which were purposively selected. The small scale farmers were interviewed with the help of an interview schedule containing open and closed ended questions. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that small scale farmers in Eastern Cape Province lack awareness of improved agricultural practices and technical knowhow because the extension staffs to farmer ratio is high. Results further reveals that they also lacked finance, experienced high interest rates on credit facilities and uncertainty of the right seed to use due to flooding of the market by many seed companies. In view of the research findings, several policy proposals are suggested. These include ensuring the availability of market information to all farmers, capacitating smallholder farmers with production and financial management skills and extension support service.

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