COPING WITH DROUGHT IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF THE SOUTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

摘要

The Great Karoo region of South Africa is semi-arid with low, unreliable rainfall, and it isprone to drought which results in negative impacts on agriculture. Lack of effective droughtmanagement is a challenge to all farmers. Farmers need to fi nd ways to adapt to thechanging environment. A study was carried out in the Southern Cape part of the Karooregion to identify indigenous coping strategies adopted by farmers during drought periods,and identify measures that would ensure the resilience of the agricultural sector to futuredroughts. The study followed a participatory approach, using focus group discussions, semistructuredinterviews and fi eld observations. The study was carried out over 3 years between2011 and 2014. Data were collected from 101 farmers covering subsistence, smallholder andcommercial farmers. All farmers used local indicators such as observing the behaviour ofinsects, birds, animals and plants to predict drought. Farmers had also developed innovativelocal methods of coping with drought in cropping, such as use of perforated bottles to irrigatevegetables, shed netting and cover crops to conserve moisture. In the predominant livestocksystems, farmers used grazing management strategies to reduce drought impacts on livestock.Farmers stored Lucerne (Medicago sativa) during better seasons and utilised the stored cropfor pen feeding during drought years. Farmers also used alternative local drought resistantplant species to feed livestock. In extreme conditions farmers destocked weaker animals andkept the breeding stock. The government also intervened through voucher schemes to savethe animals although such help came too late. Farmers therefore need to fi nd local adaptivestrategies to be able to sustain livelihoods on their own even in severe droughts.