Land degradation in the West-Central Free State: human-induced or climate variability, the perceptions of Abrahamskraal–Boshof district farmers

Rabumbulu, Mulalo; Badenhorst, Moira

doi:10.1080/03736245.2016.1231623

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Varying degrees of vulnerability to drought conditions occur within the agricultural sector based on the size and nature of one's farming operation. In the case of South Africa, small-scale and communal farmers have proven to be more vulnerable to droughts given their concentration in less favourable climatic zones, their lack of resources and reliance on their own production for house food security [22].…”

Section: Factors Enhancing Small-scale Farmers' Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Revising the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to Enhance Vegetable Farmers’ Vulnerability to Drought in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa

Ramafoko¹,

Lekunze²,

Luvhengo³

2022

Vegetable Crops - Health Benefits and Cultivation

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Climate change is a global challenge which is causing persistent droughts in South Africa. This is concerning in the absence of a proper management strategies targeting small-scale vegetable farmers especially for agricultural sustainability and food security. The sustainability of agriculture and food supply is in line with the second goal (Zero Hunger) of 2030 UN sustainable development goals. The focus of this chapter is on small-scale farmers as opposed to commercial farmers because of the differential vulnerability to drought as a result of social, economic and environmental conditions. Drought persisted in the in major parts of South Africa especially the Northern Cape and existing policies and management frameworks are inadequately equipped to sustain affected famers. Although both small-scale and commercial farmers are affected, small-scale farmers are highly vulnerable as they lose their entire livelihood during droughts. The revision undertook extensive literature and focused on the national framework for the management of drought developed by the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries DAFF as a conceptual base. The chapter reveals that, drought mitigations strategies employed by the integrated drought management teams are not adequate to address the impact and sustainability on small-scale farmers.

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Section: Factors Enhancing Small-scale Farmers' Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Revising the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to Enhance Vegetable Farmers’ Vulnerability to Drought in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa

Ramafoko¹,

Lekunze²,

Luvhengo³

2022

Vegetable Crops - Health Benefits and Cultivation

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“…Content may change prior to final publication. supplementary forage (Rabumbulu and Badenhorst 2017). This argument shows the need for forage assessment studies that prioritize not only the investigation of grass senescence in general but rather in grasses that are situated in sour veld communal grazing areas.…”

Section: Grass Senescence and Its Impact On Forage Productivity Across Various Veld Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress in Remote Sensing of Grass Senescence: A Review on the Challenges and Opportunities

Royimani

Mutanga

Dube

2021

IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observations Remote Sensing

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Grass senescence estimation in rangeland environments is particularly important for monitoring the conditions of forage quality and quantity. During senescence, grasses lose their nutrients from the leaves to the root systems and thereby affecting forage productivity. Numerous studies on the remote sensing of grasslands have been conducted during the senescent phenological stage. However, despite the efforts made in previous remote sensing studies on grass senescence, its role in estimating grass senescence is rudimentary. More so, the strengths and limitations presented by the newly developed remote sensing instruments in grass senescence estimation are not well documented. This work therefore provides a detailed overview on the progress of remote sensing applications in characterizing grass senescence. The review further highlights the challenges and possible opportunities presented by these techniques. Overall, the review indicates that the available studies on remotely sensed grass senescence applications are focused on understanding biophysical and biochemical properties and these studies identify the Leaf Area Index (LAI), biomass and chlorophyll content, among others, as the key indicators of grass senescence. Nonetheless, recent scientific research highlights a mismatch between studies on the grass senescence and the development in remote sensing technologies. The use of sophisticated and robust time-series analysis techniques like TIMESAT together with improved sensing characteristics from the new generation sensors seem to present new opportunities for the optimal quantification of grass senescence at resolutions complementary to the spatial extents of the rangelands. We therefore recommend further research in this field through the adoption of new satellite technologies and advanced spatial data analytics to enhance the monitoring of rangeland resources.

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“…This province is characterized by low rainfall and high evaporation rates, making the region susceptible to droughts [19]. Over the years, the province has experienced severe droughts that have negatively impacted its agricultural sector, particularly maize production [20,21]. For instance, the Free State Province produced 7.3 million tons of maize in 2016/17; it declined to 5.2 million tons in 2017/18 and to 4 million tons in 2018/19 because of drought [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Impact of Agricultural Drought on Yield over Maize Growing Areas, Free State Province, South Africa, Using the SPI and SPEI

Makuya,

Tesfuhuney,

Moeletsi

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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Maize (Zea mays L.) is an essential crop in South Africa serving as a staple food; however, agricultural drought threatens its production, resulting in lower yields. This study aimed to assess the impact of agricultural drought on maize yield in the major areas (Bethlehem, Bloemfontein, and Bothaville) that produce maize in the Free State Province from 1990 to 2020. The study used the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to examine drought occurrences and severity during the maize growing season (October–March). The Standardized Yield Residuals Series (SYRS), Crop Drought Resilient Factor (CDRF), Spearman’s Rank Correlation (rs), and yield loss rate were employed to emphasize agricultural drought impact on maize yield. The results based on the SPI and SPEI show that drought frequently occurred in Bethlehem, followed by Bloemfontein and Bothaville. Drought severity indicated that moderate droughts were prevalent in Bethlehem, while severe droughts were in all areas (Bethlehem, Bloemfontein, and Bothaville) and extreme droughts in Bloemfontein. The agricultural drought’s impact on maize varied across growth seasons and areas. Notably, the lowest SYRS value of −2.38 (1991/92) was observed in Bethlehem. An extremely strong significant correlation (rsSPEI-6 vs SYRS = 0.83, p = 1.07 × 10−8) was observed between the SPEI and SYRS in Bloemfontein during the October–November–December–January–February–March (ONDJFM) season. The CDRF indicated that maize yield was severely non-resilient (CDRF < 0.8) to drought in Bethlehem (CDRF = 0.27) and Bloemfontein (CDRF = 0.33) and resilient (CDRF = 1.16) in Bothaville. The highest maize yield loss of −88.62% was observed in Bethlehem due to extreme agricultural drought. The results suggest that, historically, agricultural drought was a threat to maize production in the studied areas, particularly in Bethlehem and Bloemfontein. This underscores the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices, such as drought-resistant varieties in these areas, to mitigate the impacts of climate change, especially drought, and ensure food security. This is a step toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).

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Land degradation in the West-Central Free State: human-induced or climate variability, the perceptions of Abrahamskraal–Boshof district farmers

Cited by 8 publications

References 20 publications

Revising the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to Enhance Vegetable Farmers’ Vulnerability to Drought in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa

Revising the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to Enhance Vegetable Farmers’ Vulnerability to Drought in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa

Progress in Remote Sensing of Grass Senescence: A Review on the Challenges and Opportunities

Assessing the Impact of Agricultural Drought on Yield over Maize Growing Areas, Free State Province, South Africa, Using the SPI and SPEI

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