Abstract
One of the roles of extension services is to link farmers to the developers of technological solutions (research outputs). Extension officers act as facilitators and assist farmers in their decision-making and technology adaptation. With the changing climate threatening production resources, extension officers need to encourage farmers to adopt various climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices. The paper seeks to reflect on a study by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) to assess their skills and knowledge about climate change and CSA. The study aimed to conduct a skills audit on CSA and related concepts. Through a stratified sampling method, all extension practitioners (EPs) registered with South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) were included in the survey. The survey, administered through a user-friendly tool (online google forms), was developed to investigate: familiarity with, and current skills in climate-smart agriculture and collect biographic information, field of responsibility (e.g. cropping, livestock and mixed farming). Both quantitative and qualitative data was sourced through the survey tool to draw generalized conclusion and perceptions of how best to improve the capabilities of EPs on CSA. The results of the survey showed that EPs had a theoretical understanding of climate change and CSA. Generally, EPs across all positions, education levels, age categories and experience could identify the correct definition and cause of climate change, despite the fact that the majority had not received any CSA training. On the contrary, the majority of respondents had little understanding of how best to apply the CSA approach in practice, to assist farmers curb the effects of climate change. A CSA training programme was developed to establish a strong theoretical base, together with an understanding of the challenges presented by climate change and climate variability to sustainable agriculture in South Africa.
Highlights
The agriculture sector has to produce more food to meet the needs of the growing population, as it looks set to be negatively impacted by climate change (FAO, 2013)
The study established that extension practitioners (EPs) had a good grasp of climate change and were clear on the theoretical concept of climate-smart agriculture
The survey results suggest that future interventions need to be designed to emphasize more practical applications to address climate change effects and introduce Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for resilient agricultural production systems
Summary
The agriculture sector has to produce more food to meet the needs of the growing population, as it looks set to be negatively impacted by climate change (FAO, 2013). Farmers need to adapt and adopt innovative and sustainable agricultural production systems and practices that reflect an appreciation of the current and projected future climate. The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol call for governments to develop appropriate policies and action plans and to share best practices and information on climate change mitigation and adaptation with national and international partners (UNFCCC, 1992; Kyoto Protocol, 1998) This has translated into numerous national and local climate change adaptation planning and action initiatives involving multiple actors in South Africa. CSA includes agricultural practices and interventions that simultaneously adapt to climate change and contribute to mitigate climate change, while promoting sustainable food systems that are efficient, using less land, water, and inputs (FAO, 2010). CSA effectively builds on the justification that it can simultaneously achieve the triple-win benefits of mitigation, adaptation and food security (FAO, 2012b)
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