Perceptions, coping strategies and welfare impact of drought among small stock farmers in Amathole, Eastern Cape

MSc (Agricultural Extension), North-West University, Mahikeng Campus

The study perused the concept of drought from farmers’ perspectives and how it affects their welfare. The study area included Raymond Mhlaba and Amahlathi Local Municipalities under the Amathole District Municipality in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A formal survey of 293 farmers was selected using a basic random sampling technique. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire administered during interviews and a semistructured interview guide used during focus group discussions. The study used percentages, frequency, standard deviation and mean to elicit demographic and farming information from the respondents. A Likert scale rating was used to assess the perceptions of small stock farmers on the impact of drought, and Chi-square statistics described the relation between the farmer and the coping strategies known, employed and forced to employ. The study used a multinomial probit model and two least square regressions for inferential statistics. The main findings from the descriptive statistics were that 74% of the respondents were male with a secondary level of education and an average age of 49 years and with five (5) members per household. Moreover, the results showed that 84% of the farmers owned land, although they used community land for their stock grazing and browsing, and the dam was the major (60%) water source. The majority of farmers (67.58%) indicated that they received drought relief support from the government, and this included the provision of fodder (51.88%) and drinking troughs and water tanks (13.65%). For support services, farmers (91.13%) also indicated that they had access to extension services and 59% indicated that they were not satisfied with the monthly visits, and 98.29% posited that they did not receive any droughtrelated training. Findings from the multinomial regression model indicated that factors such as level of education (p = 10%), farming skills (p = 1%) and access to extension services (p = 1%) were significant at varied statistical levels and had a direct positive influence on the farmers’ choice of drought coping strategy. Moreover, support service attributes such as the frequency of response (p = 10%) and the quality of extension services received (p = 10%) positively affected the mechanisms chosen by farmers to withstand drought adversaries. Results from the two least square regression showed that attributes such as household size (p = 10%), farming experience (p = 10%) and farm location (p = 1%) were significant at various statistical levels and had a direct positive influence on farmers’ welfare (captured as agricultural income). The study concludes that drought seriously affects small stock farmers. This is not only because of a lack of resources, but drought-related training, farming skills, and access to extension services influence how drought affects smallholder farmers. Moreover, farmers still use indigenous methodologies such as wild trees to cope with drought. These need to be integrated with the latest technologies, research findings, training and support regarding funding and inputs. Improvement of these factors could contribute to better farm yield returns and sustained farm profit, which will help address socioeconomic issues such as poverty, unemployment and food security at the household level. The study recommends that the training of farmers on drought-related programmes should be compulsory for extension officials, that is, it should be included as a key performance indicator. Moreover, there should be an integration of indigenous and climate-smart agricultural technologies so that farmers can detect early signs of drought and act instantly. Lastly, drought relief support should be made readily available for farmers in case of unexpected risk disasters such as drought.

Masters