Insights into the drivers and impact of climate change and climate change adaptation in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: the case of Amathole District Municipality
- Authors: Gwala, Lindokuhle
- Date: 2022-11
- Subjects: Climatic changes , Climatic factors , Global environmental change
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27832 , vital:69945
- Description: Climate change is a threat to communal livestock production, causing increases in the rate and intensity of droughts, floods, pests and diseases, and thus subjecting communal livestock production to vulnerability. Communal farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture and are usually too poorly resourced to cope with the frequency of climate-related events that may be expected in the future. Response and adaptation is vital to ensure the sustainability of livestock production, particularly since it is the main source of survival in communal areas. The Eastern Cape Provincial Policy on Climate Change was introduced in 2010 to facilitate a coordinated approach that assists farmers to respond, adapt and mitigate climate change. The study examines the implementation of the policy to identify farmers’ perceptions of the response rate prior to, during and after climate change disasters. In addition, the study establishes the characteristics of livestock production in the study area, seeking to ascertain how communal livestock farmers CLFs are adapting their practices to ensure sustainable livestock production in the face of climate change. In order to make informed decisions on coping strategies, farmers require access to information on climate change. The study therefore examines the communication channels used by farmers to access such information. Since food security is under threat, the study also assesses the effects of climate change on food security among the CLFs. Multi stage sampling was used to select 388 communal livestock farmers in three local municipalities in Amathole District Municipality. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in five communities randomly selected in the three local municipalities, with data collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, principal component analysis and regression methods were used to analyse the data. The study reveals that communal livestock farmers perceive a poor response rate from extension services before, during and after disasters, and that they have poor access to support materials. All of the respondents practised uncontrolled breeding, attributed to a lack of infrastructure such as fencing. Most farmers kept cattle for income generation. The major constraints of cattle production were diseases and pests. CLFs employed dipping, rotational grazing, water tanks, veld burning and the sale of animals as the main strategies to cope with climate change. CLFs access climate change information through multiple channels. The main sources were other farmers and media such as radio and television, although language barriers hampered full understanding of information conveyed about climate chnage. Farmer-to-farmer contact was a central aspect of the CLFs’ lives that could be better employed in the dissemination of climate change information. The results suggest a positive relationship between diversity of species kept and food security. Assets, the social safety net (mainly grants) and adaptive capacity indicators positively and significantly impacted households’ resilience to food insecurity. The study recommends that the capacity of communal livestock farmers on effective mitigating strategies be improved, making use of mass media; that more work be done by extension services to prepare farmers for adverse events and that relief materials disseminated during periods of disaster be tagged “national emergency” to speed up distribution and use. There is an urgent need for adequate and timely provision of climate change information that will help CLFs to make more effective use of their resources in the face of climate change. Agricultural extension services should address challenges associated with breeding practices, disaster response and adult illiteracy to promote better adaptive capacity and ensure food security among this vulnerable cohort. , Thesis (MSci) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Gwala, Lindokuhle
- Date: 2022-11
- Subjects: Climatic changes , Climatic factors , Global environmental change
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27832 , vital:69945
- Description: Climate change is a threat to communal livestock production, causing increases in the rate and intensity of droughts, floods, pests and diseases, and thus subjecting communal livestock production to vulnerability. Communal farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture and are usually too poorly resourced to cope with the frequency of climate-related events that may be expected in the future. Response and adaptation is vital to ensure the sustainability of livestock production, particularly since it is the main source of survival in communal areas. The Eastern Cape Provincial Policy on Climate Change was introduced in 2010 to facilitate a coordinated approach that assists farmers to respond, adapt and mitigate climate change. The study examines the implementation of the policy to identify farmers’ perceptions of the response rate prior to, during and after climate change disasters. In addition, the study establishes the characteristics of livestock production in the study area, seeking to ascertain how communal livestock farmers CLFs are adapting their practices to ensure sustainable livestock production in the face of climate change. In order to make informed decisions on coping strategies, farmers require access to information on climate change. The study therefore examines the communication channels used by farmers to access such information. Since food security is under threat, the study also assesses the effects of climate change on food security among the CLFs. Multi stage sampling was used to select 388 communal livestock farmers in three local municipalities in Amathole District Municipality. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in five communities randomly selected in the three local municipalities, with data collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, principal component analysis and regression methods were used to analyse the data. The study reveals that communal livestock farmers perceive a poor response rate from extension services before, during and after disasters, and that they have poor access to support materials. All of the respondents practised uncontrolled breeding, attributed to a lack of infrastructure such as fencing. Most farmers kept cattle for income generation. The major constraints of cattle production were diseases and pests. CLFs employed dipping, rotational grazing, water tanks, veld burning and the sale of animals as the main strategies to cope with climate change. CLFs access climate change information through multiple channels. The main sources were other farmers and media such as radio and television, although language barriers hampered full understanding of information conveyed about climate chnage. Farmer-to-farmer contact was a central aspect of the CLFs’ lives that could be better employed in the dissemination of climate change information. The results suggest a positive relationship between diversity of species kept and food security. Assets, the social safety net (mainly grants) and adaptive capacity indicators positively and significantly impacted households’ resilience to food insecurity. The study recommends that the capacity of communal livestock farmers on effective mitigating strategies be improved, making use of mass media; that more work be done by extension services to prepare farmers for adverse events and that relief materials disseminated during periods of disaster be tagged “national emergency” to speed up distribution and use. There is an urgent need for adequate and timely provision of climate change information that will help CLFs to make more effective use of their resources in the face of climate change. Agricultural extension services should address challenges associated with breeding practices, disaster response and adult illiteracy to promote better adaptive capacity and ensure food security among this vulnerable cohort. , Thesis (MSci) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2022
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Effects of climatic variability on maize productivity in South Africa from 1937-2018
- Awum Awum, Rudin https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-8740-6163
- Authors: Awum Awum, Rudin https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-8740-6163
- Date: 2022-03
- Subjects: Crops and climate , Climatic changes
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21410 , vital:48576
- Description: Climate is an important factor in agricultural production. The world is facing climate change and variability, which result in high temperatures, low rainfall patterns, shortage of water and persistent droughts. Climate change poses a significant threat to South Africa’s water resources, food security, health, infrastructure, ecosystem services and biodiversity. Negative impacts of climate variability on agriculture, especially on maize the staple crop, will worsen the food security status of the nation as most of South Africa’s maize crop is produced in summer and highly depends on rainfall. This study attempted to assess the impact of climate on maize production in South Africa using secondary time series data for the period 1937 to 2018. Rainfall and temperature were used as proxies for climate variability. The Granger Causality Model was used to examine the causal linkages between climatic variables (temperature or rainfall) and maize output in South Africa for the study period. The major outcome of the analysis was that there is a two-way causal relationship between maize production and temperature. The results also indicated that there is uni-directional causality between maize yield and rainfall. Furthermore, the Variance Decomposition Model was used to forecast the relationship between climatic elements and maize production in South Africa. The result showed that all variables have an effect on maize yield, with temperature having the least effect. The last objective of the study was to profile the maize output trend for the period from 1937 to 2018. The main findings from the analysis indicate that maize production in South Africa has a general upward slope. The study recommends that the government should intensify the provision of irrigation systems for the farmers in the most vulnerable areas to mitigate the climate change. Government should also embark on massive campaigns using a variety of media to create the needed public awareness on climate change and its impact on food security. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Awum Awum, Rudin https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-8740-6163
- Date: 2022-03
- Subjects: Crops and climate , Climatic changes
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21410 , vital:48576
- Description: Climate is an important factor in agricultural production. The world is facing climate change and variability, which result in high temperatures, low rainfall patterns, shortage of water and persistent droughts. Climate change poses a significant threat to South Africa’s water resources, food security, health, infrastructure, ecosystem services and biodiversity. Negative impacts of climate variability on agriculture, especially on maize the staple crop, will worsen the food security status of the nation as most of South Africa’s maize crop is produced in summer and highly depends on rainfall. This study attempted to assess the impact of climate on maize production in South Africa using secondary time series data for the period 1937 to 2018. Rainfall and temperature were used as proxies for climate variability. The Granger Causality Model was used to examine the causal linkages between climatic variables (temperature or rainfall) and maize output in South Africa for the study period. The major outcome of the analysis was that there is a two-way causal relationship between maize production and temperature. The results also indicated that there is uni-directional causality between maize yield and rainfall. Furthermore, the Variance Decomposition Model was used to forecast the relationship between climatic elements and maize production in South Africa. The result showed that all variables have an effect on maize yield, with temperature having the least effect. The last objective of the study was to profile the maize output trend for the period from 1937 to 2018. The main findings from the analysis indicate that maize production in South Africa has a general upward slope. The study recommends that the government should intensify the provision of irrigation systems for the farmers in the most vulnerable areas to mitigate the climate change. Government should also embark on massive campaigns using a variety of media to create the needed public awareness on climate change and its impact on food security. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2022
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Production performance, socioeconomic benefits, and agricultural extension services support of scavenging chicken farmers in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
- Fentele, Ziphozethu https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-7939-2964
- Authors: Fentele, Ziphozethu https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-7939-2964
- Date: 2021-03
- Subjects: Broilers (Chickens) , Poultry -- Breeding
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21490 , vital:48751
- Description: Scavenging chicken production plays a significant role in the lives of rural farmers as it ensures food security by providing eggs and meat to rural farmers almost in all developing nations. Rural farmers not only consume scavenging chickens, they also sell live chickens to customers to generate immediate income and are able to acquire other products using the money from the sales. The purpose of this study was to investigate production performance, socioeconomic benefits, and agricultural extension services support for scavenging chicken producers. The study was carried out in eight villages in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This study employed the multistage sampling technique for data collection from respondents between October and November 2018. The study used descriptive statistics, frequencies, percentages and multiple linear regression models to analyse quantitative data that was collected from a survey of 161 rural farmers that rear scavenging chickens. The results reveal that the majority (68.3percent) of the respondents in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality were women, while 52percent were married. Forty-eight percent of the respondents had attained high school education. The majority (53.4percent) relied on social grants and a further majority (68.3percent) had 1 to 10 years of experience in scavenging chicken production. The majority (84.5percent) of the households had between 1 and 50 chickens, with an overwhelming majority (95percent) practising free range system. Most (74.5percent) of the chicken houses were built with scrap material found within the community. The supplementary feed that was mostly offered to scavenging chickens was maize. The majority (95.7percent) of respondents experienced disease outbreaks, the most dominant of which was the Newcastle disease. Most (94.4percent) of the farmers offered a variety of indigenous medicines, mainly Aloe Ferrox. In addition, the majority (88.8percent) of the respondents experienced predation challenges The primary purpose of rearing scavenging chickens was consumption. Chickens were slaughtered for home consumption while forty-two percent at most. Most (50.9percent) of the respondents indicated that they offered chickens as gifts and as friendly gestures. The majority (82.0percent) indicated that they did not use chicken for any cultural rituals. A large (88.2percent) number of the respondents felt food secured as a result of rearing scavenging chickens, as they access products such as eggs and meat. The majority (98.8percent) of the respondents had never received any form of training from agricultural extension services. The results of the multiple linear regression model revealed that independent variables such as number of chickens, type of cockerels, number of hens, type of housing, type of training and cost of trainings had strong statistical significant values (p<0.001) zero-order correlation with production performance,while age and gender had statistical significant values at (p<0.05) and (p<0.010). For the improvement of the production performance of scavenging chicken production of rural farmers, the study recommends massive campaign among the farmers by agricultural extension services to create awareness on the dangers inherent in the use of unorthodox approaches to treating pests and diseases in scavenging chicken. Scavenging chicken farmers could be supported with simple technologies that are affordable on housing, medication and feed supplements. Training should focus on housing, disease management and feeding of scavenging chickens. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
- Full Text:
- Authors: Fentele, Ziphozethu https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-7939-2964
- Date: 2021-03
- Subjects: Broilers (Chickens) , Poultry -- Breeding
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21490 , vital:48751
- Description: Scavenging chicken production plays a significant role in the lives of rural farmers as it ensures food security by providing eggs and meat to rural farmers almost in all developing nations. Rural farmers not only consume scavenging chickens, they also sell live chickens to customers to generate immediate income and are able to acquire other products using the money from the sales. The purpose of this study was to investigate production performance, socioeconomic benefits, and agricultural extension services support for scavenging chicken producers. The study was carried out in eight villages in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This study employed the multistage sampling technique for data collection from respondents between October and November 2018. The study used descriptive statistics, frequencies, percentages and multiple linear regression models to analyse quantitative data that was collected from a survey of 161 rural farmers that rear scavenging chickens. The results reveal that the majority (68.3percent) of the respondents in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality were women, while 52percent were married. Forty-eight percent of the respondents had attained high school education. The majority (53.4percent) relied on social grants and a further majority (68.3percent) had 1 to 10 years of experience in scavenging chicken production. The majority (84.5percent) of the households had between 1 and 50 chickens, with an overwhelming majority (95percent) practising free range system. Most (74.5percent) of the chicken houses were built with scrap material found within the community. The supplementary feed that was mostly offered to scavenging chickens was maize. The majority (95.7percent) of respondents experienced disease outbreaks, the most dominant of which was the Newcastle disease. Most (94.4percent) of the farmers offered a variety of indigenous medicines, mainly Aloe Ferrox. In addition, the majority (88.8percent) of the respondents experienced predation challenges The primary purpose of rearing scavenging chickens was consumption. Chickens were slaughtered for home consumption while forty-two percent at most. Most (50.9percent) of the respondents indicated that they offered chickens as gifts and as friendly gestures. The majority (82.0percent) indicated that they did not use chicken for any cultural rituals. A large (88.2percent) number of the respondents felt food secured as a result of rearing scavenging chickens, as they access products such as eggs and meat. The majority (98.8percent) of the respondents had never received any form of training from agricultural extension services. The results of the multiple linear regression model revealed that independent variables such as number of chickens, type of cockerels, number of hens, type of housing, type of training and cost of trainings had strong statistical significant values (p<0.001) zero-order correlation with production performance,while age and gender had statistical significant values at (p<0.05) and (p<0.010). For the improvement of the production performance of scavenging chicken production of rural farmers, the study recommends massive campaign among the farmers by agricultural extension services to create awareness on the dangers inherent in the use of unorthodox approaches to treating pests and diseases in scavenging chicken. Scavenging chicken farmers could be supported with simple technologies that are affordable on housing, medication and feed supplements. Training should focus on housing, disease management and feeding of scavenging chickens. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
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Agricultural co-operative societies and challenges of sustainability: The case of vegetable cooperative societies in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
- Sohuma, Anathi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6260-6428
- Authors: Sohuma, Anathi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6260-6428
- Date: 2020-06
- Subjects: Agriculture, Cooperative , Sustainable development
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21422 , vital:48601
- Description: The government has initiated various support programmes to assist agricultural co-operative societies to remain viable; however, many cooperatives continue to flounder while some have collapsed. This dissertation assesses the challenges of sustainability facing agricultural co-operative societies gushing vegetable co-operative societies in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province as a point of departure. The study used the corporate sustainability theory to investigate the extent to which co-operative societies are able to operate sustainably. The data for this study were collected through document reviews and non-scheduled structured interviews which were conducted through a questionnaire. The board of directors were sampled purposively. The research adopted stratified sampling to select co-operative members that participated in the study. This research made use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 software to analyse data. The outcomes provide an understanding of the sustainability challenges that face vegetable co-operative societies. The results show that most of the co-operative societies rely on members for daily farm management. With regards to management, co-operative societies reveal that they keep sales, production and meeting record books. Furthermore, most co-operatives specified that they received training for financial and production record-keeping. It was found that some cooperatives have had training only once since their establishment. However, fewer co-operatives reported that keeping records is still challenging for them due to lack of training and little profit made from sales. The findings suggest that co-operative societies can function well and become sustainable when there is good management and cooperation amongst members. Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that the government and co-operative stakeholders should play a greater part in ensuring co-operative societies are developed and managed in a way that will make them sustainable without relying solely on government support. For example, the government and stakeholders can establish and enforce policies that encourage co-operatives to invest in member capability programmes that would equip farmers understanding, adoption and use of co-operative values and principles. This would help in reducing challenges that occur within co-operatives and promote cohesion and commitment within co-operatives. The role of extension services towards the sustainability of the co-operatives is crucial. The majority of the co-operatives indicated that there is some level of interaction between the co-operatives and extension personnel albeit, there is a need to improve the frequency of extension visits, training and follow-up appointments. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2020
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sohuma, Anathi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6260-6428
- Date: 2020-06
- Subjects: Agriculture, Cooperative , Sustainable development
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21422 , vital:48601
- Description: The government has initiated various support programmes to assist agricultural co-operative societies to remain viable; however, many cooperatives continue to flounder while some have collapsed. This dissertation assesses the challenges of sustainability facing agricultural co-operative societies gushing vegetable co-operative societies in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province as a point of departure. The study used the corporate sustainability theory to investigate the extent to which co-operative societies are able to operate sustainably. The data for this study were collected through document reviews and non-scheduled structured interviews which were conducted through a questionnaire. The board of directors were sampled purposively. The research adopted stratified sampling to select co-operative members that participated in the study. This research made use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 software to analyse data. The outcomes provide an understanding of the sustainability challenges that face vegetable co-operative societies. The results show that most of the co-operative societies rely on members for daily farm management. With regards to management, co-operative societies reveal that they keep sales, production and meeting record books. Furthermore, most co-operatives specified that they received training for financial and production record-keeping. It was found that some cooperatives have had training only once since their establishment. However, fewer co-operatives reported that keeping records is still challenging for them due to lack of training and little profit made from sales. The findings suggest that co-operative societies can function well and become sustainable when there is good management and cooperation amongst members. Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that the government and co-operative stakeholders should play a greater part in ensuring co-operative societies are developed and managed in a way that will make them sustainable without relying solely on government support. For example, the government and stakeholders can establish and enforce policies that encourage co-operatives to invest in member capability programmes that would equip farmers understanding, adoption and use of co-operative values and principles. This would help in reducing challenges that occur within co-operatives and promote cohesion and commitment within co-operatives. The role of extension services towards the sustainability of the co-operatives is crucial. The majority of the co-operatives indicated that there is some level of interaction between the co-operatives and extension personnel albeit, there is a need to improve the frequency of extension visits, training and follow-up appointments. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2020
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