Coping and adapting to drought in semi-arid Karoo rangelands: Key lessons from livestock farmers

Abstract

Drought is a frequent occurrence in the arid and semi-arid Karoo rangelands of South Africa. Rangeland productivity is expected to decline with drought thereby reducing livestock productivity and consequently livelihoods of the farmers. This study aimed to document the effects of drought on livestock farming in the Karoo region of South Africa and the strategies used by farmers to reduce the risks of drought. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of 35 livestock farmers. The data was analysed using SPSS. Most farmers in the Karoo region had over 20 years farming experience and 60% of them have tertiary qualification. Profit loss and losses of animals were major impacts of drought in the two biomes. Results showed that coping and adaptation strategies adopted by farmers in the two biomes were largely similar. These included destocking before the drought to reduce grazing pressure, income diversification during the drought and evaluation of the rangeland after the drought to determine the number of animals they can keep and when to graze a specific area. These findings provide a framework for decision makers to promote self-reliance so that drought adaptation among livestock farmers is more effective.