Nombuso Precious Nkosi

Climate change poses significant challenges to smallholder farmers, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is highly vulnerable to changing climatic conditions. This study examines the socioeconomic determinants influencing the adoption of strategies for adapting to climate change among smallholder farmers in Mbombela, South Africa. A quantitative research approach was employed, using structured questionnaires to collect data from 308 randomly selected smallholder farmers. Furthermore, the study utilised binary logistic regression to analyse the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the adoption of adaptation strategies. The results revealed that gender, age, income sources, access to climate information, and cooperative membership significantly influenced farmers’ adoption of adaptation strategies. Findings further showed that female farmers, older farmers, and those relying solely on farming income were less likely to adopt adaptation strategies, while younger farmers and those with diversified income sources were more likely to embrace adaptation strategies. Moreover, the study found that access to climate information and cooperative membership were negatively associated with the adoption of adaptation strategies. This negative association may be attributed to inefficiencies in current information dissemination, where climate-related information may not be tailored to the specific needs of farmers, or to cooperative structures that may not effectively facilitate knowledge sharing or collective action. The study concludes that targeted interventions, such as gender-sensitive policies, livelihood diversification, improved extension services, and strengthened cooperative structures, are essential to enhance smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacity.

The semi-arid and dry regions of South Africa experience shortages of water resources, which poses major challenges to livelihoods exacerbated by climate change. Despite the importance of indigenous food crops in optimizing water conservation, limited research has been conducted on effective strategies for promoting indigenous crops. This paper explores the potential of indigenous crops in optimizing water conservation in South Africa. This review paper adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist to ensure transparency, rigor, and reproducibility. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across several databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. This review found that indigenous crops, such as sorghum and cowpeas, have innate traits that enable them to flourish in environments where water resources are limited. According to the findings of this study, these indigenous crops are resilient to drought and optimize water use efficiency. This review recommends the creation of a national database for indigenous climate-resilient food crops, which can act as an information hub for research and development. In maximizing the water use efficiency of indigenous crops, sustainable water management techniques remain critical. The results of this study have important implications for sustainable agriculture and water conservation in South Africa.