Abstracts

33 and magnification. Waha and colleagues found that only 3% of South African farmers in the northern provinces shifted their planting dates to match changing conditions; in contrast, “16% of more than 8,000 households in 11 African countries change planting dates as [a] response to perceived changes in temperature and precipitation.” Studies based in Cameroon, for example, found that there were increased yields in maize and groundnut when the crops were planted on an “optimal planting date” compared with “traditional planting dates” in the face of a changing climate. Though the study found that the planting date was changed due to changes in rainfall, a similar principle can be applied to South African farmers, where temperature is the larger determinant of the growing season. With impacts on both crop and livestock production, drought is an aspect of climate change that cannot be ignored. Between 2015 and 2016, five provinces—Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal—were declared disaster areas due to drought. At that time, reservoirs were only 50% full in Limpopo compared to in the late 1990s when they were 84% full. Agricultural productivity and crop production were affected greatly, and the government had to import a million tons of maize into the province (Maponya & Mpandeli, 2016). Thankfully, intervention strategies to prepare farmers for future droughts are possible. One such intervention is providing farmers access to extension services that offer the skills and knowledge needed to produce food even in times of drought. Agricultural extension services are one pathway for local governments, com- munity-based organizations, and universities to empower farmers and equip them with the skills, knowledge, and technology to increase both profit and production for household consumption and thus reduce food prices for the consumer (Abdu-Raheem & Worth, 2011). A farmer who receives information through extension services is 0.95 times less likely to face food scarcity compared with one who does not receive such services. Farmers in drought-prone regions, like Limpopo, should be encouraged to use drought-resistant cultivars and to assemble a mixed crop variety to combat the devastating impacts of drought or extreme weather events. Given that 33% of all households in Limpopo are considered agricultural households and that Limpopo produces nearly 60% of all the nation’s fruits, vegetables, maize, and wheat, the road to a food secure South Africa in the climate change era runs through this very province (Maponya & Mpandeli, 2016). A hotter and drier South Africa means farmers no longer will be able to rely on the country’s previously natural cycles of rainfall, both in quantity and in distribution. In September 2016, for example, the reduction in rainfall was on the order of 50% for most parts of the Western Cape. With that said, irrigation will become an increasingly vital part of a farmer’s arsenal to continue to produce food and earn profits. Irrigation, if done right, can improve efficiency on a given plot of land and work to counteract unreliable patterns of rainfall. A 2010 declaration by the Limpopo provincial government found traditional furrow and flood irrigation techniques were not effective for smallholder farmers and promoted wasted water. Thus, while flood irrigation was not officially recommended for smallholder farmers in the Limpopo province, drip and sprinkler irrigation styles were recommended for the province’s smallholder farmers (Zwane, 2019). Installing these preferred irrigation systems presents a challenge in terms of available capital and the ability to invest in a long-term solution. Agri Western Cape, an influential agricultural organization, prepared a report during the 2015–2016 drought that identified a series of challenges facing farmers and offered recommendations to help farmers combat the drought. One of the challenges facing commercial producers was a lack of “adequate plans for water storage during good rainfall periods” (Swart, p. 4). The organization proposed cash grants for eligible farmers, based on historical production, to support operating expenses and drought recovery. These grants potentially could fund a drip irrigation apparatus for a farmer’s crop production. The report also called for a revisiting of government policies that hamper the building of new dams, including the potential for on-farm dams to aid individual farmers in sustaining