the impact of the south african drought as · pdf filethe impact of the south african drought...

THEIMPACTOFTHESOUTHAFRICANDROUGHTASEXPERIENCEDBYSMALLHOLDERFARMERSOVERTHEJUNE2015-FEBRUARY2016PERIODINTHEMOPANIDISTRICTOFLIMPOPO,SOUTHAFRICAWrittenbyAnriManderson,NkatekoKubayi,andScottDrimieJune2016

SAFL, SSA: AeA | Drought impact assessment Page 1

EXECUTIVESUMMARYIn February 2016, the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL) commissioned a drought impact assessment (DIA) in theMopani district of Limpopo province, as part of its Agro-ecology Awareness (AeA) project, and SupportingSmallholder Agriculture programme (SSA): http://www.southernafricafoodlab.org/agro-ecology-awareness/. TheSAFL forms part of the Faculty of AgriSciences at the University of Stellenbosch. It exists to promote creativeresponsestotheproblemofhunger.TheSAFLfacilitatescollaborationanddialoguebetweenstakeholdergroupstoraise awareness and foster innovations and experimental action towards a thriving, just, and sustainable foodsystem.TheAeAproject, fundedby theWWFNedbankGreenTrust, is concernedwith improvingwater stewardshipandgovernance,andagro-ecologyawarenessamongsmallholderfarmersinMopanibetweenJuly2015andDecember2016.AstheprojectstartedinJuly2015,itcoincidedwiththebuild-upofanElNiño-relateddroughtinthecountry.TheSouthAfricanWeatherService(SAWS)reportedthatasaconsequenceoftheElNiño,Jan–Dec2015recordedthelowestaveragerainfallforthatperiodsince1904(DeJager2016).Consequently itwasnecessarytoundertakethe impactassessmenttoensuretherelevanceof theAeAproject inthe district during a challenging period.Drawing on a toolkit developed by theGlobalWater Partnership (GWP),SAFLpartneredwith theWorldWide Fund forNature, SouthAfrica (WWF-SA) todevelopa simplequestionnairethat could collect the information necessary to develop an overview of the drought’s environmental, social, andeconomic impacts,asexperiencedbysmallholder farmers inMopanibetween June2015andFebruary2016.TheSAFL applied the questionnaires over threemonths from February to April 2016, and completed the analysis ofcollecteddatainMay2016.TheDIArevealedthatthedroughthadsignificant impactsonsmallholderfarmersinMopanioverthisperiod.Themajority of these farmers produce vegetables and fruit, and depend on consistent rains and/or boreholes foragriculture.Althoughnoofficialrecordswerekept,smallholderfarmersexperiencedreducedrainfallandextremeheatconditionsbetweenJune2015andFebruary2016.Theyalsonoticedevidenceofecosystemdamagethathadoccurred since the onset of the drought. Farmers experienced significant reductions in production and sufferedanimalfatalities.Althoughmostof the farmersheardabout theapproachingextremedrought, theywerenot fullyprepared for it.Somedidnothave the knowledgeornecessary finances toprepare for or respond to thedrought,whilst othersunderestimated the impact of thedrought on their farms. Those farmerswho could afford emergencymeasuresattempted to restore normal water availability by transporting water, or increasing pumping hours. They weremostlyunabletorestorenormalaverageyields.Thecostofemergencymeasuresforthosewhocouldaffordthem,neverthelesshadnegativefinancialimplications.Manyfarmersreportedlayingofftemporaryandpermanentstaff.Theyalsostoppedsaving,experiencedareductioninhouseholdfinancialresources,andhaddoubtsandconcernsaboutthefuture.The DIA was used to develop key recommendations for support organisations and local government inMopaniincluding:

• Supportfarmingcommunitiestoorganiseintorepresentativestructuresthatwouldvoicefarmers’concerns


andbecomeaplatformthroughwhichgovernmentandothersupportorganisationscansupportfarmers.• Promoteagricultural systems thataremore resilient in the faceofextremeweather conditions, including

agro-ecology,whichnaturallyencouragesbettersoilretention,rainwaterharvesting,moreeffectivewateruse,andtheplantingofmoreresilientindigenouscrops.

• Distributeraingauges,barometers,thermostats,andrecordkeepingtemplatesamongsmallholderfarmerstoenablethemtobettertrackandunderstandclimatechangesspecifictotheirfarms.

• Identify, support, and/or develop training programmes to help smallholder farmers prepare for extremeweatherconditions.Theseprogrammeswouldneedtobeadjustedforlocalconditions.

• Simplify support programmes during droughts so that smallholder farmers are able to outline their ownneeds, and access the information and support they require to dealwith the effects of the drought in atimelymanner.


INDEX

EXECUTIVESUMMARY 1

INDEX 3

LISTOFABBREVIATIONS 4

LISTOFFIGURES 4

LISTOFTABLES 4

1.INTRODUCTION 5

1.1THEELNIÑOANDITSIMPACTONRAINFALLINSOUTHERNAFRICA 51.2TYPESOFDROUGHT 6

2.AIMOFTHESTUDY 7

3.THERESEARCHPROCESS 8

4.LIMITATIONSOFTHESTUDY 10

5.KEYFINDINGS 11

5.1FARMERS,THEIRWATERUSE,ANDWATERSOURCES 115.2ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTS 115.2.AWATERSUPPLYANDQUALITY 125.2.BECOSYSTEMDAMAGE 135.3ECONOMIC/LIVELIHOODIMPACTS 165.3.ADECREASEDPRODUCTION 165.3.BLOSSOFEMPLOYMENTDUETOTHEDROUGHT 165.3.CTHECOSTSOFEMERGENCYMEASURES 175.4SOCIALIMPACTS 185.4.AIMPACTSONTHEFARMERS’WAYOFLIFE 185.4.BABANDONINGFARMINGACTIVITIES 195.4.CPOLITICALTENSIONS 195.4.DEXTERNALDROUGHTSUPPORT 195.5DROUGHTPREPAREDNESS 20

6.CONCLUSION 22

7.RECOMMENDATIONS 23

LISTOFREFERENCES 25

ANNEXA:DROUGHTIMPACTASSESSMENTQUESTIONNAIRE 27


LISTOFABBREVIATIONSAeA Agro-ecologyAwarenessCSIR CouncilforScientificandIndustrialResearchCPC ClimatePredictionCenterDEA DepartmentofEnvironmentalAffairsDIA droughtimpactassessmentDWA DepartmentofWaterAffairsENSO ElNiño-SouthernOscillationIDMP IntegratedDroughtManagementProgrammeMFA MopaniFarmersAssociationNGO non-governmentalorganisationPLAAS InstituteforPoverty,LandandAgrarianStudiesSAFL SouthernAfricaFoodLabSAWS SouthAfricanWeatherServicesSSA SupportingSmallholderAgricultureWFP WorldFoodProgrammeWWF WorldWideFundforNatureWWF-SA WorldWideFundforNature,SouthAfricaLISTOFFIGURESFIGURE1:THERELATIONSHIPBETWEENDIFFERENTKINDSOFDROUGHT 7FIGURE2:DROUGHT-AFFECTEDAREASINSOUTHAFRICABETWEENAPRIL2015-2016 8FIGURE3:AFFECTEDFARMERSWHOEXPERIENCEDDWINDLINGWATERRESOURCES 12FIGURE4:ALKALISINGOFWATERINTHESTORAGETANKDUETOHIGHSALINATIONCONCENTRATIONS 13FIGURE5:REPORTSONLACKOFWATERFORLIVESTOCK 14FIGURE6:REPORTSABOUTECOSYSTEMCHANGES 14FIGURE7:ADRYTRIBUTARYOFTHEGROOTLETABARIVERINTHEPRIESKAAREAINTHEBA-PHALABORWAMUNICIPALITY 15FIGURE8:ARARESITE–ARAINGAUGEONAFARM 15FIGURE9AND10:AGROUPOFMFAMEMBERSGATHERINGTOATTENDACLIMATECHANGEWORKSHOPOFFEREDBY

ITIRELENGDEVELOPMENTANDEDUCATIONTRUST 20LISTOFTABLESTABLE1:CATEGORIESOFDROUGHTIMPACTS 9TABLE2:ACOMPARISONBETWEENCROPLOSSESANDANIMALFATALITIESBEFORETHEDROUGHT,ANDLOSSESAND

FATALITIESSINCETHEDROUGHT 16TABLE3:STAFFMEMBERSLETOFFDUETODECREASEDPRODUCTION 17TABLE4:THETOTALCOSTSPEREMERGENCYCATEGORY 17TABLE5:THENUMBEROFFARMERSREPORTINGSOCIALIMPACTS 18TABLE6:DROUGHTADAPTATIONREPORTS 21TABLE7:REPORTSABOUTREASONSFORDROUGHTUNPREPAREDNESS 21


1.INTRODUCTIONIn February 2016, the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL) commissioned a drought impact assessment (DIA) in theMopani district of Limpopo province, as part of its Agro-ecology Awareness (AeA) project, and SupportingSmallholder Agriculture programme (SSA): http://www.southernafricafoodlab.org/agro-ecology-awareness/. TheAeAproject,fundedbytheWorldWideFundforNature(WWF)NedbankGreenTrust,isconcernedwithimprovingwaterstewardshipandgovernance,andagro-ecologyawarenessinMopanibetweenJuly2015andDecember2016.As theproject started in July 2015, it coincidedwith the build-upof an “unprecedented ElNiño-relateddrought”(World Food Programme –WFP 2016). Consequently it was necessary to do a DIA in the district to ensure therelevanceoftheAeAprojectduringachallengingperiodandtoprovidecriticalinformationtolocalgovernmentandotherorganisationssupportingsmallholderfarmers.1.1TheElNiñoanditsimpactonrainfallinsouthernAfrica

Betweenlate2014andJune2016,SouthAfricaexperiencedanElNiño-relateddrought,whichvariousreportsclaimtobetheworstmeteorologicaldroughtinthesouthernAfricaregionin35years(BBC2015;SAWS2016;WFP2016),specificallycoveringtheperiodOctober2015toJanuary2016(WFP2016),itfollowedthethirddriestseasoninthelast80years(Stoddard2015).AccordingtotheClimatePredictionCenter(CPC)(2015)ElNiñoisthewarmphaseofan irregularly periodical variation inwindsandsea surface temperaturesover the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean(called the ElNiño-SouthernOscillation or ENSO). It subsequently impacts the global climate anddisrupts normalweatherpatterns,whichasa resultcan leadto intensestorms insomeplacesanddroughts inothers (CPC2015).SouthernAfricanormallyexperiencesdroughtsasaconsequenceofElNiño(CPC2015).ThecoolphaseoftheENSOiscalledLaNinaandisassociatedwithfloodsinsouthernAfrica(CPC2015).Asthisisthethird“super-ElNiño”injustoverthreedecades,reducingthephenomenon’sfrequencyfrom20to10years,someclimatologistsaredeliberatingwhetherornottheseconditionsarenowexacerbatedbyclimatechange(Pearce2016).TheSouthAfricanWeatherService(SAWS)(2016b)definesameteorologicaldrought“…onthebasisofthedegreeofdrynessincomparisontonormaloraverageamountsofrainfallforaparticularareaorplaceandthedurationofthedryperiod”.InaninterviewwithAfricaCheck,SAWSclimateinformationmanager,ElsadeJager,reportedthatSAWS generally accepts that an area experiences ameteorological droughtwhen it receives less than 75% of itsnormalrainfallinasetperiod,butthateven20%lessrainoverasetperiodinaspecifiedareawillcausewaterandcropshortfallswithsocialandeconomiceffectsforlocalcommunities(Mojapelo2016).In2016SAWSreleasedapublicreportwithrainfallstatisticsfrom1904to2015,showinganaveragerainfallinSouthAfricaof608mmoverthe last112years.TheJan–Dec2015rainfallseasonhadbeenthedriestsince1904withanaveragerainfallof403mm(33.7%belowaverage)(DeJager2016).Nevertheless,thereportalsostatesthat“…the4-yearperiod1930–1933mightstillbethedriestcontinuousperiodexperiencedinSouthAfrica”withatotalaverageof519mmcomparedtothe544mmof2012–2015(DeJager2016:3).Reducedrainfall in2016maywellsee2013–2016 becoming the driest continuous 4-year period on record and confirming the assumption – the longer thedrought,theharsheritsimpacts.OvertheJan–Dec2015period,thedroughtaffectedprovincesunequally(Mojapelo2016).AccordingtoSAWS:“Itisverydifficulttolookattheentiresummer-rainfallregionanddeducethatdroughtaffectedalloftheseareasequally.


Onthecontrary,someoftheprovincesinSouthAfricaappeartosuffermoreharshlythanothersattimesofrainfalldeficit”(SAWS2016a).Consequentlyonlyfiveofthenineprovinceshavebeendeclaredasdisasterareas:theFreeState,NorthWest,KwaZulu-Natal, LimpopoandMpumalanga (BBC2015;Mojapelo2016),with somepartsof theEastern,Western,andNorthernCapedeclaredasseverelyaffected (Mojapelo2016). It isalsodifficult topinpointexactlywhenthenationaldroughtbegan,assomeareashadexperiencedbelow-averagerainfallsince2014(DroughtSA2016).1.2Typesofdrought

Climatologists,scientists,andpolicymakerscontinuetodebatethedefinitionofadrought,whichinfluenceswhetherandhowtheyplanforandrespondtodroughts.Wilhite(2000:4)quotesTannehillfrom1947,toexplainhowdifficultitistoidentifythestartandendofadrought.Therealeffectofadroughtcanonlybemeasuredonceithascometoanend:

Wehavenogooddefinitionofdrought.Wemaysaytruthfullythatwescarcelyknowadroughtwhenweseeone.Wewelcomethefirstcleardayafterarainyspell.Rainlessdayscontinueforatimeandwearepleasedtohavealongspellofsuchfineweather.Itkeepsonandwearealittleworried.Afewdaysmoreandwearereallyintrouble.Thefirstrainlessdayinaspelloffineweathercontributesasmuchtoadroughtasthelast,butnooneknowshowseriousitwillbeuntilthelastdrydayisgoneandtherainshavecomeagain…wearenotsureaboutituntilthecropshavewitheredanddied.

Therearealsovarioustypesofdroughtsinadditiontothemeteorologicaldroughtsdefinedin1.1.Prof.SavagefromtheUniversityofKwaZulu-NataltoldAfricaCheckthatitwouldtakeanintensivestudyusingallofthedataavailablefor South Africa to identify the various types of drought, and to date this has not been done (Mojapelo 2016).Different kindsof drought requiredifferent preparation and responseprogrammes.Wilhite (2000:9) classifies thethreeadditionaltypesofdroughtandexplainstherelationshipsbetweenthemasshowninfigure1:1. Agriculturaldrought–alackofsoilwaterusedforcropgrowth,causedbyreducedrainfall,whichdoesnotneed

tomeettherequirementsofameteorologicaldrought.2. Hydrologicaldrought– the lowavailabilityof surfacewater indams, rivers, lakes,ormoreartificial reservoirs,

causedbyameteorologicaldroughtorhighhumanwaterusage.3. Socio-economicdrought– any typeofdrought that affectshumanactivity, causedbya lackofwater, grazing

land,orfood.

ThetwomaincausesoftherecentmeteorologicaldroughthavebeentheElNiño,causingalackofrain(BBC2015,Stoddard 2015), and climate change causing abnormally high temperatures in South Africa (Mojapelo 2016).AccordingtoSAWS(2016b)andinlinewithWilhite’s(2000)argument:“…climaticfactorssuchashightemperature,highwind,lowsoilmoistureandlowrelativehumiditycansignificantlyaggravatetheseverityofdroughtconditionsandtheseadditionalfactorsshouldalsobetakenintoaccount”.The Department of Water Affairs (DWA) continuously updates a map of drought-affected areas at this link:http://niwis.dwa.gov.za/niwis2/UserFiles/documents/map_showing_affected_areas.pdf. At the time of writing thisreport,themapshowedthemostaffectedareastobethoseshowninfigure2.ThenorthernpartsofMpumalanga,KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State are experiencing the most severe meteorological droughts, but the map alsoshowsthatKwaZulu-Natalhasthelargestnumberofaffectedhumansettlements(8580).Thisamountsto90.6%ofsettlements in KwaZulu-Natal, which equals the percentage of affected settlements in the Free State though the


Hydrologicaldrought

Time(duration)

Metereologicaldrought

Agriculturaldrought

actualnumberofaffectedsettlementsthereisfarlower(281).InMpumalanga,61.3%(476)ofsettlementshavethusfarbeenaffectedbythedrought.

Figure1:TherelationshipbetweendifferentkindsofdroughtSource:Wilhite(2000:10)

The immediate effects of the ongoing drought have been reported through media outlets, specifically watershortages (Mojapelo 2016) and declines in agricultural yields including maize, soya, sorghum, groundnuts, andsunflower crops (BBC 2015, Stoddard 2015,Mokhema& Janse van Vuuren 2015,Mojapelo 2016). The resultingoutcomesoftheseeffects includefoodpricehikesandjoblosses(Vollgraaf,Mokhema,&Mbatha2016).Althoughnot yet scientifically proven, it seems that over time the meteorological drought has become an agricultural,hydrological, and socio-economic drought. Government and other support organisations should respond to theimpactsofthesedroughtsaccordingly.2.AIMOFTHESTUDYThestudyaimedtodevelopanoverviewoftheenvironmental,social,andeconomicimpactsofthedroughtintheMopanidistrict,asexperiencedbysmallholderfarmers,andconsequentlytheassociatedrisksintheoperatingareasoftheMopaniFarmersAssociation(MFA).TheMFAisarepresentativeorganisationcreatedbysmallholderfarmersinMopani.Ithasbeenintheprocessofregisteringasalegalentityformorethantwoyears,butinthemeantimehasofferedsmallholderfarmersinthedistrictaplatformtovoicetheirconcernsandneeds,andprovidedanumberofsupport organisations (including the SAFL) an entry point to support these smallholder farmers. The MFA holdsregularmeetingswithmembersandhasasecretarywhoattendstoadministrativematters.ThesmallholderfarmerswhoconsiderthemselvesMFAmembersrangefromsubsistencefarmersthroughthosewhoalsoselltoinformalandformal markets, to commercial smallholder farmers who produce exclusively for formal markets (Cousins andChikazunga2013).

Naturalclimatevariability

Precipitaqondeficiency(amount,intensity,qming)

Reducedinfiltraqon,runoff,deeppercolaqon,andgroundwater

recharge

Soildeficien

cy

Reducedstreamflow,inflowtoreservoires,lakes,andponds;reduced

wetlands,wildlifehabitat

Highttemp.,highwinds,lowrelaqvehumidity,greatersunshine,

lesscloudcover

Increasedevaporaqonandtranspiraqon

Soildeficiency

Plantwaterstress,reducedbiomassandyield

Socialimpacts Economicimpacts Environmentalimpacts


Figure2:Drought-affectedareasinSouthAfricabetweenApril2015-2016Source:DepartmentofWaterAffairs-DWA(2016)AnunderstandingoftheeffectsandassociatedrisksofthedroughtwouldnotonlyinformtheAeA’sworkwiththeMFA,butwouldhelpenablethelocalgovernmentandothersupportorganisationsinthedistrictthatareworkingtodevelopappropriate interventionsandfuturepoliciestosupportsmallholder farmerstomitigateandadapttotheeffectsof thedrought. This in turnwouldsupportsuchentities toanticipate the likely impactsof futureextremeweatherconditionssuchasdroughts.TheDIAaimedtoanswerthefollowingfourresearchquestionsfromthesmallholders’perspective:1. HowhasthedroughtimpactedtheenvironmentinMopani?2. Howhasthedroughtimpactedthelivelihoodsofsmallholderfarmersinthedistrict?3. Whatsocialimplicationshasthedroughthadinthedistrict?4. Didsmallholderfarmersinthedistrictanticipateandprepareforthedrought?3.THERESEARCHPROCESSTheSAFLpartneredwiththeWWFtodevelopasimplequestionnairethatcouldcollecttheinformationnecessarytodevelopanoverviewofthedrought’simpacts,asexperiencedbyMopani’ssmallholderfarmers.TheSAFLconsulted


the Global Water Partnership (GWP) toolkit before compiling the DIA questionnaire, drawing specifically on theguidelines fordeveloping adrought impact assessment.According to theGWP’sGuidelines for thePreparationofDroughtManagement Plans, DIAs examine the implications of a drought on environmental, economic, and socialactivities (GWP 2015). These guidelines also explain that a DIA is used to characterise agricultural and socio-economicdroughts,providingbasicinformationontheextentandseverityofdroughts.Thetablebelowcategorisesanumberofdroughtimpactsintoenvironmental,economic,andsocialgroups.Table1:CategoriesofdroughtimpactsCATEGORY DROUGHT IMPACT

Env i ronmenta l

Decreasesinwatersupplyandthequalityofsurfacewaterandgroundwater

Damagetoecosystems,wetlands,andbiodiversity(e.g.soilerosion,dust,reducedvegetationcoverage)anddisease

Landdegradationanddesertification

Moreandlargerfires

Lackoffeedanddrinkingwater

Increasedsaltconcentrations(e.g.instreams,undergroundlayers,irrigatedareas)

Lossinnaturalandartificiallakes(fish,landscapes,etc.)

Damagestoriverandwetlandslife(e.g.flora,fauna,habitats)

Damagetoairquality(e.g.pollutingdust)

Economic

Decreasedproductioninagriculture,forestry,fisheries,hydroelectricenergy,tourism,industry,orfinancialactivitiesthatdependonthesesectors

Unemploymentcausedbydecreasedproduction

Economicdamageduetoreducednavigabilityofstreams,rivers,andcanals

Damagetothetourismsectorduetoreducedwateravailabilityinwatersupplyand/orwaterbodies

Pressureonfinancialinstitutions(e.g.morerisksinlending,capitaldecrease)

Incomereductionforwaterfirmsduetoreducedwaterdelivery

Costsinemergencymeasurestoimproveresourcesanddecreasedemand(e.g.additionalcostsforwatertransportandremoval,costsforadvertisingtoreducewateruse)

Soc ia l

Damagetopublichealthandsafety,byaffectingairandwaterqualityorincreasedfirerisk

Increaseinsocialinequality,throughlargerimpactsonspecificsocioeconomicgroups

Tensionsbetweenpublicadministrationsandaffectedgroups

Changesinpoliticalperspectives

Inconveniencesduetowaterrationing

Impactsonwayoflife(e.g.unemployment,reducedcapacitytosavefunds,difficultyinpersonalcare,reuseofwaterathome,streetandcarwashingprohibition,doubtonfuture,decreaseofcelebrationsandamusements,lossofproperty)

Inequityindroughtimpactsandmitigationmeasuresdistribution

Abandoningofactivitiesandemigration(inextremecases)

Source:GWP(2015)


Thequestionnairefollowedthesecategoriesandincludedrelatedquestions.Acopyofthequestionnaireisincludedin annex A. The GWP toolkit also helped shape the recommendations of this report, specifically through theIntegratedDroughtManagement Programme (IDMP),which provided four key principles the SAFLDIA inMopanistrivedtowards(GWP2014):1. Toshiftthefocusfromreactivetoproactivemeasures;2. Tointegrateverticalplanninganddecisionmaking;3. Topromotetheevolutionofthedroughtknowledgebase;4. Tobuildcapacity.Tocompletethequestionnaires,theAeAcoordinator,MrNkatekoKubayi,conductedfarmvisitstohavefacetofaceinteractionswithsmallholderfarmersfromFebruarytoApril2016.Heundertooktelephonicinterviewswithfarmershecouldnotreachortoclarifyquestionnaireanswerswhenhestarteddoingthedatacapturing.MrKubayireachedtwoindividualfarmersand17farmingcooperatives(withatotalmembershipofover180individuals)overthethree-monthperiod.Hethuscompleted19questionnaires.AsMrKubayiisbasedinMopaniandhaddevelopedadatabaseofsmallholderfarmersassociatedwiththeMFAattheendof2015,hecouldcontactthechairsand/orsecretariesofcooperatives identifiedfromthedatabase.TheyeitherofferedtocompletethequestionnairesorreferredMrKubayitomoreknowledgeablecooperativememberswho completed the questionnaires.Mr Kubayi captured the relevant data in an Excel spreadsheet,which he alsousedtoanalysethedataandproduceafirstdraftoftheDIAinMay2016.OneofSAFL’sSSAprojectmanagers,DrAnriMandersonalsocontributedtotheanalysisofdata,andthewritingandeditingofthisreport.TheSAFLDirector,DrScottDrimie,alsocontributedtothewritingofthereport.ThefindingsofthisreportwillguidetheactivitiesoftheAeA,includingactivitiesaimingtoimproveMFAmembers’watergovernance,athree-monthagro-ecologytrainingprogrammetodeployagro-ecologytrainerstoMopani,andanumberofin-communityagro-ecologyworkshopsattheendof2016.Aspartofitswatergovernanceactivitiesandin linewith the IDMP’s fourprinciples, theAeAwill endeavour tobuildon the lessonsof theDIA tohelp farmersadapttothecurrentdroughtconditions,andprepareforsimilarorworseningdroughtconditionsinthefuture.Todisseminatetheresearch,SAFLwillpublishthereportonitswebsite,andundertakepresentationsofthefindingstosupportorganisationsandlocalgovernmentdepartmentsinMopani.ThefindingswillalsobebroadcastonlocalMopaniradiostationssuchasGiyaniCommunityRadioFM.1 4.LIMITATIONSOFTHESTUDYAs theDIAdidnot formpart of theoriginal proposal to theWWFNedbankGreenTrust, thebudgetwas limited.Consequently itwasnotpossible toemploya teamofenumeratorsandmostof the researchactivitieshad tobedone by the AeA coordinator over three months. He completed a limited number of interviews, although thecooperativestructureamongstintervieweesallowedforalargerrepresentationoftheresearchacrossMopani.Wedonot suggest that one cooperativemember can represent allmembers, but their experiencesof farming in thesameareaarelikelytobesimilar.

1TheGiyaniCommunityRadioFMwebsite:http://gcrfm.co.za/about_gcr.htm.


Duringthetimeittooktocompletethestudy,theMopanidistrictreceivedenoughrainforsmallholderfarmerstobelievethatthedroughthadended.TheAustralianBureauofMeteorologyalsoreportedthatduetounusuallycoldwater temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, El Niño conditions, as explained in section 1.1, had beenneutralised.Nevertheless, theyalso stated thatdue to the continued coolingofocean temperatures, therewasa50% chance of La Nina effects during winter in the southern hemisphere, which are usually related to floodingconditions(Harman2016).Consequently,thefindingsofthisstudymaynolongerbeusefulfor immediatedroughtassistance,butcouldstillassist farmerswiththe long-termimplicationsofthedroughtandbeusedasarecordoflessonslearnedtoprepareforextremeweatherconditionsinthefuture.Lastly, the research findings should be read as the qualitative accounts of smallholder farmers, which providevaluableinsightsintotheeffectsofthedrought,butarenotbackedupbyquantitativeweatherrecordsorair,soil,andwatertests.ApresentationofpreliminaryfindingstoestablishedMFAmembersevokedsomeconcernsaboutsomeof the findings.2Thesemembers felt thatnoteveryoneunderstoodallof thequestionsbeforeansweringorthattheymighthavebeenafraidofanswering“incorrectly”andconsequentlylosingtheSAFL’ssupportinMopani.Theirconcernsarementionedinthisreportalongsidetherelevantfindingsandalsohighlighttheneedforweather-related training amongst smallholder farmers. Nevertheless, for the aims of the study, the smallholder farmeraccountswerewell-suited.5.KEYFINDINGSIn line with the GWP guidelines and the DIA questionnaire, the drought-related results of the questionnaire areorganised according to the four categories of research questions: environmental impacts, economic/livelihoodimpacts,socialimpacts,anddrought-preparedness.Thefirstsub-section5.1relatestothetypesoffarmers,theirwateruse,andwatersources.5.1Farmers,theirwateruse,andwatersources

All19 interviewees identifiedthemselvesaspredominantlyfruitandvegetablefarmers,butfourfarmers indicatedthey also farmed livestock (with one owning a piggery), and another four farmers had poultry.Only two farmersclaimedtobeseasonal,whereasthemajorityfarmedthroughouttheyear.These farmers indicated that theyusedwater forhouseholdpurposesandproduction.Nearly79%of the farmersrelymainlyonrainwaterforagriculturalproduction,whilstmorethan68%ofthefarmerscouldaccesswaterfromboreholes.Only26%ofthefarmersdrewwaterfromtheriver,andover10%frommunicipalcanals.5.2Environmentalimpacts

TheSAFLusedenvironmentalmeasuresfromtheGWPguidelinesforcompilingadroughtimpactreport, including:Decreases in water supply and the quality of surface water and groundwater; increased salt concentrations (for

2AspartoftheAeA,theSAFLselectedagroupofsevenMFAfarmersand/ormemberstocompleteathree-monthagro-ecology,artisan,andleadershiptrainingcoursebetweenMayandAugust2016.ThepreliminaryfindingswerepresentedtothisgroupduringtheirtraininginSoweto.


example in streams, underground layers, irrigated areas); damage to ecosystems, wetlands, and biodiversity (forexamplesoilerosion,dust, reducedvegetationcoverage),anddisease; landdegradationanddesertification;moreand larger fires; lackof feedanddrinkingwater;anddamagestoriverandwetlands life (forexampleflora, fauna,habitats).QuestionsrelatedtotheseissueswereincludedintheDIAandkeyfindingsarediscussedbelow.5.2.aWatersupplyandqualityInMopani,decreases insurfacewaterandborehole levelswereearly indicatorsofhowthedroughtwasaffectingagriculture,especiallyintheuppermostareasofthedistrict.Accordingtosmallholderaccounts,theworsehitareaswere the greater Giyani and Letaba Local Municipalities, where most of the MFA members are found. In somemountainous areas of the Drakensberg in the municipalities of Maruleng, Greater Tzaneen, and Ba-Phalaborwa(PrieskaareaonthebanksoftheGrootLetabaRiver),smallholderfarmersfeltwaterwassufficient.Figure3 indicates smallholder farmer reports aboutdecreasingwater supplies, both fromnatural sources suchasrivers and boreholes (indicated on the left of the table), as well as municipal sources such as taps and canals(indicated on the right). Roughly 63% of the farmers observed a decline in natural water resources during thedrought,whereas79%noticedadecrease inmunicipalwatersupply.Fromthe19questionnaires, itemergedthatfour boreholes and three streams dried up completely during the drought, suspending agricultural activitiescompletely on reliant farms. Some farmers were able to implement drip irrigation as an emergencymeasure tobettermanage reduced water availability, but the related costs reduced farmers’ overall profits and had furthernegativeeconomicimpactsasdiscussedundertheeconomic/livelihoodimplicationsofthedrought(5.3.c).

Figure3:AffectedfarmerswhoexperienceddwindlingwaterresourcesThedropinnaturalwaterlevelsandmunicipalwatersupplyledtosomewaterqualityissues.Basedoninterviewees’accounts,waterqualitywasmoderatelycompromised,asonlyabout5%experiencedchanges inquality.However,about 26%of smallholder farmers detected increased salinity and about 5%had experienced increased turbidity3sincetheonsetofthedrought.

3Turbidityreferstocloudinessinthewater,causedbylargenumbersofindividualparticles,generallyinvisibletothenakedeye.Itcouldbecomparedtosmokeintheair.Measuringturbidityispartofwaterqualitytesting.

1215

74

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Naturalwaterlevels Municipalwatersupply

NO

YES


Theoretically, acceptable levelsofwaterqualityofboth surfaceandgroundwatermighthavebeencompromisedduringthedrought.Thismayhavebeencausedbyvariousfactorsincludingreducednaturalwaterlevelsnecessaryfordilutionofstreamwater;alkalisingofgroundwaterduetoexposuretohighsaltlevels,nitrates,phosphatesandsoon;reductionofgroundwaterlevels;andprolongedrechargeperiodsduetoincreasedorhigherevaporationratesasaresultofincreasedtemperatures(VanVlietandZwolsman2008).Althoughtherewasphysicalevidenceinsomefarmsofalkalisingofwater instoragetanks(seefigure4),watertestswouldhavebeennecessarytoquantifyandverifythis.

Figure4:AlkalisingofwaterinthestoragetankduetohighsalinationconcentrationsPhotocredit:NkatekoKubayi(2016)

As drought progressed in some areas of theMopani region including Giyani and Ba-Phalaborwa, it had negativeeffectson livestockandpoultry farmers.Outof19 interviewees, six considered themselves livestock farmers (seefigure 5) and only one of those felt that he had sufficientwater to care for his animals. Due to the reduction ofgrazing landasnatural vegetationdeclineddue to less rainfall, andaspricesof animal feed increaseddue to thedeterioratingeconomicsituation inthecountry,farmerswereunabletoprovidetheiranimalswithsufficientfeed.Theeconomicconsequencesofthisarediscussedinthenextsection.5.2.bEcosystemdamageAtotalof42.1%ofintervieweesreportedsomedroughtimpactsontheirfarmecosystems(seefigure7).However,onlythreefarmersspecifiedwhattheimpactwas.Onefarmerobservedareductionofpestsandinsectsinhisfields,anotherfarmernoticedanincreaseinredspiderinfestation,whileyetanothersawanincreasedreductionofnaturalvegetation;thefarmersbelievedthatallofthesewereresultsofthedrought.


Figure5:ReportsonlackofwaterforlivestockThe majority of interviewees had no weather measuring instruments such as rain gauges, barometers orthermometers.Onlyfourintervieweeshadraingauges(seefigure9).Onlytwoofthemkeptweeklyrainfallrecords,onekeptrecordsatweeklyandmonthlyintervalsandafterharvests,whilethefourthonlyrecordedmeasurementsafterrainfall.Farmersdidnotcalculateaveragerainfallrecordsanddidnotrecordchangesinhowtherainfell–theyreportedlongsoftshowersweremixedwithshorterhardones.Nevertheless,therewasgeneralconsensusfrom79%oftheintervieweesthattheyexperiencedtemperaturerisesandextremeheatconditionsduringthedrought.

Figure6:ReportsaboutecosystemchangesThelackofmeasuringequipmentamongstintervieweesmayexplainwhythemajorityoffarmersremainunawareoflocalandregionalweatherpatternsaffectingtheirfarms.Theinabilitytomeasuretheweatherandrecordclimaticconditionsmay render the farmers’ unable to plan sufficiently for farming operations in relation to local climaticconditions. Some farmers reliedonweatherprojections throughweather forecasts theyaccessed throughvariousmediaplatformssuchastelevision,radio,andtheinternet.However,theirownfarm-relatedweatherrecordswouldofferapointofcomparisonovertimebetweenthedatacapturedlocallyandwhatisconveyedthroughthemedia.Atotalof26%ofrespondentsobservedsomeformofdamagespecifictoriversandlifeinwetlandsduetoreducedornon-existentwaterlevels(seefigure8).Onlyoneoftherespondentsobservedsoildegradationandspecifiedsoilalkalising due to the decline in water quality and increased salt content of the ground water. This farmer alsobelieved that yields had declined due to the alkalisation of the soil. The lack of reports on erosionmay well be

5

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0

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6

Farmerreports

YES

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becausethedroughthadnotpersistedlongenoughtodestroyenoughofthenaturalvegetationholdingsoilinplaceandpreventingerosion.

Figure7:AdrytributaryoftheGrootLetabaRiverinthePrieskaareaintheBa-PhalaborwaMunicipalityPhotocredit:NkatekoKubayi(2016)

Figure8:Araresite–araingaugeonafarmPhotocredit:NkatekoKubayi(2016)

WhenthepreliminaryfindingswerepresentedtothegroupoffarmersfromtheMFA,asmentionedinsection4onthelimitationsofthestudy,itwasfeltthatintervieweesmaynothaveunderstoodthequestiononsoilerosion.TheMFAgroup’sopinionwasthattheyhadindeedexperiencedsoilerosion,duetothefactthatthewindyseason,whichnormallystartsinJune,beganearlierin2016betweenMarchandApril.Consequentlynotonlywassoileroded,butthegroupoffarmersalsonoticedincreaseddustintheairduringthistime.Thisindicatedthatitmaybenecessarytosupport farmers to describe observed environmental changes in addition to providing them with measuringequipment.Nodrought-relatedfireshadbeenobservedatthetimeofapplicationofthequestionnaire.


5.3Economic/livelihoodimpacts

In linewith theGWPdrought impact categories, the followingwere includedundereconomic impacts:decreasedproductioninagriculture;unemploymentcausedbydecreasedproduction;economicdamageduetoenvironmentalevents;andcostsofemergencymeasurestoimproveresourcesanddecreaseresourcedemand.5.3.aDecreasedproductionAlthoughintervieweesreportedthattheyexperiencedcroplossesandanimalfatalitiesbeforethedrought,theyfeltthatlossessincetheonsetofthedroughtwereworse.Althoughall19farmersproducedcrops,onlyeighthadanimals,fourofwhomidentifiedthemselvesaslivestockfarmers,whilefivereportedhavingpoultry.Table2belowcomparescroplossesandanimalfatalitiesbeforeandafterthedrought.Thetableclearlyindicatesthatcroplossesincreasedaftertheonsetofthedrought,withthenumberoffarmersexperiencinglossesgreaterthan40%increasingfrom10(52%)to17(89%)farmers.Similarly,oftheeightfarmerswithlivestockand/orpoultry,onefarmer(11%)experiencedmorethan40%lossduetofatalitiesbeforethedrought,whilstfourfarmers(44%)hadexperiencedmorethan40%ofanimalfatalitiessincetheonsetofthedrought.Table2:Acomparisonbetweencroplossesandanimalfatalitiesbeforethedrought,andlossesandfatalitiessincethedroughtPercentageoflosses

Numberoffarmerswholostcrops NumberoffarmerswholostanimalsBeforethedrought Sincetheonsetofthe

droughtBeforethedrought Sincetheonsetofthe

drought0-10% 7 1 7 411-20% 0 0 1 121-40% 2 1 0 041-60% 1 2 1 161-90% 1 3 0 191-100% 8 124 0 2Totalfarmers 19 19 9 9

Crop losses since the onset of the droughtwere caused bywater shortages and increased pest invasions, whilstanimal fatalities were caused by lack of food and water, extreme heat conditions causing dehydration and wildanimalsincreasingtheirhuntingrangeinsearchoffood.Duetoreducedcropproduction,all19farmersreportedhavinglostmarketopportunitiesand/orcontracts.Eighteenof the farmers supplied less produce to their local informalmarkets. Eight of these farmerswere also unable todelivertotheJohannesburgFreshProduceMarket,andthreelostoutoncontract/retailopportunities.Onefarmerdidnotspecifythemarkethewasunabletosupplyto.5.3.bLossofemploymentduetothedroughtAsfarmers’ incomedecreaseddueto loweryields(5.3.a)compoundedbythecostofemergencymeasures(5.5.c),theyhad to retrench some,or in somecases, all of their staff.Before thedrought,16of the smallholder farmers

4Onefarmerreportednothavinglostcropssincethedroughtstartedashedidn’tplantanything.Technicallyhelostanentireyieldandwasthusincludedinthelastcategory.


employedtemporarystaffontheirfarms,whilst10ofthisgroupalsoemployedpermanentstaff.Thetotalnumberoftemporarystaffemployedamountedto58andpermanentstaffto127workers.Sincethestartofthedrought,tensmallholderfarmershadtoretrenchstaffmembersduetoalossofincome(seetable 3); nine farmers retrenched temporary staff and three retrenched permanent staff. Two of these farmersretrenchedbothtemporaryandpermanentstaff.Sevenfarmershadtoretrench100%oftheirtemporarystaff,andone farmer 100% of his permanent staff. A total of 54 temporary and 13 permanentworkers lost their jobs andconsequentlytheirlivelihoods.Thus,36%ofallstaffemployedbyintervieweeswereretrenched;93%oftemporarystaffand10%ofpermanentstaff.Table3:StaffmembersletoffduetodecreasedproductionFarmer Temporarystaff Permanentstaff

Farmer1 7/7 0/5Farmer2 5/6 0/14Farmer3 0/1 3/4Farmer4 5/5 N.A.Farmer5 2/4 0/5Farmer6 4/4 0/2Farmer7 5/5 0/1Farmer8 3/3 0/8Farmer9 15/15 7/9Farmer10 8/8 3/3

Itisimportanttonotethatareductioninthelabourforcefurtherexacerbatesreducedproductivityofthefarms.Itcanbearguedthatthehouseholdsofthosewholosttheirlivelihoodswereadverselyimpacted,thereforeincreasingthepovertycycleinMopani.5.3.cThecostsofemergencymeasuresAll but one of the farmers specified the emergencymeasures they implemented to deal with the effects of thedrought. These included the transport of additional water to the farm, drilling boreholes, the implementation ofmoreeffective irrigation to reducewaterwastage, buying livestock feed, and increasedelectricity costs.Althoughnoneof the farmerscouldaffordtodrillaboreholeat thetimeof thestudy,onefarmersubsequentlysuccesfullyreceivedfundingfromtheDepartmentofWaterAffairs(DWA)todoso.Heexplainedthathisfarmwasbeingusedaspartof crop studies for theCouncil for Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), and thatbecauseof thedrought,theirresearchhadsuffered.ConsequentlytheCSIRsecuredfundingfromtheDWAtodrillaboreholeonhisfarm.Some farmers purchased additional seedlings to buffer the loss of seedlings to drought. The cost of generators,petrolpumps,andthe fuel torunthemwerealso includedunderemergencymeasurecosts,as farmersturnedtothis alternative source of energy when the electricty provided by Eskom to meet their increased needs becameunaffordable.Table4outlinesthetotalcostsoftheseemergencymeasures.Table4:ThetotalcostsperemergencycategoryTransport Irrigation Feed Electricity Seedlings AlternativeenergyR13000 R2700 R59150 R84500 R5360 R85200


Mostofthefarmersinvestedinoneofthesemeasures,withonlyonefarmerabletoaffordbothwatertransportandincreasedelectricity,asecondwasabletoaffordfeedandincreasedelectricity,andathirdwasabletoaffordwatertransport,increasedelectricityandanimalfeed.Themajorityoffarmersspentmoneyontransporttobringwatertotheirfarms,andonincreasedelectricitybillstopumpmorewater,withsevenfarmersinvestingintransport,andsixin additional electricity. It is important to note that the outcome of both of thesemeasureswould be increasedwatersupply.Thecategorieswiththelargestfinancialinvestmentswereadditionalenergysourcesintheformofgenerators,dieselpumps,andfuel(R85200),followedbyincreasedelectricitybills(R84500),andfeedforlivestock(R59150).Thefirsttwoinvestmentswouldalsoresultinincreasedwatersupply,whilstthethirdwasrequiredduetoalackofseasonalrainfall.ThebiggestinvestmentmadebyonefarmerwasR50000foranimalfeed,whilsttwofarmersalsoboughtgeneratorsforR45000andR30000respectively.Anotherlargeonce-offinvestmentmadebyafarmerwasadditionalelectricityforR38000.Thesefourlargeinvestmentsweretheonlyemergencymeasurestakenbytherespectivefourfarmers.It is interesting tonotethatvery few investmentsweremade inmoreeffective irrigation–withonly twofarmersinvestinginthis.Farmerswerethusattemptingtoincreasetheirwatersupplymorethantryingtousewhattheyhadmoresparingly.Theirinvestmentswerealsoshort-termtodealwiththeimmediateimpactsofthedroughtandhaveconsequentlynotincreasedtheirresilienceagainstfuturedroughts.Furthermore,notallfarmerswereabletoaffordthesameextentofemergencymeasurestoadapttotheeffectsof thedrought.However, thosewhocouldaffordemergencymeasures suffered increased financial pressure afterwards, because the emergencymeasures did notnecessarilyensurenormalaverageyields,butforsometheydidpreventcompletelossofyield.

5.4Socialimpacts

In line with the GWP drought impact categories, the following categories were included under social impacts:impactsonwayoflife,abandonedactivities,politicaltensions,andexternaldroughtsupport.5.4.aImpactsonthefarmers’wayoflifeAll19participating farmers felt that thedroughthad impactedon theirwayof life.Table5outlines theextentofthesesocial impacts.Itshouldbenotedthateightfarmersalsoreportedthattheywerenolongerabletoproduceand 12 interviewees could only partially produce until normal rainfall patterns are restored – in both instancesfarmers’ livelihoodswouldbeaffected.Noneofthe interviewees lostanyagriculture-related jobsorproperty,andthesecategoriesarethusnotincludedintable5.Table5:ThenumberoffarmersreportingsocialimpactsStoppedsaving Household

financesRe-usingwater Stoppedcleaningoutside&

washingcarDoubts&fears Lesssocialising

18 17 6 2 17 4

Themostnotablesocialimpactsincludedastoppageinsaving,mostlylikelyduetoinvestinginemergencymeasures,reduction in their household financial resources and doubts and fears about the future. Only six intervieweesreported that they started re-usingwater due to the pressures of the drought. Financial security and a sense of


securityaboutthefuturewouldarguablycontributetothesocialresilienceofcommunities.Withthesesocialimpactcategoriesreportedmostfrequently,theintervieweesseemtohavebeenleftmorevulnerabletofutureshocks.5.4.bAbandoningfarmingactivitiesThreefarmersalsoreportedthattheyhadabandonedfarming,butdidnotspecifyiftheywereabletosecureanewlivelihoodor,ifso,whatitwas.Onefarmeralsosaidthatsomeofhisfamilymembersthatusedtoworkonthefarmhavere-enteredthejobmarket,andanotherwasvolunteeringatanearbyschoolasateacher,potentiallytoopendoors in the future if necessary. Another farmerwas considering leaving farming towork on a commercial farm,enteranewsector,ormovetoadifferentareatofindajob.5.4.cPoliticaltensionsSixteenofthe19farmersexperiencedtensionswithpublicadministratorsand/orgovernmentdepartmentsbecauseof the negative impacts of the drought. Although farmers were already unhappy about the lack of governmentextensionsupportbeforetheonsetofthedrought,theintensificationofsmallholderchallengesduetothedroughtexacerbated their frustrationwith the lackof government support. Fifteenof the interviewees said that theyhadchanged their political perspectives because of these tensions and expressed their intent to vote for differentpoliticalrepresentativesintheAugust2016localelections.Itwasnotonlythelackofextensionsupport,butalsotheinequalityrelatedtothissupportthatcontributedtothechanges in the political perspectives of interviewees. The farmers felt that livestock farmers were favoured indroughtsupportprogrammes.5.4.dExternaldroughtsupportNoneof the farmers received support fromnearby commercial farmsor input (orother) companies. Farmersdid,however,reportthattheyhadtosellsomelivestocktocommercialfarmersatreducedrates,astheycouldnolongerafford to feed the animals. Some commercial farmers thus benefitted from smallholder farmers’ vulnerability.Nevertheless,thesaleoftheseanimalsalsoprovidedsmallholderfarmerswithasafetynet.Eight farmers reported that they had received assistance from government, not to deal with the effects of thedrought, but for general agricultural support. Of the 19 farmers, 16 reported having received drought-relatedassistanceoraidfromNGOs,andmentionedeitherIterelengDevelopmentandEducationalTrustortheSAFLastheNGOs.AstheSAFLhadnotlentanydrought-relatedsupporttothefarmersatthetimeofthestudy,thisfindingisquestionable.During thecourseof thestudy, ItirelengDevelopmentandEducationalTrusthostedaclimatechange informationsharing workshop at Phalaubeng village in the Greater Giyani Municipality. The SAFL AeA coordinator, NkatekoKubayi,was present and assistedwith enquiries fromparticipants regardingwater resourcemanagement,waterquality, andwater sector roles and responsibilties and relatedmatters guided by theWWF-SAwater stewadshipprinciples(seefigures9and10).WithregardtothetypeofsupportfromgovernmentandNGOs,sixfarmersreportedhavingreceivedseeds,threereceivedfinancialaid,threereceivedfertilisersorrelatedchemicals,andtwofarmersreceivedanimalfeed.Onlyone


ofthesefarmersreceivedfinancialaidandseeds–alltheothersreceivedonlyoneformofsupport.Anotherfarmerreportedthathebenefittedfromaboreholeandwaterreservoir,whichhehadreceivedduringapreviousdrought.

Figure9and10:AgroupofMFAmembersgatheringtoattendaclimatechangeworkshopofferedbyItirelengDevelopmentandEducationTrustPhotocredit:NkatekoKubayi5.5Droughtpreparedness

Sixteenoutofthe19farmershadheardofglobalwarmingandclimatechangefromNGOsinthedistrict,whilstonehadalsoheardof it fromgovernment. Two farmershadattendedCOP17with the supportofNGOs, andanotherthreesaidtheyhadbeenabletolearnmoreaboutglobalwarmingandclimatechange,mostlikelythroughthetwofarmerswho attended the conference. Although farmerswere unsure if theywere implementing climate changemitigation measures, they answered yes to some of the options given in the questionnaire, realising that theirfarmingpracticeswerenaturallymitigatingclimatechange.Nine farmerswereonlysellingto localmarkets,whilstanotherninewerepracticingsoilmanagementtechniquestobetterretainwater.Threewereusingchickenmanureinsteadof chemicalmanures. Seven farmerswerealsomanaging theirwater so that itwasusedmosteffectively,whilstelevenfarmersrecycledwasteontheirfarms.Nineoutofthe16farmerswhosaidtheyknewaboutclimatechangealsosaidtheyknewthatthedroughtwasonitswaybeforeithitthem.TheyalsoreceivedthisinformationfromNGOsinthedistrict.Fouroftheseninefarmersalsoreceivedsimilarreportsfromgovernmentofficials,andoneofthefourfarmersattendedCOP17inDurban,5whilstanotherheard itthroughmediaoutlets.Onefarmerreceivedthe informationthroughNGOs,governmentofficials,and private input companies, but he had also attended COP17 in Durban and engaged in self-study to be betterinformedonthedroughtandwhattoexpect.Thisisthesamefarmerwhowasabletoraiseenoughfundingtodrillaboreholeonhisfarm(see5.3.c).Table6indicatesthevariousactionsfarmerstooktopreparefor,ordealwith,theeffectsofthedrought.Notethatnoneofthefarmersharvestedrainwater,andsoitisnotincludedinthetable.

5ThetwofarmerswhoattendedCOP17inDurbanmostlikelydidnotreceivespecificreportsaboutthedroughtthataffectedthembetweenJune2015andFebruary2016,butconsiderthatclimatechangeinformationrelatedtothedrought.Thesetwofarmersalsoexpectweatherpatternstomakefarmingevenmoredifficultinthefuture.


Most farmersuseddrought resistantseeds (oneofwhomclaimedtheseedswere indigenous), followedbybettersoilmanagementtoretainwater(includingaddingadditionalmanure),reducedirrigation,andreducedwateruseforthings other than irrigation. Seven farmers applied water saving irrigation, although only two reported havinginvestedinit(5.3.c).Itcouldthusbethatfivefarmershadalreadyinstalledwater-savingirrigation(mostlikelydripirrigation)beforetheonsetofthedrought.Table6:DroughtadaptationreportsReducedwateruseforotherthanirrigation

Reducedirrigation

Dam/tank Water-savingirrigation

Changedwateringtimes

Soilmanagement

Droughtresistantseeds

8 9 6 7 6 9 10

Itisalsointerestingtonotethatalthoughnoneofthefarmerspracticedrainwaterharvesting,sixhaddamsand/ortankstostorewater,mostlikelypumpedfromanotherwatersource.Someofthefarmershadalsodevised,orhaveapplied,skillstaughtinvariousworkshopsbyItirelengandTCOE-Trustonadaptingtodrought-relatedimpacts,suchastheslow-wateringmethodusingrecycledtwolitrebottles(seefigure11).

Figure11:Aslow-wateringmethodusingrecycledtwolitrebottlesinwaterstressedGreaterGiyaniPhotocredit:NkatekoKubayi

Nonetheless,somefarmersdidnotconsciouslyprepareforthedroughtorwereunabletofullypreparefor it.Thereasons for thisareoutlined intable7.Onlythreefarmersgavenoreasons fornotpreparing,whichmay indicatethattheyfeltthattheywereprepared.Table7:ReportsaboutreasonsfordroughtunpreparednessNoimpactthusfar Didnotexpectseverity Lackofinformation Lackoffinancing3 11 12 12

Themost common reasons for not preparing for the drought included not having enough information about thedroughtanditsexpectedimpacts,andnothavingthenecessaryfundingtoputpreparationmeasuresinplace.Eleven


farmersalsodidnotexpectthedroughttobesosevereandsounderestimatedthe impact itwouldhaveontheirfarms.Threefarmersalsosaidtheyhadnotyetexperiencedanyimpactsontheirfarms,andsotheydidnothavetoprepare.6.CONCLUSIONSince2014/15,theElNiñohascontributedtovariousdegreesofdroughtconditionsacrossSouthAfrica.Althoughthe Australian Bureau ofMeteorology has since declared the El Niño neutralised removing its effects on climatepatterns in South Africa, the long-term impacts of the drought remain with a 50% chance of La Nina conditionsbuildinguptofloodsinthenextfewmonths.Consequently,smallholderfarmersneedtobeabletoadjusttotheseextremeweatherconditions,buttheyalsoneedinformationandsupporttopreparefortheseconditionsbeforetheyhit.BetweenFebruaryandMay2016,theSAFLcompletedaDIAstudy intheMopanidistrictofLimpopoaspartof itsAeAproject. Thiswas to inform the courseof theproject andensure its relevance, and toprovidemuchneededinformation to other organisations and government departmentswishing to support smallholder farmers to dealwithdroughtimpacts.ThestudyconsistedofaquestionnairebasedonGlobalWaterPartnership(GWP)guidelinestomeasuretheenvironmental,economic,andsocialimpactsofthedrought,andtoenquireaboutsmallholderfarmerdroughtpreparedness.Thequestionnairewascompletedduring19interviewswithsmallholderfarmers,17ofwhomrepresentedtheirrespectivefarmercooperativeswithamembershipofmorethan180farmers.The study found thatmost farmers inMopani rely on the rain or boreholes for agriculture, although a few haveaccesstoriversandmunicipalcanals.Mopanismallholderfarmersfocusmostlyonfruitandvegetablefarming,butsomealsokeepanimals,andevenfewerconsiderthemselveslivestockfarmers.Mostfarmersdidnothaveanyweather-relatedmeasuringequipmentontheirfarmsandwerethusunabletokeeprecordsof site-specificweatherconditions.Thismayexplainwhy themajorityof farmers remainunawareof localand regional weather patterns affecting their farms. The inability to measure the weather and record climaticconditionsaffectingtheirfarmsmayrenderthefarmersunabletoplansufficientlyforfarmingoperationsinrelationto localclimaticconditions. Inparticularthis isbecausetheydonothavepointsofcomparisonovertimebetweenthedatacapturedlocallyontheirfarmsandwhatisconveyedthroughthemedia.Nevertheless, farmershadobservedextremeheat conditionsand reduced rainfall since theonsetof thedrought.The first indicators of the drought were falling surface and ground water levels with four boreholes and threestreamsdryingupcompletely.Thefallinwaterlevelsledtosomeminimalwaterqualityissueswithincreasedsalinitybeing themostnotable.Farmersalsoobserveddrierwetlandsand rivers,butdidnot reportany soilerosion.Theerosion issuewaschallengedbyagroupofMopani farmerswho felt that thoseanswering thequestionsmaynothaveunderstoodthem,ormayhavemanipulatedtheiranswersinthehopeofretainingSAFL’ssupport.Theystatedthaterosionwasamassiveproblem,becausethewindyseasonstartedthreemonthsearlierthanusualandexposedsoilwasblownawayleavingerodedareas.Theyalsosaidthattheloosesoilordustimpactedairconditions.Reduced water availability, increased water and soil salinity, extreme heat conditions and increased pestscontributedtoreducedproduction.Farmersalsoexperiencedlivestockfatalitiesduetoalackofwaterandfeed,as


wellasencroachingpredatorsseekingfood.Farmersconsequentlylostanumberofmarketopportunities.Theyalsohad to retrench a significant numberof staffmembers; 93%of temporary staff and10%of permanent staff. Thereducedlabourforcewouldhavefurtherexacerbatedreducedproductivity.Itisarguedthatthehouseholdswholosttheirlivelihoodswereadverselyimpacted,thereforeincreasingthepovertycycleinMopani.In order to deal with the effects of the drought, those farmers who could afford it implemented emergencymeasures.Mostfarmersonlyinvestedinonemeasureandofthesemostinvestedintransporttobringwatertothefarms,andinincreasedelectricitybillstopumpmorewater;bothofthesemeasuresaimedtoincreasewatersupply.The categories with the largest financial investments were additional energy sources, followed by increasedelectricitybills,andfeedfor livestock.Thefirsttwoinvestmentswouldresult in increasedwatersupply,whilstthethirdwas requireddue toa lackof seasonal rainfall.Only two farmers invested inmorewater-efficient irrigation,although seven later reported having used it, suggesting that they may have already had it installed when thedroughtstarted.Generallyitseemsthatinvestmentswereshort-termtodealwithimmediatedroughtimpacts,andnotto increaseresilience. Investmentswerealsousedasabuffertopreventtotalcrop loss,nottoensurenormalaverageyields,andthusthosewhoinvestedwouldhavesufferedfinancially.Most farmers stated that they had stopped saving (most likely to invest in emergencymeasures), that they haddoubtsandfearsaboutthefuture,andthattheirhouseholdfinancialresourceswerereducedbythedrought.Thesesocialimpactsmostlikelyleftthemmorevulnerabletofutureshocks.Asaresultofthedrought,asmallnumberoffarmers also abandoned agriculture, had family members who re-entered the job market, or were consideringsearchingforalternativelivelihoods.Supporttosmallholderfarmerstodealwiththeeffectsofthedroughtwasseverelylacking.MostfarmersreportedthatthelackofgovernmentsupportanditsinequalitywasespeciallyfeltbetweenJune2015andFebruary2016,asgovernmentfavouredlivestockfarmers.ConsequentlyfarmerswantedtosupportdifferentpoliticalrepresentativesinthelocalelectionsinAugust2016,withthehopeofreceivingbettersupport.Althoughsalesoflivestocktolocalcommercialfarmersofferedsmallholderfarmersasafetynet,thefarmersfeltthepricesfortheiranimalsweretoolow.AlthoughalmosthalfofthefarmerswereawarethatadroughtwouldhitMopani,manyofthemdidnotconsciouslyprepareforit.Somewerealreadypracticingsomedrought-resistantfarmingmethods.Thosewhopreparedplanteddrought-resistantseeds,implementedbettersoilmanagementtoretainwater(includingaddingadditionalmanure),andreduced irrigationandwateruse for thingsother than irrigation.Thosewhodidnotprepare felt theydidnothaveenoughinformationaboutthedroughtanditsexpectedimpacts,northenecessaryfundingtoputpreparationmeasures in place. Most of the farmers also did not expect the drought to be so severe, consequentlyunderestimatingtheimpactitwouldhaveontheirfarms.7.RECOMMENDATIONSAlthoughdroughtconditionsinMopanimaywellhavebeguntorecede,itseffectswill lastlonger,andfarmerswillneedsupporttoadapttothesechanges.Furthermore,theDIAhasindicatedthatfarmerswereunpreparedforthedroughtandlessonslearnedfromthisrecentdryseasonshouldinformfuturepreparations.


Coordinated planning between government institutions and NGOs (or other support organisations) is of greatimportance to align agendas and budgets for supporting smallholder farming. Where possible forums should besoughttoalignresources–asproposedbythenewFarmerSupportandExtensionPolicy6.Aspartofthis,theSAFLremainscommittedtomakingitsresearchfreelyandeasilyaccessibleandtocooperatewithanyotherinstitutionssupportingsmallholderfarmers.With the necessary support, smallholder farmers will be better able to sustain their farms and livelihoods, andcontributetohealthyenvironmental,food,andsocio-economicsystems.Properknowledgedisseminationandskillstransfer from government and support agencies to smallholder farmers through seminars, workshops and otherformsoftrainingprogrammesremainscrucialinfindingsustainablemitigationmeasuresatfarmandregionallevelsto assist smallholder farmers adapt to extreme weather conditions. Focus areas for training should include theinteractions between agriculture and ecosystems; sustainable resource planning, management and use (soil andwater); preparing for extremeweather conditions in the future, and accessing localmarkets and complyingwithintegratedstandards.KeyrecommendationsforsupportorganisationsandlocalgovernmentinMopaniinclude:

• Supportfarmingcommunitiestoorganiseintorepresentativestructuresthatwouldbeabletovoicefarmers’concernsandbecomeaplatformthroughwhichgovernmentandother supportorganisationscansupportfarmers,

• Promoteagriculturalsystemsthataremoreresilientinthefaceofextremeweatherconditionssuchasagro-ecology,whichnaturally encouragesbetter soil retention, rainwaterharvesting,moreeffectivewateruse,theplantingofresilientindigenouscropsandotherrelevantmeasures.

• Distributeraingauges,barometers,thermostats,andrecordkeepingtemplatesamongstsmallholderfarmerstoenablethemtobetterunderstandandtrackclimatechangesspecifictotheirfarms.

• Identify, support, and/or develop training programmes to help smallholder farmers prepare for extremeweatherconditions.Theseprogrammeswouldneedtobepilotedandrefined,beforebeingrolledoutacrossthecountry.

• Simplify support programmes during droughts so that smallholder farmers are able to outline their ownneeds,butalsotoaccesstheinformationandsupporttheyrequiretodealwiththeeffectsofthedrought.

6SeethewebsitePhuhlisaniandtheSouthAfricangovernmentcreatedin2012toinformthedevelopmentofthispolicy:http://www.extensionpolicy.za.net/.ThemostrecentpolicydraftwascirculatedforcommentinMarch2014.


LISTOFREFERENCESBBC.2015.SouthAfricagrappleswiththeworstdroughtin30years.[Online].Available:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34884135.(23May2016).ClimatePredictionCenter(CPC).2012.FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutElNiñoandLaNiña.NationalCentersforEnvironmentalPrediction.26April2012.[Online].Available:http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensofaq.shtml#DIFFER.(2June2016).Cousins,B.andChikazunga,D.2013.ProceedingsofthefirstInnovationLab.SouthernAfricaFoodLabandtheInstituteforPoverty,LandandAgrarianStudies(PLAAS)Report.19September2013.DeJager,E.2016.GeneralInformationSouthAfrica–AnnualTotalRainfall,PublicDocument.SouthAfricanWeatherService(SAWS),13January2016.[Online].Available:http://www.weathersa.co.za/images/documents/299/CLS-CI-GEN-INFO-109%201%20SA%20Annual%20Total%20Rainfall.pdf.(23May2016).DepartmentofWaterAffairs-DWA.April2015-2016MapofDrought-affectedAreas.[Online].Available:http://niwis.dwa.gov.za/niwis2/UserFiles/documents/map_showing_affected_areas.pdf.(23May2016).DroughtSA.2016.FAQs.[Online].Available:http://www.droughtsa.org.za/faq.html.(23May2016).GlobalWaterPartnership(GWP).2014.IntegratedDroughtManagementProgramme(IDMP).4June2014.(Online).Available:http://www.gwp.org/en/ToolBox/CRITICAL-CHALLENGES1/Water-and-Climate-Change/Integrated-Drought-Management-Programme/.(24May2016).GlobalWaterPartnership(GWP).2015.GuidelinesforpreparationoftheDroughtManagementPlans.(Online).Available:http://www.gwp.org/Global/GWP-CEE_Files/IDMP-CEE/IDMP-Guidelines-final-pdf-small.pdf.(25May2016).Harman,A.2016.Disamptelik!ElNiñoisverby.Landbou.com,25May2016.(Online).Available:http://landbou.com/nuus/dis-amptelik-el-nino-is-verby/.(30May2016).Mojapelo,L.2016.FrequentlyaskedquestionsaboutSouthAfrica’sdrought.AfricaCheck,3February2016.[Online].Available:https://africacheck.org/2016/02/03/frequently-asked-questions-about-south-africas-drought/.(23May2016).Mokhema,T.,andJansevanVuuren,A.2015.SouthAfrica’sworstdroughtsince1992promptscornimports.Bloomberg,20March2015.[Online].Available:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/south-africa-s-worst-drought-since-1992-kick-starts-corn-imports.(23May2016).Pearce,F.2016.ElNiñoandClimateChange:WildWeatherMayGetWilder.YaleEnvironment360,11February2016.[Online].Available:http://e360.yale.edu/feature/el_nino_and_climate_change_wild_weather_may_get_wilder/2960/.(2June2016).


Stoddard,E.2015.SouthAfricandroughtfollowsthirddriestseasonin80years.ReutersAfrica,10November2015.[Online].Available:http://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFL8N13532R20151110?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0.(23May2016).SouthAfricanWeatherService-SAWS.2016a.WhatkindofdroughtsdoesSouthAfricaexperience?[Online].Available:http://www.weathersa.co.za/learning/climate-questions/36-what-kind-of-droughts-does-south-africa-experience.(23May2016).SouthAfricanWeatherService-SAWS.2016b.Whatisadrought?[Online].Available:http://www.weathersa.co.za/learning/climate-questions/41-what-is-a-drought.(23May2016).VanVlietM.andZwolsmanJ.2008.ImpactofsummerdroughtsonthewaterqualityoftheMeuseRiver.(Online).Available:http://www.euwatch.org/media/default.aspx/emma/org/10023538/Impact+of+summer+droughts+on+the+water+quality.pdf.(10April2016).Vollgraaf,R.,Mokhema,T.,andMbatha,A.2016.SouthAfrica’sdroughtleadstojobcuts,surgingfoodprices.Bloomberg,25February2016.[Online].Available:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-25/south-africa-s-drought-leads-to-job-cuts-surging-food-prices.(23May2016).Wilhite,D.2000.Chapter1DroughtasaNaturalHazard:ConceptsandDefinitions.DroughtMitigationCenterFacultyPublications,Paper69.[Online].Available:http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context=droughtfacpub.(23May2016).WorldFoodProgramme–WFP.2016.ElNiño:Underminingresilience.ImplicationsofElNiñoinSouthernAfricafromaFoodandNutritionSecurityPerspective.[Online].Available:http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp282004.pdf.(6June2016).


ANNEXA:DroughtImpactAssessmentQuestionnaireSouth Africa is currently experiencing persisting drought in four provinces. Affected areas include some parts of the Limpopo,NorthWest,NorthernCapeandKwa-ZuluNatalprovinces (DWA,2015). InLimpopoprovince, theMopanidistrict isoneof theareas significantly impactedby thisdrought. Therefore,due to itspresence in theMopaniarea, theSouthernAfricaFoodLab(SAFL) recognised the need to prepare a drought impact assessment in the form of a questionnaire for smallholder farmersparticipatinginSAFLprojectsimplementedinthearea.ThesefarmersaremembersoftheMopaniFarmersAssociation(MFA)andhave various farming activities that are directly and indirectly affected by the current drought. Impacts range over social,economic,andenvironmentalspectrums.Theaimofthedroughtimpactassessmentwillbetoexaminetheextentoftheeffectsofthedroughtanditsassociatedrisksinoperatingareasof theMFA.Theassessmentwillbeconducted inaccordancewith theGlobalWaterPartnershipguidelines forpreparationofDroughtManagementPlans.TheoutcomesofthisstudywillbepresentedtothelocaldepartmentsofAgriculture,WaterandSanitation,EnvironmentalAffairs,andtheotherrelevant localgovernmentunitsoperating inMopani. Itwillalsobebroadcasted on Radio Phalaborwa to raise awareness of the impacts of the drought. Recommendations will be made to thevariousaffectedfarmers,localgovernment,andotherconcernedinstitutions.Theassessmentwillaimtoanswerthefollowingthreeresearchquestions:1. Whataretheeconomicimpactsoftherecentdrought?Possibleanswerscouldinclude(theareasoffocusareprintedinboldletters):

• Decreasedproductiononthefarmorfinancialactivitiesthatdependonthefarm• Unemploymentcausedbydecreasedproduction• Accesstoformalloans:Pressureonfinancialinstitutionsduetomoreloans,morerisksinlendingandcapitaldecrease• Costs in emergencymeasures to improve resources and decrease demand (e.g. additional costs for water transport,

costsforelectricityforboreholes,pumpsetc.)2. Whatenvironmentalimpactswereexperiencedduetothedroughts?Possibleanswerscouldinclude(theareasoffocusareprintedinboldletters):

• Decreasesinwatersupplyandthequalityofsurfacewaterandgroundwater• Damagetoecosystems,wetlands,andbiodiversity(e.g.soilerosion,dust,reducedvegetationcoverage)anddisease• Soildegradationanddesertification• Moreandlargerfires• Lackoffeedanddrinkingwater• Increasedsaltconcentrations(e.g.instreams,undergroundlayers,irrigatedareas)• Lowerednaturalandartificiallakesandreservoirs• Damagestoriverandwetlandslife(e.g.flora,fauna,habitats)• Damagetoairquality(e.g.pollutingdust)

3. Whatarethesocialimpactscausedbydroughts?Possibleanswerscouldinclude(theareasoffocusareprintedinboldletters):

• Damagetopublichealthandsafety,byaffectingairandwaterqualityorincreasedfirerisk• Increaseinsocialinequality,throughlargerimpactsonspecificsocio-economicgroups• Inequityindroughtimpactsandmitigationmeasuresdistribution• Socialtensions/conflictsbetweenpublicadministrationsandaffectedgroups• Changesinpoliticalperspectives• Inconveniencesduetowaterrationingandrestrictions• Impactsonwayoflife(e.g.unemployment,reducedcapacitytosavefunds,difficultyinpersonalcare,reuseofwaterat

home,streetandcarwashingprohibition,doubtonfuture,decreaseofcelebrationsandamusements, lossofpropertyetc.)


• Abandoningofactivitiesandemigration(inextremecases)ThisresearchisconductedbytheSouthernAfricaFoodLab(SAFL),anindependentorganisationthatfacilitatesdialogueamongststakeholderswithinfluenceintheregionalfoodsysteminordertoidentifyandpilotinnovativemeansofactingwithinagro-foodvaluechainstoenhancelong-termfoodsecurity.Theresearchisaimedatdeterminingthesocial,environmental,andeconomicimpactofthecurrentdroughtintheMopanidistrict.TheinformationobtainedwillbeanalysedandinterpretedtoassisttheSouthAfricangovernmentandothersupportorganisationsindevelopingappropriateinterventionsandpoliciestosupportsmallholderfarmersduringthistime.Asasmallholderfarmer,youhavevolunteeredandverballyconsentedtobeinginterviewedbyoneofourenumerators,ifyouparticipatetocompletethisquestionnaire.Pleasenotethatyouwillnotbecompensatedforparticipatinginthisstudy,andthatyouhavetherighttowithdrawyourparticipationatanytimewithoutanynegativeconsequencestoyou.Forquestionsand/orconcernsyoucancontactaSAFLprojectmanager,[email protected],NkatekoBlessingKubayi,mayalsobecontactedformoreinformation:[email protected].

Pleasecompletethefollowingwithyourfarmorcooperative’sdetails.FARM/COOPERATIVEPROFILEANDCONTACTDETAILSFarmer’sname:________________________________________________________________________

Mayweuseyournameinfuturereports?(Pleaseunderlinetheanswer):YESorNO

Farm/cooperative’sname:____________________________________________________________

MFAregion:__________________________________________________________________________

Farmer’sphonenumber:________________________________________________________________

Farmer’semail:________________________________________________________________________

Date:_________________________________________________________________________________

Pleaseplacean‘X’inaboxnexttotheresponse(s)whichbestcompletesthestatement.BACKGROUNDINFORMATION1. Whichsegmentbestdescribesyourfarmingenterprise(checkallthatapply):

� Irrigationfarmingoffruitand/orvegetables

� Livestockfarming

� Processing

� Poultry

� Other.Pleasespecify__________________________________________________________

2. Isyourfarmseasonal?

� Yes

� No

� Ifyes,whichmonths?__________________________________________________________3. Describehowwaterisusedbyyourfarm(checkallthatapply):


� Asdrinkingwaterorforthepurposesofhygiene/flushingtoilets

� Tapwaterusedforotherpurposesthandrinking/hygiene/flushingtoilets

� Production(e.g.Irrigation,bottling)

� Recreation(e.g.Swimmingpools)

� Aesthetic(e.g.Wateringlawns)

� Other.Pleasespecify_________________________________________________________

4. Describethewatersourcesusedatyourfarm(checkallthatapply):

� Reclaimedwater(usedagainafterfirstusageforpurposessuchaswashing)

� Harvestedrainwater

� Streamorriver

� Wetland

� Borehole

� Canal

� Municipaltap

� Other.Pleasespecify_________________________________________________________Thisassessmentseekstoassesstheimpactofthedroughteconomically,socially,andenvironmentally.Thenextfewsectionsaskquestionsinthisregard.A)Whatare/weretheeconomicimpactsoftherecentdrought?5. Didyouexperienceharvestinglossesbeforethedrought?

� Yes

� No

6. Ifyes,whatpercentageoflossesdidyouexperiencebeforethedrought?

� 0–10%

� 10–20%

� 20–40%

� 40–60%

� 60–90%

� 90-100%7. Haveyouexperiencedincreasedharvestinglossessincethedroughtstarted?

� Yes

� No

8. Ifyes,whatpercentagehavelossesamountedtosincethedroughtstarted?

� 0-10%

� 10–20%

� 20–40%


� 40–60%

� 60–90%

� 90-100%

9. Didyouexperiencefatalitiesoflivestockorpoultrybeforethedroughts?

� Yes

� No

10. Ifyes,whatpercentageoffatalitiesdidyouexperiencebeforethedroughts?

� 0-10%

� 10–20%

� 20–40%

� 40–60%

� 60–90%

� 90-100%11. Ifyouexperiencedincreasedfatalitiesduringthedroughts,whatwasthepercentageofthetotalloss?

� 0-10%

� 10–20%

� 20–40%

� 40–60%

� 60–90%

� 90-100%

12. Haveyouexperienceddecreasedtotalproductiononthefarm?

� Yes

� No13. Duetodecreasedinproductionhaveyoulostanycontracts,ormarketopportunities?

� Yes

� No

� Ifyes,pleasespecify______________________________________________________________14. Doyouemploytemporaryorpermanentstaff?

� Yes

� No

� Ifyes,pleasespecifynumber:Temporary:_____________Permanent:_______________15. Weretherecasesofletting-offstaff/unemploymentcausedbydecreasedproduction?

� Yes

� No

� Ifyes,pleasespecifythenumberofstaffyouletgo:Temporary:_______Permanent:______


16. Haveyouincurredextracostsinemergencymeasurestoimprovenaturalresourcessuchaswater,anddecreasethedemand

fortheseresources,suchasinvestinginwater-savingirrigationsystems?

� Yes

� No17. IfYes,pleasespecifytypeofextracostincurred(pleasemarkallcostincurredwithX)

� Costsforwatertransport§ Pleasespecifyamount(Rands)_______________________________________________

� Costfordrillingnewboreholes§ pleasespecifyamount(Rands)_______________________________________________

� Costfornewirrigationinfrastructure§ pleasespecifyamount(Rands)_______________________________________________

� Costsforelectricityforboreholes,pumpsetc.)§ pleasespecifyamount(Rands)_______________________________________________

� Other,pleasespecify_____________________________________________________________§ pleasespecifyamount(Rands))______________________________________________

B)Whatenvironmentalimpactsare/wereexperiencedduetothedroughts?18. Isthereathermometeronthepropertytomeasuretemperature?

� Yes

� No

19. Ifyes,doyoukeeptemperaturerecords?

� Yes

� No

20. Ifyes,pleasespecifyyourdatacollectionintervals:

� Daily

� Weekly

� Monthly

� 3months

� Other.Specify:________________________________________________________________

21. Haveyounoticedasignificantincreaseinaveragetemperatureduringthissummer,comparedtothelast(whetheryoukeeprecordsornot)?

� Yes

� No22. Istherearaingaugeontheproperty?

� Yes

� No

23. Ifyes,doyoukeeprainfallrecords?

� Yes


� No

24. Ifyes,pleasespecifyifyourraingaugedatacollectionintervals:

� Afterrain

� Never

� Weekly

� Monthly

� 3months

� Other.Specify:__________________________________________________________________25. If you keep rainfall records, please provide the averagemonthly rainfall betweenAugust 2014 and February in 2015, and

August2015andFebruary2016?• Aug14toFeb15_________mm• Aug15toFeb16__________mm

26. Whetheryoukeeprecordsornot,describewhethertheshowers:

• Aug14toFeb15|Longandsoftrain_______Shortandhardrain_______Mixed________• Aug15toFeb16|Longandsoftrain_______Shortandhardrain_______Mixed________

27. Haveyourecentlyexperienceddecreasesinyournormalwatersupply/supplies,referredtoinquestion4?

� Yes

� No

28. Haveyouexperiencedadropinqualityofsurfacewaterandgroundwater?

� Yes

� No

29. Ifyes,wasthewater(markallthatarerelevant):

� Dirty

� Smelly

� Moresaltythanusual

� Other.Pleasespecify:_____________________________________________________________

30. Haveyounoticedanydamagetoriverorotherecosystems,wetlands,andbiodiversityduringthedrought?

� Yes.Pleasespecify:_______________________________________________________________

� No31. Haveyounoticedanydamagesoildegradationanddesertification,leadingtoerosion,dustetc.?


� No32. Haveyouexperiencedmoreand/orlargernaturalveldfires?


� No33. Haveexperiencedlackoffeedanddrinkingwaterforyourlivestock?


� Yes

� No34. Haveyounoticedloweredwaterlevelsinnaturalorartificialdamsandreservoirs?

� Yes

� No35. Haveyounoticedchangestoairqualitye.g.pollutingdust?


� NoC)Whatsocialimpactsare/wereexperiencedduetothedroughts?36. Haveyouhadimpactsonwayoflifeduetodroughts?

� Yes

� No

37. Ifyes,pleasespecify

� Iamnolongerabletoplant/produce

� Ilostmyjob,whichwasrelatedtoagriculture

� Istoppedsaving,orarenowsavinglessthanbefore

� IstrugglewithhouseholdfinancesandthusbeingabletotakecareofthoseI’mresponsiblefor

� I’vehadtostartre-usingwaterathome

� Inolongerwasmycarorthespaceoutsidemyhouseusingwater

� Ihavedoubtsandfearsaboutthefuture

� Isocializeless

� Ilostproperty

� Other.Specify:_________________________________________________________________

38. Wereyouforcedtoabandonfarmingduetothedrought?

� Yes

� No

39. Ifyes,pleasespecify:

� Abandonfarmingandlookforajobonsurroundingcommercialfarms

� Abandonfarmingandlookforajobinadifferentsector

� Relocatetoanotherareatofindajob

� Other.Pleasespecify:____________________________________________________________

40. Are you currently experiencing any tensions between public administrations or government departments because of thenegativeimpactsofthedrought?

� Yes.Pleasespecifythebiggesttension:_______________________________________________

� No


41. Sincethedroughts,haveyouhadchangesinpoliticalperspectives?


� No42. Hasyourfarmreceivedanyassistanceoraidindealingwithdroughtimpactsandmitigatingfutureimpacts?

� Yes

� No

43. Bywho?

� Government

� NGO

� Privatecompany

� Neighbouringcommercialfarm

� Other.Specify:__________________________________________________________________

44. Whatkindofassistanceoraidwasprovided?

� Financial

� Water

� Seeds

� Animalfeed

� Other.Pleasespecify:_____________________________________________________________

45. Have you experienced inequity in drought impacts and mitigation measures distribution? Are certain people or groupsfavouredaboveothers?

� Yes.Specify:____________________________________________________________________

� NoD)Drought&climatechangepreparedness46. Wereyouawareofanythreatofthedrought?

� Yes

� No

47. Ifyes,wheredidyougettheinformation?

� Self-study

� Government

� NGO

� Privatecompany


� Other.Specify:__________________________________________________________________

48. Ifyouknewaboutthedroughtbeforeitstarted,didyouprepareforthedrought?

� Yes

� No


49. Ifyes,pleasespecifyhowyouprepared:

� Reducedwateruseonthefarmforactivitiesotherthanirrigation,suchaswashingtractors

� Reducedirrigationoncrops

� Investedinrainwaterharvestingsystems

� Buildadamorboughtatanktostorewaterpumpedfrommyregularsource

� Changedtoorimplementedwater-savingirrigationinfrastructure

� Changedwateringtimestomorningsandevenings,ornowwaterduringthenight

� Changedsoilmanagementprocessestoincreasetheabilityofthesoiltoholdwatere.g.mulching,notilling,compostingetc.

� Planteddrought-resistantseedand/orvegetablevarieties

� Other.Pleasespecify:__________________________________________________________

50. Ifyouknewaboutthedrought,butdidn’tprepare,whydidyounotprepare?

� Thedroughthasnotimpactedme

� Ididnotthinkitwouldimpactmeasmuchasithas,andsodidnotthinkitnecessarytoprepare

� Ididnothaveinformationonhowtoprepare

� Ididnothaveenoughmoneytomakethenecessarychangestoprepare

� Other.Pleasespecify:__________________________________________________________

51. WereyouawarethatadroughtwouldhitMopani?

� Yes

� No

52. Ifyes,pleasespecifyifyourinformationsource

� Self-study

� Government

� NGO

� Privatecompany


� Other.Specify:__________________________________________________________________

53. Have you or any support institution put mitigation measures in place for climate change and global warming, so youroperationsdonotcontributetoclimatechange?

� Yes

� No

54. Ifyes,pleasespecifywhattheyare:

� Supplyingonlylocalmarkets

� Bettersoilmanagement

� Betterwatermanagement

� Recyclingofwaste


� Other.Specify:__________________________________________________________________55. Haveyouoranysupportinstitutionputadaptationmeasuresinplacesoyouroperationscanadapttothechangescausedby

thedrought?

� Yes

� No

56. Ifyes,pleasespecifywhattheyare:

� Preparingforreducedwateravailability

� Preparingforchangesintemperature

� Changingmyplantingschedulesonthefarm

� Findingnewmarketsoutofthenormalseasonformyproduce

� Other.Specify:__________________________________________________________________

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