Paradox of Sustainable Agricultural Policy Under Climate Change in South Africa: The Whys? and What-Ifs!

Kenny Kutu (), Sonali Das and Rangan Gupta
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Kenny Kutu: Department of Business Management, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Sonali Das: Department of Business Management, University of Pretoria, South Africa

No 202508, Working Papers from University of Pretoria, Department of Economics

Abstract: As physical climate risks continue to adversely affect agriculture production and productivity globally, policymakers have designed and implemented numerous frameworks to mitigate risks through the promotion of sustainable agriculture. In South Africa, the 2023 Draft Policy on Agriculture in Sustainable Development, while aiming to ensure options for climate change risk mitigation, in its current form falls short in addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns in the agriculture sector. This study utilises content and thematic analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of the Draft Policy in its current version through the lens of five pillars of sustainable agriculture, namely: biological productivity, economic viability, natural resource protection, risk reduction, and social acceptance. Further, with insights from agriculture policies of Finland, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, and Norway this study identifies potential inclusions to address some of the shortcomings in the Draft Policy. We find that the integration of existing local policies with relevant ESG frameworks in the `Final' version of the Sustainable Agriculture Policy is integral to ensuring effective climate risk mitigation in South Africa's agriculture sector.

Keywords: Agriculture Policy; Climate Adaptation; Climate Policy; ESG; Sustainable Agriculture; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O2 Q10 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41 pages
Date: 2025-02
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pre:wpaper:202508

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