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.