Perception of resource-limited livestock farmers on adaptation management strategies in drought-prone rural areas in Eastern Cape province, South Africa

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Livestock farming is a crucial source of income and livelihood. However, its sustainability is being adversely affected by the unpredictable climatic changes. It would be valuable to comprehend how livestock farmers perceive climate change (CC) and the adaptation strategies. This study evaluated farmers’ views of climate change impact, adaptation measures, and the obstacles to these measures. A cross-sectional and multi-stage sampling method was employed. Data collected from 300 randomly chosen farmers were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Garrett ranking technique. Most of the respondents were male (71.67%) and between the ages of 21-60 (62%). Most respondents were married (67%) and had a form of education. Increased disease occurrence, decreased livestock production rate, increased poor vegetation, increased water scarcity, and ambient temperature were perceived by the respondents to have been impacted ‘to a great extent’ by 45%, 38%, 53%, 36% and 42%, respectively. Perceived and rated as ‘to a great extent’ by the respondents on climate change impact were ‘increased distance covered by livestock for water and pasture (29%), decreased growth rate (28%), and increased ambient temperature (30%)’. Based on descending mean rank, the farmers’ most favoured strategies for adapting to climate change included reducing their livestock numbers (58.98), collecting and storing water (55.66) and planning for supplementary feeding (55.35). The income management strategies under CC include off-farm employment (55.48), borrowing from self-help groups (54.48), and friends and relatives (50.72), in that order. The top barriers to CC, in descending order of mean rank, by the farmers include a high incidence of pests and diseases (61.47%), non-availability of improved forage seed (52.06), lack of appropriate water harvesting facilities (51.84), smaller/ fragmented land holding for forage (51.56) and scarcity of farm labour (47.75). The livestock farmers’ perception of climate change impacts indicated that most of the factors examined were rated as significant. Most respondents are aware of climate change (CC) and its repercussions on livestock productivity. Key words: Livestock productivity, management strategies, policies, sustainability, climate change, productivity, perception, farmers