The South African government has been called to invest in agriculture as a resilient sector at the United Nations Conference of Parties (Cop27) in Egypt.
The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Report on South Africa indicated that the country needed to do more to reach their net-zero emissions by 2050, and agriculture was one of the sectors to help it reach those goals.
A panel discussion on achieving South Africa’s low-carbon, climate-resilient and just transition highlighted that South Africa’s investment needs for adaptation measures in agriculture between 2022-2050, was R453 billion in net present value.
Stéphane Hallegatte, a senior climate change adviser at the World Bank, said there is a need for willingness to change the situation.
“Key things that needs to happen [are to] reduce the risk of water stress for farmers. This will require increasing investment in irrigated agriculture and reducing costs of existing schemes.
“Accelerate security of land tenure among smallholder and emerging farmers by improving land transfer mechanisms, consider carbon credits for generating revenue for farmers and promoting cooperation between public and private sectors.
“Partnerships should be considered for infrastructure projects such as water distribution, timing and liming soil,” he said.
Reforms are needed
To ensure a climate-resilient agricultural sector, Hallegate said they recommend tougher investment and reforms for the growth of the sector.
“Another priority for government, following the water management, is to expedite its land reform policy and secure land tenure for smallholder and emerging farmers.
“This should increase opportunities for these farmers to own productive assets, and their motivation to invest in irrigation schemes and other infrastructure, as well as sustainable land management and related climate-smart measures,’ he added.
Ayat Soliman, the World Bank’s regional director for sustainable development for Eastern and Southern Africa, said climate change is impacting negatively on agriculture and the country’s agri sector is resilient, however it needs to be protected.
“Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change. The combination of higher temperatures, seasonal variations and lower precipitation has led to water scarcity, land degradation and greater exposure to pests.
“A report we got indicates that 42% of farmers incur losses resulting from droughts, followed by 29% from storms, and 28% from floods. Smallholder agricultural development in the country is hampered by large unmitigated climate risks,” she said.
Green economy key
While South Africa focuses on building a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economy, the government has been urged that the low-carbon strategy must be people centered, create jobs and protect the vulnerable society from the effect of climate change to achieve 2050 goals.
Hallegatte said for the country to achieve its set goals, there is a great need for clear policies and actions with inevitable trade-offs and some synergies.
“South Africa’s mitigation of climate change towards the low carbon transition requires the country to take a decision to move away from coal as the main source of energy, which will be in the nation’s best interest.
“This will deliver substantial local benefits like avoiding load shedding and improved energy security, economic competitiveness, reduced air, water, and soil pollution, “he said.
Hallegate explained that the country’s three-phased approach to fight climate change – which is the low carbon transition, the resilient transition and just transition – needs bold decisions to be taken for the betterment of the country and its people.
“The country needs to cope with the growing climate change risks and negative impacts of its own greenhouse gas emissions.”
According to Hallegate, dealing with unemployment to increase economic participation is a key factor.
“South Africa needs to grow its economy in a competitive manner. Now what is happening is carbon -intensive economy with frequent load shedding with high vulnerability to climate change.
“There is a need for a private sector led growth model with strong investment, economy and society resilient to climate crisis,” he said.
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