Contribution of small-scale food vending to rural livelihoods in Thulamela Municipality of Limpopo Province in South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: Ready to eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors and hawkers, especially in streets and other public places are referred to as small-scale foods. Throughout the world small­ scale food vending is a common means of earning a living. However, in South Africa information on the contribution of small-scale food vending to the livelihoods of those who practice it is inadequate and unreliable. Thus, this study sought to assess the contribution of small-scale food vending to rural livelihoods in Thulamela Municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The perceptions of food vendors on the contribution of vending to livelihoods, challenges and related solutions were identified. Qualitative data were collected through administering of a semi-structured interview guide during key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Thereafter, quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire administered to 126 food vendors. All the questions required responses on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences ((SPSS) version 19.0, 2011. Mean scores and standard deviations for each perception were computed and used for ranking. Frequencies of the same perceptions were also calculated. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis was conducted in order to determine if there were any relationships between perceptions of interest. The study highlighted various ways in which small-scale food vending in Thohoyandou contributed to rural livelihoods. They were of a socio-economic development, family support, growth and development, and service provision nature. Most vendors reported that their businesses contributed towards job creation, public transport fares, fees for education and training, and also purchasing various basic necessities for the household. Its contribution to the reduction of food poverty in rural communities is crucial in development…
abstract: Ready to eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors and hawkers, especially in streets and other public places are referred to as small-scale foods. Throughout the world small­ scale food vending is a common means of earning a living. However, in South Africa information on the contribution of small-scale food vending to the livelihoods of those who practice it is inadequate and unreliable. Thus, this study sought to assess the contribution of small-scale food vending to rural livelihoods in Thulamela Municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The perceptions of food vendors on the contribution of vending to livelihoods, challenges and related solutions were identified. Qualitative data were collected through administering of a semi-structured interview guide during key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Thereafter, quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire administered to 126 food vendors. All the questions required responses on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences ((SPSS) version 19.0, 2011. Mean scores and standard deviations for each perception were computed and used for ranking. Frequencies of the same perceptions were also calculated. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis was conducted in order to determine if there were any relationships between perceptions of interest. The study highlighted various ways in which small-scale food vending in Thohoyandou contributed to rural livelihoods. They were of a socio-economic development, family support, growth and development, and service provision nature. Most vendors reported that their businesses contributed towards job creation, public transport fares, fees for education and training, and also purchasing various basic necessities for the household. Its contribution to the reduction of food poverty in rural communities is crucial in development…
author: Mathaulula, Mushaisano Agnes
language: en
keywords: Livelihoods, Perceptions, Rural, Small-scale food vending, School scale food vendors, UCTD
date published: 2013-10-01
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:57:42Z
provider: University of Venda
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Venda

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11602/103