A common opinion is that climate change is here to stay. Farmers have slowly started accepting and adapting as they have been experiencing the sharper end of the stick, resulting in weaker soil quality, less productivity, and an impact on rural agri-tourism.
Gauteng-based livestock and crop farmer Hlobisile Yende believes climate change affects not only humans but all her operations as a mixed commercial farmer.
“It affects our livestock, grains, crops, and our entire operation. In terms of livestock, climate change affects animal production, welfare, and life expectancy which have detrimental effects such as decreased feed availability; which is already scarce due to veld fires in winter,” she added.
Challenges for farmers
Yende said when the grass for grazing is scarce and dry it affects the body conditioning of the animal and affects the stock. Heat stress also comes into play. This also opens room for diseases that stem from outbreaks and weaken the immune system of the animal.
“In relation to grains and crops climate change becomes a stressor which can potentially kill the entire plantation. A recent example is when I planted butternuts on dry land which are a summer crop but tend to be heat sensitive.
“I almost lost my entire field due to no rainfall in February 2023. Climate change weakens the plant’s resilience and may also cause drought and wildfires,” she explained.
Yende said there is a need for farmers to adapt and adjust to weather conditions as each season brings its fair share of challenges both for livestock and crop farming.
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What is at stake?
She said in order for farmers to feel fewer impacts of climate change, they should plan thoroughly, invest in research to avoid expensive mistakes, know what is in season and what is in demand in the market, invest in indigenous breeds and hybrid seeds, implement soil quality improvement techniques, test soil every planting season, and invest in solar pumps and panels as South Africa has a very big problem with load shedding which affects irrigation.
Anthony Turton, an affiliate professor from the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State, pointed out that climate change is real and bigger than any individual opinion.
“It’s not a question of specific crops, but rather a question of survival for nations. Those nations who continue to deny science will be swallowed up by the beast of ignorance. Farmers are inherently adaptable, so they will survive. It’s the economy and livelihoods that are at risk.
“The biggest risk of climate change is not to farmers, but rather to a society that has become decoupled from nature, and therefore lost the resilience needed to survive a shock to the system,” he said.
Greenhouses are a must
Crop farmer from Stanger KwaZulu-Natal Donovan Gumede said he has been dealing with drastic climate change and it has been affecting farmers like himself who do not have greenhouses, which are expensive.
“Sometimes there is very cold weather and too much rain and then it changes, it’s so hot. The plants deal with different weather conditions all at once.
“The fruits and plants do not seem to understand what type of weather it is and don’t know how to grow. So it might not grow fast. It also brings unwanted pests, which come out in hot rain, and some come out when it’s cold,” he said.
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Rural tourism at risk
Meanwhile, Agritourism CEO Jacqui Taylor said that the tourism industry has always focused on the needs of the tourists – international or local – and not the needs of rural communities who have tourists’ preferences overriding the needs of the local residents.
According to Taylor, South Africa needs a regenerative approach to tourism, just as farming has instilled the values of regenerative agriculture.
“We must focus on the basics from a rural community perspective. In the case of regenerative agriculture, the health of the soil has to occupy center stage, while regenerative tourism in turn has to focus on the needs of rural communities,” she said.
“Climate change is a reality for many rural communities, and as the farmlands suffer in terms of crop devastation like floods and droughts, food becomes a ‘luxury’ and the increased prices in basic nutritional food perpetuate the food insecurity in South African rural communities,” she said.
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