Adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture by Communal Livestock Farmers in South Africa

Abstract

The importance of adopting modern technology in agriculture, especially in a changing climate, cannot be underestimated in Africa. The aim of this review was to highlight the past and the status quo with regard to the adoption of current farming practices in relation to climate-smart agriculture (CSA) by communal livestock farmers in South Africa. The impact of animal agriculture on climate change was also deliberated. Different internet search engines and databases, like Google Scholar, EBSCO Host, Science Direct, etc., and peer-reviewed articles, books, and government and academic reports were employed to provide information to adequately address the aim. Keywords like “the impact of climate smart agriculture on communal livestock farmers”, “communal livestock in South Africa”, “communal farming and technology adoption”, etc. were used for the search. Various issues pertaining to the impact of animal agriculture on climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and implementing CSA in livestock farming were extensively discussed. The findings indicated that there is limited research on the adoption of CSA by communal livestock farmers in South Africa. The review concluded that strategies to adopt modern technology in communal areas should address the issues to enhance knowledge of farmers and all stakeholders, through increasing awareness, trainings, and skills programs. The government should build local capacity in innovative and affordable water and agricultural solutions, and reliable financial mechanisms should be in place to implement innovative sound technologies in communal areas.

A Systematic Review of Climate Change Risks to Communal Livestock Production and Response Strategies in South Africa

“…Farming debt in the country escalated by 9%, leading to many farmers being unable to destock or prepare financially (Popoola et al, 2020). At the same time, the cost to farmers increased by 177% (Molieleng et al, 2021), making it very difficult as most of the farmers had to rely on buying feed to sustain their livestock production (Talanow et al, 2021). In most cases, such costs were done to maintain the core herd (Popoola et al, 2019).…”

Research Progress and Analysis on Comprehensive Utilization of Livestock and Poultry Biogas Slurry as Agricultural Resources

“…Furthermore, many countries in South and West Africa currently primarily rely on rainwater for irrigation and still practice family farming. Such an approach is greatly affected by the climate; however, they are not able to benefit from climate-smart agriculture technology [8,9]. With rapid development, modern agriculture problems, such as insufficient water resources and serious pollution, have become increasingly severe, requiring irrigation systems to use excessive chemical fertilizers.…”

Factors Influencing Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices Adoption and Crop Productivity among Smallholder Farmers in Nyimba District, Zambia

“…In addition, climate change extreme events and shocks can be long-lasting, as risk exposure and increased uncertainty affect investment incentives and reduce the likelihood of effective farm innovations while increasing that of low-risk, low-return activities. Climate change will almost certainly have a signi cant impact on the average yields of Zambia's major crops (maize, wheat, and sorghum), because agronomic conditions for these crops may worsen in large parts of the country ( Molieleng et al, 2021;Chavula, 2022;Stadtbäumer et al, 2022). Climate change extreme events and shocks such as drought and ooding, do have a greater impact on crop production in Zambia and other Sub-Saharan African countries.…”

“…However, through the intricacy of the agricultural diverse systems in Sub-Saharan African countries and its' inter-relation the socio-economic facets of smallholder farmers' households. An integrated approach has been promoted to maximize productivity at smallholder farmers agricultural landscape to adapt to changes in climate, these approaches and/or interventions are termed 'climate-smart agriculture (CSA)' farmers (Makate, 2019;Odubote & Ajayi, 2020;Zakaria et al, 2020;Molieleng et al, 2021). Climate-smart agriculture emerged in the late twentieth century in Zambia, when farmers began to face economic, ecological, and/or climate change challenges in line with their agriculture production.…”