Koos du Plessis – Roekeloos
Sleutelwoord Argiewe:Koos du Plessis
Gepubliseer deurRoekeloos 14/11/2009 14/04/2016 Gepubliseer inMusiekSleutelwoorde: Coenie de Villiers, Jannie du Toit, Koos du Plessis, Koos Kombuis, Lucas Maree, Stef Kruger1 Kommentaar op Lankverwag Farmer strategies towards climate variability and change in Zimbabwe and Zambia
Mubaya, Chipo Plaxedes
English: There is wide scientific consensus that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are increasing due to human activities, causing global climate change. Climate change exerts significant pressure on the agricultural sector and economic development of Africa. Despite a growing number of country-level case studies, knowledge gaps continue to exist at the level of impact analysis. In addition, while adaptation and coping with climate variability and change have become key themes in current global climate discussions and policy initiatives, literature on adaptation in Zimbabwe and Zambia appears to be still limited. In this regard, this study addressed the following objectives: • To investigate farmer perceptions of threats from climate variability and change and how these may differ across countries; • To identify and analyse the impacts of climatic variability and change on farmer households in the two countries; and, • To identify coping and adaptation strategies to climate variability and change employed by farmers and investigate factors influencing choice of adaptation/ coping strategies across the study districts Methods used to collect data for this study are both qualitative and quantitative methods. The specific method used in the Quantitative approach is the survey. Qualitative methods used include Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), specifically, resource mapping, historical trend lines, seasonal and daily activity calendars and matrix scoring and ranking. FGDs and indepth case studies were also used. Conclusions drawn from the findings of the study are listed below: • While farmers report changes in local climatic conditions consistent with climate change, there is a problem in assigning contribution of climate change and other factors to observed negative impacts on the agricultural and socio-economic system • While there are multiple stressors that confront farmers, climate variability and change remain the most critical and exacerbate livelihood insecurity for those farmers with higher levels of vulnerability to these stressors • There are variations in manifestations of direct and structural impacts from climate variability and change as a result of differences in types of farming systems and general economic and political contexts • Apart from its overwhelmingly negative effects, climate variability might also have a positive impact and localised benefits in the context of structural changes in communities–social organization and economic activities-under certain circumstances • Significant responses to climate variability and change involve organizing agriculture and related practices, than switching to off farm initiatives • While farmers’ selection of coping and adaptation strategies to climate variability and change and the associated outcomes may be intrinsic, this selection tends to be overwhelmingly shaped by diverse factors such as demography, access to information and assets and vulnerability levels Following the above conclusions, the study recommended that there is need to: • Strengthen the capacity of farmers and institutions for identifying and assessing climate changes through programmes to educate farmers and other relevant stakeholders on climate change and variability and their potential impacts on farmers’ livelihoods • Make a transition from designing policies that target climate change issues as a distinct entity to policies that address climate change issues as an integral component of multiple stressors that confront farmers • Design appropriate policies that buttress farming systems against climate variability and change through taking into account variations in these farming systems and other relevant factors • Make a transition from conceptualisation of climate change impacts in the policy framework as being inherently negative, to research and policy making with an openminded lens that dissects climate change and variability impacts in order to enhance alternative livelihoods for farmers • Provide support for appropriate agricultural innovations and development of new livelihood activities emerging as farmers respond to climate variability and change • Integrate sectors through interventions that target agricultural extension, meteorology, academic research and other developmental activities through civil society organisations
Afrikaans: Daar bestaan algemene wetenskaplike konsensus dat die konsentrasies kweekhuisgasse in die atmosfeer aan die toeneem is as gevolg van menslike aktiwiteite, met die gevolglike globale klimaatsverandering. Klimaatsverandering oefen betekenisvolle druk uit op die landbousektor en die ekonomiese ontwikkeling van Afrika. Ten spyte van ’n toenemende aantal gevallestudies waarby verskillende lande betrek word, bly kennisgapings voortbestaan op die vlak van impakanalise. Verder, alhoewel aanpassing by klimaatsveranderlikheid en - verandering en die hantering daarvan sleutelkwessies in huidige globale besprekings en beleidsinisiatiewe betreffende klimaat geraak het, kom dit voor asof literatuur oor aanpassing in Zimbabwe en Zambië steeds beperk is. Hierdie studie het die volgende oogmerke in hierdie verband aangespreek: • Om boere se persepsies rakende dreigemente van klimaatveranderlikheid en klimaatsverandering te ondersoek, asook hoe dit van land tot land mag verskil; • Om die impak van klimaatsveranderlikheid en -verandering op boerdery-huishoudings in die twee lande te identifiseer en te analiseer; en • Om hantering- en aanpassingstrategieë te identifiseer om klimaatsveranderlikheid en -verandering wat deur boere toegepas word te identifiseer, asook faktore te ondersoek wat die keuse van aanpassing/hanteringstrategieë in die distrikte wat bestudeer is, beïnvloed. Kwalitatiewe sowel as kwantitatiewe metodes is gebruik om data vir hierdie studie in te samel. Die spesifieke metode wat in die Kwantitatiewe benadering gebruik is, is die gebruik van opnames. Kwalitatiewe metodes wat gebruik is, sluit Deelnemende Landelike Skatting (Participatory Rural Appraisal – PRA) in, spesifiek hulpbronkartering, historiese tendenslyne, seisoenale en daaglikse aktiwiteitskalenders en matriksoptekening en rangskikking. FGB’s en deeglike gevallestudies is ook gebruik. Gevolgtrekkings wat uit die bevindings van die studie gemaak is, word hieronder gelys: • Terwyl boere veranderings in plaaslike klimaatstoestande in ooreenstemming met klimaatsverandering rapporteer, bestaan daar ’n probleem in die bepaling van die bydrae van klimaatsverandering en ander faktore tot waargenome negatiewe soorte impak op die landbou- en sosio-ekonomiese stelsel. • Terwyl boere voor veelvuldige stressors te staan kom, bly klimaats-veranderlikheid en -verandering die mees kritieke stressors, en vererger dit die bestaansonsekerheid van daardie boere met hoër vlakke van kwesbaarheid as gevolg van hierdie stressors. • Daar bestaan variasies in die manifestering van die direkte en strukturele impak van klimaatsveranderlikheid en -verandering as gevolg van verskille in die tipes boerderysisteme en algemene ekonomiese en politieke kontekste. • Afgesien van die oorweldigende negatiewe effek daarvan, kan klimaatsveranderlikheid onder sekere omstandighede ook ’n positiewe uitwerking hê en gelokaliseerde voordele inhou in die konteks van strukturele veranderings in gemeenskappe, byvoorbeeld sosiale organisasie en ekonomiese aktiwiteite. • Betekenisvolle reaksies op klimaatsveranderlikheid en -verandering behels die organisering van landbou- en verwante praktyke, eerder as om landbou-inisiatiewe na nie-landbougerigte inisiatiewe oor te skakel. • Terwyl boere se keuse van hantering- en aanpassingstrategieë met betrekking tot klimaatsveranderlikheid en -verandering, asook die verwante uitkomste intrinsiek mag wees, neig hierdie keuse om oorweldigend gevorm te word deur diverse faktore soos demografie, toegang tot inligting en bates, en kwesbaarheidsvlakke. Voortspruitend uit bogenoemde gevolgtrekkings beveel die studie aan dat daar ’n behoefte bestaan aan: • Die uitbouing van die kapasiteit van boere en instansies om klimaatsverandering te identifiseer en te assesseer met behulp van programme om boere en ander relevante rolspelers op te voed oor klimaatsverandering en klimaats-veranderlikheid en die potensiële impak daarvan op boere se voortbestaan. • ’n Oorgang vanaf ontwerpbeleid wat kwessies rakende klimaatsverandering teiken as ’n kenmerkende entiteit na beleid wat kwessies rondom klimaatsverandering aanspreek as ’n integrale komponent van die talle stressors waarvoor boere te staan kom. • Die ontwerp van toepaslike beleid wat boerderysisteme beveilig teen klimaatsveranderlikheid en -verandering deur wisselings in hierdie boerderysisteme en ander relevante faktore in berekening te bring. • ’n Oorgang vanaf die konseptualisering van die impak van klimaatsverandering in die beleidsraamwerk as synde inherent negatief, na navorsing en beleidmaking met ’n onbevange lens wat die impak van klimaatsverandering en klimaats-veranderlikheid ontleed ten einde alternatiewe bestaansmoontlikhede vir boere te verhoog. • Ondersteuning vir toepaslike landbou-innovering en die ontwikkeling van nuwe ontluikende bestaansaktiwiteite namate boere op klimaatsveranderlikheid en klimaatsverandering reageer. • Die integrasie van sektore deur intervensies wat meteorologie, uitbreiding op landbougebied, akademiese navorsing en ander ontwikkelingsaktiwiteite met behulp van burgerlike samelewingsaktiwiteite teiken.
Dissemination of climate information to small-holder farmers: a case study for Mujika area, Zambia ﻿
Impact of climate change on smallholder farming in Zimbabwe, using a modelling approach ﻿
Makuvaro, Veronica (University of the Free State, 2014-01)
Agriculture is pivotal to the development of most countries in southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, with the sector contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product of these countries. The sector also provides ...
Climate change and vulnerability to food insecurity among smallholder farmers : a case study of Gweru and Lupane districts in Zimbabwe ﻿
Mutsvangwa, Eness P. (University of the Free State, 2010)
This thesis assesses the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to food insecurity in Gweru and Lupane districts of Zimbabwe and links this to climate change. Current changes in climate for most parts of Zimbabwe have ...