ABSTRACT
Livestock farming plays a vital role in food supply, job creation, promoting economic transformation and financial capital. Covid-19 pandemic negatively influenced livestock production through reduced access to markets, medicines, extension services and animal health services. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of covid-19 and coping strategies used by small-scale farmers in three municipalities. Eleven farms were purposively selected and a total of 30 farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. The results showed that the participation of females (12%) in farming was low compared to males (88%). Lower participation by the youth was alarming with 92% of farmers were above 35 years of age and 50% having a matric. Landownership;40% were private farms, 30% rely on communal land and 30% on lease agreements. The findings showed that the majority of farmers kept livestock for cash sales (60%) meat (19%) and prestige (10%), respectively. Reduced access to markets (50%) and animal health services (19%) were the most highly ranked constraints. Farmers mentioned that they had lost marketing opportunities and income due to the suspension of traditional ceremonies and initiation schools by government restrictions. Approximately 50% of farmers acknowledged the government's intervention in the form of vouchers to cushion the impact covid-19. Due to stringent restrictions, 66% of farmers used cell phones, and 13% went used online to gain access information in order to cope with challenges imposed by the pandemic. In conclusion, the study revealed that small-scale farmers were socially and economically affected by the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic era has resulted in infused technology learning. eLearning has since been regarded as an essential aspect targeted toward effective schooling. Teaching-learning approaches had to be re-looked as universities struggled to engage in online contact sessions through Blackboard as a Learning Management System (LMS). This paper aims to examine whether Blackboard learning has any substantial influence on learner academic attainment. Little is noted by literature on predicaments entangling rural schooling environments for implementing eLearning. The examination was administered through a qualitative research approach embedded in a case study design. Three purposefully nominated teachers from a university located in a rural Eastern Cape Province were interviewed as participants. It was divulged as the findings that (i) connectivity glitches, thus having an impact on (ii) contact session attendance, as well as (iii) limitation of eLearning-related soft skills, were the significant hiccups to this emergent learning platform. The study concludes that teachers and learners are held liable to acquaint themselves with eLearning, hence the digital world, entirely. This paper recommends alterations and re-inventing of teaching-learning approaches, thereby curbing situations of rural-urban digital variations.
ABSTRACT
Speed read ‘Second pandemic of mental health problems is coming;we are not ready’ Disrupted sleep patterns caused by lack of time spent outdoors Remote services being set up to deliver psychological support in ailing healthcare systems Remote psychological support services are struggling to manage COVID-19 fear and stress, as experts warn a mental illness pandemic is on its way. Remote therapies bring help closer In Africa, at least 50 per cent of people with depression do not receive treatment and a lack of information, stigma and cultural issues are significant barriers to people seeking help, says Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization regional director for Africa. Ongoing consequences of COVID-19 crisis “Pandemics like these are not just medical phenomena;they also affect everyone's quality of life, causing social dysfunction,” says Debanjan Banerjee, a psychiatrist at the India’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience, in a letter to the Asian Journal of Psychiatry.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate community perceptions of opportunities for local economic development (LED) in the town of Port St Johns (PSJ), using tourism as a conduit. PSJ is situated at the mouth of the Umzimvubu River along the Wild Coast region in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. A sample of 307 residents of PSJ responded to a questionnaire on the effects of tourism in their community. Overall, the findings reveal a tourism policy gap regarding the LED strategy and implementing a tourism development plan for PSJ. Therefore, the recommendation is to initiate a stakeholder consultative process, culminating in developing a strategic tourism plan for PSJ. This study contributes to the literature on including tourism in the general development plan of communities such as PSJ. At the same time, it provides strategic direction on how community livelihoods can be improved using the natural and cultural resources in PSJ.
ABSTRACT
The recent racial reckoning has challenged scholars to recover Black voices that have been erased from historical accounts. This essay is my reflections on the challenges I faced in conducting research on African voices in politically and racially charged settings in Lesotho and South Africa over the past half century. After the political atmosphere began changing in South Africa in 1990, I served the individuals and communities I write about by rectifying historical injustices such as returning a holy relic to a religious group, the Israelites, and facilitating the return of remains of Nontetha Nkwenkwe from a pauper’s grave in Pretoria to her home.