scholarly journals Innovative Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Practices in the Smallholder Farming System of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6848
Author(s):  
Ajuruchukwu Obi ◽  
Okuhle Maya
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Innovative Climate ◽  
Smart Agriculture

Climate change is easily the most serious human and environmental crisis of the present generation. While awareness of the existence and consequences of climate change is becoming widespread, the specific effects on agriculture and the extent to which innovative climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices are being adopted remain unclear. This study was conducted in three local municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa to determine the patterns of smallholder choice of alternative climate-smart agricultural practices and the factors affecting such choices. It was particularly crucial to investigate why adaptation of CSA practices continues to be lower than expectation despite awareness of their benefits, thus highlighting the social and cultural limits to adaptation to climate change. A total of 210 households were enumerated on the basis of their involvement in crop and livestock farming. The data were analyzed by means of multinomial logistic model, which was applied separately to individual local municipality data sets and a combined provincial data set, and it was revealed that most farmers were not being sufficiently motivated to move from established practices to adopt new CSA practices. The most influential factors in the decision process as to what CSA practice to adopt were primary occupation, farming system type, household size, age and membership of farmer groups. It seemed that asset fixity constrained farmers to continue with existing practices rather than shift to new, more profitable practices, a situation that can be resolved by external intervention by government agencies and/or other entities. Awareness creation targeting remote rural areas as well as institutions to ease farmers’ access to credit and information will contribute to higher adoption rates, which are likely to lead to enhanced food security and standard of living for rural dwellers as their agricultural production and productivity improve.

scholarly journals Climate change, household vulnerability and smart agriculture: The case of two South African provinces

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mkhululi Ncube ◽  
Nomonde Madubula ◽  
Hlami Ngwenya ◽  
Nkulumo Zinyengere ◽  
Leocadia Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Household Vulnerability ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
The Impact

The impact of climate-change disasters poses significant challenges for South Africa, especially for vulnerable rural households. In South Africa, the impact of climate change at the local level, especially in rural areas, is not well known. Rural households are generally poor and lack resources to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change, but the extent of their vulnerability is largely not understood. This study looked at the micro-level impact of climate change, evaluated household vulnerability and assessed alternative adaptation strategies in rural areas. The results indicate that climate change will hit crop yields hard and that households with less capital are most vulnerable. These households consist of the elderly and households headed by females. Households that receive remittances or extension services or participate in formal savings schemes in villages are less vulnerable. The results suggest that households need to move towards climate-smart agriculture, which combines adaptation, mitigation and productivity growth.

scholarly journals Households’ Adaptation to Climate Change Hazards in Semi-Arid Region of Mopani, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Musa Yusuf Jimoh ◽  
Peter Bikam ◽  
Hector Chikoore ◽  
James Chakwizira ◽  
Emaculate Ingwani
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Arid Region ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Semi Arid Region ◽  
Semi Arid

New climate change realities are no longer a doubtful phenomenon, but realities to adapt and live with. Its cogent impacts and implications’ dispositions pervade all sectors and geographic scales, making no sector or geographic area immune, nor any human endeavor spared from the associated adversities. The consequences of this emerging climate order are already manifesting, with narratives written beyond the alterations in temperature and precipitation, particularly in urban areas of semi-arid region of South Africa. The need to better understand and respond to the new climate change realities is particularly acute in this region. Thus, this chapter highlights the concept of adaptation as a fundamental component of managing climate change vulnerability, through identifying and providing insight in respect of some available climate change adaptation models and how these models fit within the premises and programmes of sustainable adaptation in semi-arid region with gaps identification. The efforts of governments within the global context are examined with households’ individual adaptation strategies to climate change hazards in Mopani District. The factors hindering the success of sustainable urban climate change adaptation strategic framework and urban households’ adaptive systems are also subjects of debate and constitute the concluding remarks to the chapter.

Mutation breeding of sorghum to support climate-smart agriculture.

2021 ◽  
pp. 120-126
Author(s):  
Soeranto Human ◽  
Sihono ◽  
Wijaya Murti Indriatama
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Mutation Breeding ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Prolonged Drought ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
Sorghum Genotypes

Abstract Global climate change effects in agricultural fields often increase plant stress. For mitigating the negative effects of climate change, climate-smart agricultural policies should be developed, for example through the improvement of crop adaptability, productivity and quality in environments impacted by climate change. Attempts to increase crop genetic variability must be sought to aid in mitigating adverse consequences of climate change. For that purpose, mutation breeding plays an important role since it can increase genetic variation of important crops. By selecting desired mutant genotypes, the plant breeder can advance their germplasm by progressing lines with good adaptability, high productivity and quality under adverse conditions. For Indonesia, significant adverse impacts of climate change have appeared in some agricultural regions, such as prolonged drought problems in the east. To face the worsening conditions brought about by climate change and variability, a crop was sought that would require less agricultural input, being drought tolerant, having good adaptability and with high economic value. The choice fell on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). In certain areas sorghum is recognized as a source of food, feed and fuel. Mutation breeding of sorghum has been conducted at the Centre for Isotopes and Radiation Application (CIRA) of the National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN). Sorghum mutation breeding is relevant to the national programme on food and energy diversification to support food and energy security in the country. The breeding objectives are to improve sorghum genotypes for improved yield and quality, and with tolerance to adverse conditions brought about by climate change, especially prolonged drought. Three sorghum mutant varieties have now been obtained and are being developed further by stakeholders. Sorghum cultivation in Indonesia has made significant impacts on mitigating the effects of climate change and supporting the food and energy diversification programme for maintaining food and energy security in the country. It has also promoted economic growth in rural areas impacted by climate change.

Gendered agrobiodiversity management and adaptation to climate change: differentiated strategies in two marginal rural areas of India

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Ravera ◽  
Victoria Reyes-García ◽  
Unai Pascual ◽  
Adam G. Drucker ◽  
David Tarrasón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Differentiated Strategies

Climate Change Communication in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Levi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
English Language ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Environmental Ngos ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
History Of ◽  
Apartheid Regime

In South Africa, one of the world’s most carbon-intense economies and a society marked by gross social inequality, climate change is not a popular topic. As of 2018, more than half of the population had never heard of climate change and only one in five South Africans believed that human activities lead to global warming. The communication of climate change in South Africa is influenced by the notorious inequality that the country still suffers decades after the apartheid regime has ended. Few South Africans are able to live a life in prosperity and security on par with life in industrialized nations, more than half of the population are considered poor, almost a third of the population are chronically unemployed, and many work for carbon-intense industries. The country’s prevalent inequality and its economic dependency on coal influence the way climate change is communicated and interpreted. Environmental NGOs, journalists, and scientists frequently set communication cues on climate change. However, their messages are largely circulated in newspapers catering to an urban and educated readership and resonate less with people living in rural areas or those who rely on employment in the coal and mining sector. In South Africa, most people hear about climate change in mass media, but journalists frequently lack the resources and training necessary to investigate climate change stories or to interact with local scientists. Environmental NGOs, in contrast, provide easily comprehendible communication cues for unspecialized journalists and often share similar worldviews and demographic backgrounds with dedicated environmental reporters. However, because Black South Africans are underrepresented among environmental journalists and because many affordable local newspapers cannot afford to hire specialized reporters, climate change is covered mostly in high-quality English-language outlets to which most people have no access. Moreover, environmental NGOs are frequently accused of prioritizing abstract ecological concerns, like climate change, over the interests of the South Africans workers, a sentiment that is informed by the country’s history of racial injustice. Counterintuitively, living in a coal area is associated with higher climate change awareness and belief, likely because coal companies and trade unions conduct awareness-raising programs among their workers and because many residents experience the adverse impact of coal mining and combustion firsthand.

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