South Africa

Sepo Hachigonta, Peter Johnston, Lindiwe M. Sibanda and Timothy Thomas

Chapter 7 in Southern African agriculture and climate change: A comprehensive analysis, 2013, pp 175-212 from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Abstract: In examining agricultural vulnerability to climate change in South Africa, we see that an important factor is the enormous existing socioeconomic disparity in access to resources, poverty levels, and capacities to adapt. Recent research results suggest that the South African farming sector is characterized by medium-level exposure risk, coupled with medium to high levels of social vulnerability (Gbetibouo and Ringler 2009).; South Africa is unique in southern Africa: from a climatological perspective, it has a steep rainfall gradient from west to east, as well as three different rainfall regimes; from a developmental perspective, it has a highly developed industrial and commercial infrastructure. Agricultural production is mostly commercial, with only 11 percent of the land arable—and much of that is located in marginally viable areas. Less than 20 percent of the country’s production is from small-scale agriculture.

Keywords: South Africa; Southern Africa; Africa South of Sahara; Africa; Climate change; Rainfall; Droughts; Irrigation; Water management; Adaptation; Agriculture; Poverty; Gender; Women; Agricultural development; Agricultural policies; economic development; Smallhoders; maize; rice; Wheat; sorghum; millet; Cassava; Sweet potato; soybean; Potatoes; Tobacco; Groundnuts; Pigeon peas; Chickpeas; Cowpeas; Platains; Sugarcane; oil seeds; Livestock; Agricultural productivity; crop yield; General Circulation Models (GCM); Commodities; food prices; Education; income; Nutrition; malnutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fpr:ifpric:9780896292086-07

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