The Perceived Impact of Climate Change on the Livelihoods of Smallholder Farmers in Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Mbongeni Maziya (), Busisiwe Nkonki-Mandleni, Nandipha Mbizana and Precious Tirivanhu
Additional contact information
Mbongeni Maziya: Institute for Rural Development, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
Busisiwe Nkonki-Mandleni: Community Engagement and Development Directorate, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban 4031, South Africa
Nandipha Mbizana: Elsenburg Agriculture and Training Institute, Department of Agriculture, Western Cape Government, Elsenburg 7607, South Africa
Precious Tirivanhu: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria 0001, South Africa

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Smallholder farming is an important livelihood strategy for rural households in developing countries. Climate change and variability threaten the sustenance of livelihoods and hinder efforts to eradicate poverty and food insecurity. Although perception studies on climate change and coping mechanisms have been conducted in KwaZulu-Natal Province, little has been done on livelihood analysis. This study uses the Sustainable Livelihood Framework for livelihoods analysis of smallholder farmers in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. Survey data were collected from a sample of 400 smallholder farmers in two local municipalities of the district, using a stratified random sampling procedure. Focus group discussions were used to augment survey data. Descriptive statistics were generated to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis. This study found that climate change significantly eroded livelihood assets, posing a threat to the well-being of smallholder farmers. Persistent drought has led to poor crop and livestock productivity, compelling households to rely heavily on food purchases. These findings underscore the urgent need to safeguard the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the face of climate change. This study recommends that policymakers should focus on policies that enhance the resilience of livelihood assets for farming communities to minimise climatic risk.

Keywords: climate change; smallholder farmers; Sustainable Livelihood Framework; thematic analysis; uMkhayakude district municipality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/3013/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/3013/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:7:p:3013-:d:1370268

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().