A Tobit application on the determinants of income diversification by rural inland fishing households in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province

Several authors have outlined that the diversification of income helps mitigate financial shocks and food insecurity. Similarly, inland fisheries have a substantial impact on impoverished communities in South Africa due to their easy access and are a source of food, financial safety net and revenue for fishing households. As a result, the study aimed to investigate the determinants of income diversification by rural inland fishing households in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province. Judgemental and snowball sampling procedures were used to select a sample size of sixty-two fishing households. As data analysis tools, descriptive statistics, mean income share, Simpson Index Diversity (SID), and the Tobit model were used. Males outnumbered females in inland fisheries activities, according to the descriptive findings. Furthermore, selling unprocessed fish made a significant contribution to the overall income of the household. Marital status, reasons for participating in fisheries, engagement in agricultural activities type of inland fisheries, the average selling price of fish, and the total amount of fish harvested per year were identified as determinants of income diversification by rural inland fishing households. As a result, through entrepreneurial development, the extent of income diversification by rural households involved in inland fisheries should be increased through easy access to the market.