Abstract
The practice of pasture-based livestock farming systems in South Africa is susceptible to climate-related events, low production output, income fluctuation, and by extension poor adaptive capacity. Understanding the importance and gravity of sustainable livestock farming through adaptive capacity has been identified as a tool to cope in the face of the climate-related event which extends to production output. It is to this end, that the study explored the adaptive capacity and the socioeconomic determinants that influence this capacity used by the pasture-based livestock farmers in the study area. Random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 277 pasture-based livestock farmers in the study area from and their responses concerning on demography, farm-based characteristics, production constraints and adaptive capacity were used. Data were analyzed, in which the descriptive statistics, composite scores, and the extended ordered probit model were used to establish the results. The findings revealed the adaptive capacity score of low, moderate, and high to be 40.1%, 43.7%, and 16.2% respectively. Correspondingly, the model estimate revealed the significant factors that affect the adaptive capacity to include: the use of labor (p < 0.05), other sources of income (p < 0.05). Conversely, the age of the farmers (p < 0.05) and landowners (p < 0.01) was found significant but had a negative relationship to adaptive capacity. By implication, the study concluded that there is a need for fruitions of policies that support farmers’ socioeconomic behavior to engage more in adaptive capacity and to improve the Sustainable Development Goals of the united nation as well as vision 2030 of the National Development Plan.
Highlights
Over the centuries, livestock has formed the basis of human wellbeing through its contribution to the household economy, social status and food security [1]
Sustainability issues have been raised in livestock production as the global demand for protein-rich diets is forecasted to increase [4], amidst production challenges which are exacerbated by climate change negative impacts [5,6]
The livestock sector is a major consumer of the natural resources with approximately 80% of the agricultural land used for grazing and 8% of water consumption is for livestock systems [6]
Summary
Livestock has formed the basis of human wellbeing through its contribution to the household economy, social status and food security [1]. As highlighted by [2], global livestock farming systems have evolved since the 18th century from agro-pastoralism through to the intensification in the 21st century. In developing countries, there exists a thin line between different types of livestock production systems [3]. Sustainability issues have been raised in livestock production as the global demand for protein-rich diets is forecasted to increase [4], amidst production challenges which are exacerbated by climate change negative impacts [5,6]. The demand for livestock products has been fostered by an upsurge in the middle class in developing countries and an increase in the global population [4]. The livestock sector is a major consumer of the natural resources with approximately 80% of the agricultural land used for grazing and 8% of water consumption is for livestock systems [6]
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