Abstract
Drought is a natural phenomenon which can cause widespread socio-economic and environmental impacts. Recent predictions suggest that drought frequency and intensity will increase in Southern Africa; therefore, there is a need for more scientific information on drought impacts and responses by vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers. This scoping review examines the current state of research and conceptual insights on the impacts of drought on and responses by smallholder farmers in rural and urban settings in South Africa. We used three bibliographic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOHost) to search for peer-reviewed literature published on South Africa. In total, 18 articles were reviewed, and information on drought impacts and responses among smallholder farmers was analysed and synthesised. Although most of the reviewed papers identified several socio-economic (e.g., loss of livestock, income, and employment) and environmental (e.g., loss of grazing land and vegetation) impacts of drought, the identified impacts were rarely quantified, and there is a lack of analytical depth of these impacts. Smallholder farmers in South Africa implement several drought responses, and these were categorised based on (i) changes in local practices and lifestyles e.g., practising conservation agriculture, (ii) structural measures e.g., government relief programmes, and (iii) technical interventions e.g., rain harvesting. None of the reviewed papers reported on the impacts of and responses to drought on smallholder farmers in urban settings. Overall, the review noted that the literature on drought in South Africa lacks detailed quantification and analysis of drought impacts and responses, the urban drought context is poorly understood, and there is a lack of clarity on the distinction between adaptation and mitigation strategies. Improving our understanding of drought impacts across a rural-urban gradient is important if responses are to effectively reduce smallholder farmer drought vulnerability.
Highlights
The frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including drought, have significantly increased in the past few years [1]
Based on the methodological framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley [38], a scoping review was conducted to synthesise the current state of research and conceptual insights on the impacts of and responses to drought on smallholder farmers in South Africa
The socioeconomic and environmental impacts of drought on smallholder farmers in South Africa are multiple, including food insecurity, increased poverty, unemployment, loss of grazing pasture and water which subsequently result in loss of livestock, crops, and income
Summary
The frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including drought, have significantly increased in the past few years [1]. The IPCC [1] define drought as “a period of abnormally dry weather long enough to cause serious hydrological imbalances”. [3] viewed drought as a complex interaction of both natural and anthropogenic processes that influences the water balance. This view on drought takes into consideration socio-economic drought, which occurs when shortage of water supply results in increased demand for economic goods. The recent UNDRR [4] report acknowledges that drought is challenging to define due to its complex nature as well as variations across climatic regions and scientific disciplines. According to UNDRR [4] drought is both a natural hazard and physical phenomenon that can trigger a disaster when vulnerability and response capabilities are not sufficient to deal with the effects of drought
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