Abstract
Unprecedented global climate change caused by human actions is becoming a challenge to agricultural systems’ ability to meet and sustain production demands for food and raw materials for the increasing world population. Climate change has not spared the district, resulting in extreme weather events such as droughts, erratic rainfalls and increasing frosty winter days within the district. Smallholder agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is mainly dependent on rainfed agriculture, which has increased production uncertainty due to the increasing variability of climate. This study assesses the management of adaptation and resilience strategies by smallholder farmers in Joe Gqabi District Municipality in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study revealed a significant response to climate variability by smallholder farmers, which involved the adoption of numerous adaptation and resilience strategies. The choice of resilience and adaptation strategies among community members is influenced by a diversity of factors amongst which are; household demographic characteristics, access to information and technology, household assets endowment and farmers’ perception of climate change. Results from the study also reveal a lack of public and private institutional support to the farmers hence the lack of in-depth awareness of climate change by these farmers. Drawing on the results and conclusions, the study recommends strengthening the capacity of farmers and institutions for identifying and assessing climate change. There is an urgent need for proactive management of climate change through sustaining those attributes that are important for production (resilience) and developing new socio-ecological configurations that function effectively under new conditions (adaptation). Implementation of policy interventions that build on farmers’ existing knowledge is also critical.
 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(2): 116-127, December 2020
Highlights
Society, in general, has accepted climate change as a major global challenge affecting the entire world, currently and for an unpredictable future
The majority of respondents (69%) perceive temperatures to have cooled down than warming up. This perception by farmers is corroborated by the Joe Gqabi District Municipality (JGDM) (2015), which states that on average there are 150 days of frost and snow during the year between March and November in the Senqu and Elundini local municipalities
Despite the adverse effects of climate change, farmers in the district have continued to engage in crop cultivation and animal husbandry year after year
Summary
In general, has accepted climate change as a major global challenge affecting the entire world, currently and for an unpredictable future. Thompson et al (2015) assets that climate change has and will for an unforeseeable future cause environmental perturbations that exacerbate the vulnerabilities of African agricultural systems. In South Africa, climate change has become a key concern. Ziervogel et al (2014) state that the 2013 South African Long Term Adaptation Scenarios and the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) for Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 predicts that warming in the interior will increase by 3-6oC by 2081-2100 relative to the period of 1986-2005 while precipitation patterns are less certain In South Africa, climate change has become a key concern. Ziervogel et al (2014) state that the 2013 South African Long Term Adaptation Scenarios and the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) for Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 predicts that warming in the interior will increase by 3-6oC by 2081-2100 relative to the period of 1986-2005 while precipitation patterns are less certain
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