Blue Crane Route Local Municipal area has a number of strategic environment advantages. It contains 97% of natural land covers, is centrally located between three national parks, contains biodiversity of regional and national significance, can boast incredible scenic beauty, and local conditions present a number of opportunities for renewable energy generation on a large scale. However the area faces a number of issues such as higher densities of population primarily concentrated in the three urban centres.

The low agricultural productivity and carrying capacity of much of the land in the municipality, combined with limited access to water for irrigation, has restricted development of the agricultural economy. The remoteness of the urban centres limits growth of business, services and sectors.

The Ikwezi Local Municipality is located in the Eastern Cape, one of the nine local municipalities located within the Cacadu District Municipality. Ikwezi includes three main settlements namely Jansenville, Klipplaat and Waterford, and covers an area of 4 449,7km2. It is an area characterized by low population density, high levels of poverty and excessive bulk water constraints, as well as very poor quality water(http://drupa16dev15.econsultant.co.za).

The Makana Local Municipality is located in the Eastern Cape province and forms part of the Cacadu District Municipality, which includes the Camdeboo, Blue Crane Route, Ikwezi, Baviaans, Sunday’s River Valley, Ndlambe, Kouga, Kou-Kamma, and Makana local municipalities. The MakanaLocal Municipality is situated almost in the middle of Port Elizabeth (to the east) and East London (to the west) on the N2 highway. (www.ru.ac.za).

The Ndlambe Local Municipality is a predominantly rural area with agriculture and tourism dominating the economy. It encompasses the towns of Kenton-on-sea, Boknes, Bathurst, Boesmansriviermond, Alexandra and Cannon Rocks. (http://www.cacadu.co.za/ndlambe)

The Sunday River Valley Local Municipality is one the developing local municipalities within the Cacadu District Municipality (western region). It is located in the Eastern Cape, approximately 80km north  east of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.read more »

The history of agricultural statistics in South Africa goes back as far back as the beginning of the 20th century. With the exception of the World Wars and great depression years, an agricultural census was conducted on annual basis in the first half of the 20th century. As agriculture’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased over the years, so did the frequency of conducting agricultural censuses. Post 1994, agricultural censuses have been conducted on a five yearly basis, with annual surveys being conducted in between the census years. Until now, agricultural censuses and surveys have largely concentrated on commercial agriculture leaving out small-scale and subsistence agriculture. In 2009, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) conducted an audit of agricultural statistics in the country. One of the findings was that the country lacked information on smallholder and subsistence agriculture. The current list of farmers being used to conduct surveys was mainly confined to commercial agriculture. A decision was taken that three questions related to agriculture would be included in the Population Census 2011 (Census 2011) questionnaire. The main objective was to identify all households involved in agriculture in the country, so that a complete frame of all individuals and entities involved in agriculture (both subsistence and commercial) could be generated. This will allow for a comprehensive agricultural census to be conducted.read more »

South Africa has a history of exclusion and discrimination on all kinds of grounds, such as race and gender. For this reason we have developed one of the most inclusive constitutions in the world, with a Bill of Rights that specifically refers to equal treatment for all regardless of race, age, disability status, socio-economic status and gender (Section 9). Legislation – such as the Employment Equity Act of 1998 – has facilitated access to formal employment for women, where employers are legally required to work towards more equitable representation based on gender, race and disability. Our National Development Plan 2030 envisions an inclusive society and economy, free from unequal opportunities through capacity building, redress and increased interaction. Through a combination of legislation, monitoring and accountability, significant progress has been made in this regard, especially in the public sector. For example, the percentage of women in senior management positions in the public service increased from 13% in 1998 to 42% in 2017. Gender and gender statistics are not just about women. Whereas the term sex refers to a biological male/female classification, the word gender connotes more than that. It encapsulates social and cultural differences, and also includes how an individual views him-/herself. The term “gender role” relates to society’s concept of how men and women are expected to act. Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism, or the prejudiced beliefs that value males over females or vice versa. Gender inequality refers to the unequal treatment and/or perceptions of inequality of men in relation to women or vice versa. Even though there are instances where discrimination occurs against men, more often than not women are at a disadvantage. This is manifested in, for example, preferential access to work and/or certain jobs for men, unequal pay for equal work, bullying, domination and violence against women, selective abortion of female children, and preferential household expenditure on boys’ education. While great strides have been made towards equality for women, there still remains great challenges; there is a need for continued measurement and policy and programmatic interventions. In addition to monitoring progress with regard to the situation of men and women, an understanding of gender gaps in the following key areas will move the agenda of leaving no one behind forward: Market participation – Equal representation of both sexes in the labour force is important; gender equality allows for an increase in the number of women participating in the work force, which expands the labour force and can contribute towards increased economic productivity and growth. Resource equity – Indicators of men’s and women’s asset ownership and control are important measures used to monitor gender equality. This is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of whether they are male or female. Women’s ownership of and control over resources is one of the key elements of empowerment. Governance – Gender equality in positions of decision-making, as well as political representation, are important not only from an empowerment perspective, but also to ensure that issues affecting women are considered during policy formulation, planning and programme/project implementation. Stats SA publishes a wide range of statistics in various reports and publications, highlighting the challenges experienced by women and men in South Africa as measured through household surveys and censuses conducted by Stats SA, as well as other sources.read more »