Abstract
The study investigated the demographic characteristics of smallholder livestock farmers in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Province of South Africa and their effect on the capacity of the farmers to adapt to climate change and variability. Respondents were mainly heads (58.7%) and parents (25.7%) to heads of households and were mostly male (63.4%) with good health (97.8%) associated with high adaptive capacity to climate change and variability. Regarding socio-economic status, four in five (81.5%) of the livestock farmers had only secondary education at most, and incomes were generally low, probably associated with low capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. On the contrary, the quality of housing for the livestock farmers was either top (48.5% of farmers) or medium (47.4%). Some 45.9% of farmers owned 4 to 5 rooms, 44.5% owned six or more rooms, with 88.5% of them having financed their houses. Almost all the respondents (97.3%) had access to electricity, and these suggest the high capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. With regards to aspects of livestock farming, one male (40.1% of households) and female (39.3%) member was fit to work in farming, livestock was owned by heads (52.9% of the households) and by children (29.0%), affirming the high capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. Almost all respondents (99.2%) used communal land, had fewer livestock, lacked training (99.5%), never belonged to a farmers’ union (99.7%) or a producer organization (100.0%), and had no access to financial support from the government (99.2%) associated with low adaptive capacity. The findings of the study revealed that demographic factors had different influences on the capacity of smallholder livestock farmers to adapt to adverse effects of climate change and variability on the farming enterprises. This was true for all the three types of demographic factors studied, namely: personal characteristics, economic status, and aspects of livestock farming.
Highlights
The level of education of the livestock farmers in the current study proved to be generally low, a situation that may be associated with the reduced adaptive capacity to adverse effects of climate change and variability
The findings of the study revealed that demographic factors had different influences on the capacity of smallholder livestock farmers to adapt to adverse effects of climate change and variability on the farming enterprises
4.1.1 Personal characteristics Based on our analysis and literature. factors that enable smallholder livestock farmers to be highly vulnerable to extreme situations of droughts and floods include the age of the farmer. gender. formal education. income and access to information
Summary
Agriculture is dependent on environmental conditions such as temperature, nutrient availability, and water accessibility (Rosenzweig and Hillel 2008; Lobell et al 2011; Lin et al., 2007) and is vulnerable to climate change. In South Africa, climate change is predicted to result in higher temperatures and in sporadic rainfall patterns and frequent droughts (Turpie and Visser, 2013). These severe weather events, coupled with the country’s already scarce water resources, are expected to have a significant effect on the forestry and agricultural sectors, which are substantial components of the country’s rural livelihoods and economies (Quinn et al, 2011; Turpie & Visser, 2013)
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