Abstract
ABSTRACT Sixteen of the world's hottest years since 1860 were in the last 17 years. Greenhouse gases cause global warming and climate change (CC). Climate change puts agriculture at a crossroads. The industry must adapt in order to feed a global population projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. Adapting to CC requires agriculturalists at all levels to devise appropriate mitigation strategies. Business cannot be as usual. Climate change adds complexity to agriculture. To remain relevant, agricultural practitioners must be climate-smart (CS) in order to continue producing adequate, affordable, nutritious and safe food and fibre. Furthermore, agriculture is a business. It involves inputs, outputs, profit, loss, and is tied to the economic factors of production, land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship. Therefore, the astute Agricultural Extension Professional/s (AEP/s) must be conversant not only with scientific and technical aspects of agriculture, its business and art, but also with emerging CC issues. The AEP must have relevant hard and soft skills that enable him/her to assist farmers adapt. This paper discusses the essential characteristics of a CS and commercially astute AEP in changing climate. Keywords: Extension agent, Climate change, Skills
Highlights
Organisations such as Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (CC) (IPCC, 2013) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2016; 2018) attribute CC to anthropogenic global warming caused by greenhouse gas (GGs) emissions into the atmosphere (Figure 1)
Today’s AEPs must address issues related to CC (Jones (1997)
Extension and advisory service is a crucial cog in any agricultural system
Summary
Organisations such as Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (CC) (IPCC, 2013) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2016; 2018) attribute CC to anthropogenic global warming caused by greenhouse gas (GGs) emissions into the atmosphere (Figure 1). The primary producers in agriculture include communal, small scale and commercial farmers. Primary producers are supported by private sector firms specific to each agricultural value chain. The grain/crops value chains are serviced by private sector’s seed breeding and distributing companies, farmers’ co-operatives, fertilizer/crop chemicals companies, storage, grain marketing and grain distribution firms, grain millers, processors, insurance companies, and many others. Red meat and/or animal fibres value chains have private sector animal breeders, semen distributors, pre-mix, vitamin and minerals manufactures and feed millers and distributors, veterinary pharmaceutical companies, auctioneers, cattle feedlots, abattoirs, meat processors, wool/mohair washers, bailers, and marketers. The same applies to dairy, aquaculture, horticulture, wildlife, and many other agricultural value chains
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