Open AccessDeterminants of climate variability adaptation and mitigation strategies harnessed by smallholder maize farmers in Sebayeng village, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Author(s) -
Q. Mangwane,
Isaac B. Oluwatayo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
food research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.218
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2550-2166
DOI - 10.26656/fr.2017.5(2).344
Subject(s) - multinomial logistic regression , livelihood , agriculture , geography , descriptive statistics , socioeconomics , climate change , irrigation , socioeconomic status , population , economics , environmental health , medicine , ecology , statistics , mathematics , archaeology , machine learning , computer science , biology
Climate variability is an issue of serious concern especially in a water-scarce country likeSouth Africa. This is because a sizeable number of households in the country reside in therural area where rain-fed agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the people. Thisstudy, therefore, examined factors influencing the choice of climate variability adaptationand mitigation strategies employed among smallholder maize farmers in Sebayeng village,Limpopo province, South Africa. Primary data were collected from a random sample of160 smallholder maize farmers through the administration of a structured questionnaire.While descriptive statistics were used to describe and analyse respondents’ socioeconomiccharacteristics; multinomial-logistic regression model was employed to analyse factorsinfluencing farmers’ choice of climate variability adaptation and mitigation strategies.Analysis of the data collected showed that the majority of farmers (72.5%) do not adaptand/or mitigate climate variability. Nonetheless, of those mitigating or adapting to climatevariability, 11.9% of the farmers used shifting planting dates (early planting which runsfrom October to mid-December) as their strategy because it comes at no cost. Also, about11.9% harnessed irrigation facilities, 4.3% used conservation agriculture and 3.8% useddrought-tolerant varieties. The result of the logistic model revealed that awareness ofclimate variability, membership of association, occupation and marital status ofrespondents were found to have a significant influence on the type of adaptation andmitigation strategies chosen by the farmers. The study, therefore, recommends that thegovernment should provide more training for farmers through workshops and seminars toboost their awareness level about climate variability, its adaptation and mitigation.Farmers should also form cooperatives; in that way, they will gain more access toagricultural incentives and they should be encouraged to engage in other economicactivities such as processing and marketing of agricultural products to enhance theirincome.