Towards Sustainable Livelihoods: A Case Study in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: A Multi-Criteria Analysis Approach

In low-incomeincome rural areas, almost two-thirds of the world's poor live and rely on subsistence farmingsubsistence farming and other natural resourcesnatural resources for their survival. EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship and household livelihood methods can help to enhance the standard of life of the poor, marginalized, and unemployedunemployed given the extremely high rate of unemploymentunemployment, particularly in developing countriesdeveloping countries. South AfricaSouth Africa is battling persistently high levels of inequality; a high unemployment rate; and severe povertypoverty levels. Hence, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) plays a significant role in supporting the agricultural sector in South Africa through the development of a sustainable approach to agricultural rural developmentrural development. The book chapter aimed to present a revised sustainable livelihood modelsustainable livelihood model and how it is integrated within the approaches applied to assist communities in establishing sustainable livelihoodslivelihoods. The following objectives were followed: To identify the household's socio-economicsocio-economic and sustainability characteristics, to determine the food security status, and to recommend an improved sustainable livelihood model for the households. These objectives were met using the descriptive statisticsstatistics and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) Approach. The latter is preferred when dealing with complex decisions that involve multiple and conflicting objectives. Identifying objectives and indicators provides enough information for decision-makers to determine the overall performance of a particular policy. The study analyzed a total of 75 purposively selected vegetablevegetable garden households from six of the Eastern Cape Districts: Alfred Nzo (32), Amathole (13), Chris Hani (15), Joe Gqabi (7), OR Tambo (4), and Sarah Baartman (4). Quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed to elicit information for the study. The results confirmed that the vegetable gardens were run by young women who were in the majority at (54%) Amathole, (87%) Chris Hani, and (100%) OR Tambo while Amathole (46%) and Chris Hani (13%) were male. The food security status in the province was on average as a moderate number of households were food insecure, that is, (66%) Alfred Nzo, (54%) Amathole, (67%) Chris Hani, (71%) Joe Gqabi, (50%) OR Tambo and notably, all households residing in Sarah Baartman were food secure. The results further established that through the Agricultural Para-Professional DevelopmentDevelopment Programme (APPDP) households were able to generate income, feed their families, and support other socialsocial initiatives such as orphanages and other families in the community. The Sustainable Livelihood Model is also intended to promote environmental sustainability by ensuring that vegetable productionproduction increases are achieved on less landland, using less fertilizer, water, and pesticides. It can be concluded that the ARC Sustainability Model has significant scope and potential and should continue to increase in scale over time. Emphasis should be focused on the potential for job creation, but also for supporting enterprise development, value chain, and Agri-parks development.