Assessment of human capital status in universities offering agriculture in Limpopo province, South Africa

Abstract

This assesses the disparities of human capital in agricultural departments at the universities in Limpopo Province, South Africa. From the two universities in the study area, a sample of 110 lecturers and researchers was selected for this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The study findings showed that married individuals were more productive in terms of research outputs than single or unmarried individuals. Also, students’ throughput in either group and merged data sets by gender revealed that there was no significant difference in research output and students’ throughput in both universities. On subjecting the data to principal component analysis, five components (challenges) were identified - resources and infrastructure, financial, personal, research productivity and confidential and marital issues. The paper indicates that collaboration among married and other staff members is necessary to boost the research capacity of younger researchers. Enhanced funding for research and infrastructure should be made a priority by the university management, government, and private stakeholders to improve their offerings and reputations.