Doctoral Study Puts Focus on Female-Owned Agricultural Cooperatives

Doctoral Study Puts Focus on Female-Owned Agricultural Cooperatives

The quest for the economic emancipation of women in the agricultural sector is what motivated eThekwini Municipality horticulturist Dr Silindile Ndlovu to complete a Doctor of Business Administration degree at UKZN.

A Conceptual Framework to Address Challenges Facing Female-Owned Agricultural Cooperatives in Pietermaritzburg was the title of Ndlovu’s thesis supervised by Professor Thokozani Nzimakwe.

Ndlovu’s research study sought to analyse the challenges encountered by female small to medium co-operatives in the agricultural sector in Pietermaritzburg. The findings revealed that lack of access to sufficient funding and productive land for expansion, inadequate skills, and poor value chain organisation are major obstacles facing female entrepreneurs in the sector.

On the participation of women in agribusiness she said: ‘Females have been historically discriminated against for many years, I therefore wanted to understand the challenges they face in the green sector and provide possible business concepts and possible solutions to the problem.’ Hence, Ndlovu’s study developed a conceptual framework for inclusive growth and for promoting female entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

An advocate for the empowerment of women in the agricultural sector, Ndlovu calls on all women to take advantage of opportunities presented and to be the drivers of change by creating a new narrative for female farmers.

Ndlovu is a Senior Manager in the Parks Recreation Unit at eThekwini Municipality. Her responsibilities include overseeing the development and maintenance of recreational spaces such as sport fields and parks, horticulture and environmental management services, infrastructure rehabilitation, facilities management, human capital and other municipal resources within the inland region of the City.

She says the knowledge acquired from her doctoral studies has boosted her business administration skills and she is now confident about delivering new innovative solutions to enhance many opportunities for her teams.

While the doctoral journey was rewarding and fulfilling, Ndlovu says it wasn’t a walk in the park. Fortunately, her desire to find solutions for women in the green sector kept her focused on the end goal.

She aims to share the findings of her research with the sector. ‘I will continue to study new ways to develop, preserve and promote biodiversity management for it will do the same for all living species.’

Words: Hazel Langa

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini