Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.3 Research Methodology
3.3.1 Sampling
51 received food aid hence food relief has become a normal source of food in particular for the very poor and poor wealth groups. This is an indication of chronic vulnerability that may require interventions aimed at mitigating the long term effects of drought (VAC 2010:13)
Judging from the population of Swaziland which is about a million the local area of Mpaka has a significant population which needs empowering in other economic activities that can give them a sustainable livelihood considering the vulnerability of the area to drought and also the closure of the coal mine which used to be a major economic activity. This is the setting of the area in general which is what sparked a lot of interest for the study considering the general need of the area coupled with the promise of hope brought by the biofuels industry and the project of growing Jatropha curcas.
52 researcher used both the list of farmers listed by D1 Oils and snowballing. The other stakeholders were given by their various organisations as the people responsible for the project or the department under which the project falls.
There are 42 farmers from Mpaka who are listed in the D1 Oils list of farmers for Jatropha curcas. 22 out of the 42 that are listed have signed the contract with D1 Oils, 5 have not signed whilst for the remaining15 farmers nothing is said about their signing or not signing of the contract. The researcher interviewed 10 of the 22 farmers who already have a contract with D1 Oils; the researcher interviewed 1 household which had mature jatropha trees which were initially not grown for biofuels but had been contracted to join in the program. One of the listed farmers, a lady, in whose home the jatropha trees were also already big and bearing fruit, was deceased. On the field snowballing was used because it was discovered that some of the farmers that were listed went as far as getting listed but either never got to grow the plant or they gave up after the first failed attempt when their plants died.
Other stakeholders that were identified and interviewed were the constituency Headman of the area, officers from the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA), an officer from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, an officer from D1 Oils administrative, the extension officer from D1 Oils.
One of the stakeholders that were identified was the Yonge Nawe Environmental group (Friends of the Earth) but the researcher could not have contact with any of their officers as their office had been closed for failing to pay rent. However the researcher was able to obtain a copy of a report on growing of Jatropha curcas in Swaziland which the group in collaboration with others had presented for the Smart Partnership dialogue in 2008 which reliably contained their stand concerning the activity.
The constituency headman was interviewed to provide information on the history of farming Jatropha curcas in his area and also provide the data on how they as authorities of the area have experienced the growing of Jatropha curcas and how they feel it has influenced the community in general. Provide data on their role as elders of the area, policy and structures that are involved in the activity and are available for the households to utilize.
53 The field extension officer from D1 Oils is a representative of the proponent and investor in the project of farming Jatropha curcas. The contacts of this officer were provided by the general manager of the project of growing Jatropha curcas in Swaziland from the D1 head office which was in Mbabane during a contacts establishment session. D1 Oils Swaziland had opted to work with farmers by dividing them according to their regions and each region was assigned its own field officer. The officer whose contacts were given to the researcher was the one responsible for the region under which Mpaka the study area falls. It was important for the research to find ’ rms of the people among which he is investing apart from the obvious of making as much profit as is possible. The researcher wanted to find out how the investor had thought the activity would improve the livelihood of the people who are involved; what activities and provisions are there, that empower the people in terms of accessing information and any other forms of support that is made available to the grower. The researcher also wanted to discuss aspects of the agreement that the farmer and D1 Oils sign and the implications for each of the parties involved and what its implications are as far from the proponent’ . This interview was done before the proper fieldwork when still making contacts, such that although notes were taken it was completely unstructured. However it was useful in that it provided the researcher with almost all the information in the form of the brochures for the company, lists of prospective farmers, their marketing tools and a copy of the agreement form.
Officers from Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) also formed part of the sample. SIPA is the department of the Ministry of Enterprise and Employment (Commerce) which facilitated the investment of D1 Oils Swaziland in the project of growing Jatropha curcas for biofuels. The officers included the officer who had been responsible for the project of growing Jatropha curcas in the country and the officer responsible for foreign investments. The farming of Jatropha curcas in Swaziland was a joint venture of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Enterprise and Employment (Commerce) together with D1 Oils an international company. These interviewees were to provide the rese ’ and view of the activity and also allow for gathering data on the policies and structures that the government had put in place to safeguard the households from being further impoverished by such an activity but instead are empowered so that their livelihoods become more sustainable.
54 An officer from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy was also interviewed as that is the Ministry that was tasked to formulate and draw the National Strategy for biofuels and Action Plan in the Country. This was an officer whose department was responsible for Renewable Energy.