The nature of agritourism in the Buffalo City Municipality

Abstract

In the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, there is a need to supplement income for farmers and to create employment to assist in the alleviation of poverty. Agritourism has been identified as an opportunity for growth and development as it has the potential to meet those needs. A study was undertaken to evaluate the nature of Agritourism in Buffalo City Municipality. The research was undertaken to investigate the characteristics of farms; demographic information of farmers; details of the type of farming and/or other relevant income-generating activities that are being undertaken; and the resources available. The study also included research into the activities that farmers would like to introduce on to farms; resources required and obstacles preventing farmers from developing Agritourism; and assistance required in developing Agritourism knowledge and skills. Data was collected from farmers in BCM. Non-probability, purposive, snowball sampling was used due to the lack of an adequate database of rural land ownership in BCM although this did not lead to a sample that was representative of the population, it was the most suitable for the study. Thirty-six farmers were visited by fieldworkers who administered structured questionnaires. The data was then analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).