2.4.1 Questionnaire development and administration
The questionnaire was pilot tested among 12 smallholder farmers from a
community in Northwest Province, South Africa prior to finalization and
administration in this study. The final questionnaire comprised a total
of 21 questions divided into the following four sections: owner
demographics, herd demographics, animal management and animal movement
and losses. A combination of open and closed questions was used. For
some questions, respondents were asked to choose only the most
applicable answer, while for others they could select all appropriate
options.
A semi-structured interview was administered in Xitsonga language using
a trained interviewer. Smallholder goat farmers were individually
recruited on a voluntary basis as they appeared for the weekly livestock
inspection at the dip tanks. Respondents were enrolled after being
informed of the study purpose. The interview session lasted
approximately 30 minutes with each respondent. Interviews were conducted
at the communal dip tanks, which is the usual meeting point for all
farmers during the weekly livestock inspections. Global positioning
system (GPS) coordinates for all study locations were captured using a
handheld device (Garmin eTrex® 10, USA) at the time of
the interview.