Climate change is one of the multiple challenges facing all categories of farmers globally. However, African farmers are the most sensitive in respect of climate variability and change. Climate change impacted negatively on crop production and the livelihoods of the local farmers. In black township South Africa, agricultural activities are highly dominated by small-scale farmers, whose farming system is highly vulnerable to changes in climate. This paper presents the analysis of how small-scale farmers employed adaptation strategies in response to climate change and determinants of small-scale households’ choices of coping and adaptation approach to climate variability and change in Vhembe District, South Africa. Multi nominal logit model was used on a surveyed of 224 local farmers. Farmers’ socio-economic attributes, was used in response to climate changes and further, households have adaptation strategies both on-farm and off-farm approach. Such approaches were; drought-tolerant seeds, shorter cycle crops, diversification of crops, changing planting dates, small-scale irrigation, migrating to urban areas and involvement in petty business. The results of the findings reveals that the significant drivers affecting choice of adaptation approach include climate information, gender, farm size, education level, farmer experience, decreasing rainfall and increases in temperature as farmers’ determinant choices of adaptation to climate change. While, on the other hand, off-farm resources, headed households and age had no significant impact on the choice of coping and adaptation approach to climate change. Therefore, policy makers in the local municipality should play a significant role by enhancing adaptation strategies appropriate for particular climatic shock on the study area.

The majority of indigenous farmers in South Africa depend on rain-fed agricultural production for their livelihoods. Reliable indigenous weather forecasts are, therefore, required to guide rural farmers’ decisions in regard to climate change. Much of the literature has shown that western scientific knowledge has failed at rural level. Indigenous knowledge has, for the past century assisted rural farmers’ households in tackling the challenges of climate stressors and enhanced decision-making for adaptation. There is, therefore, much room for advancement in assessment processes to ensure adequate credit for indigenous knowledge systems. This study aimed to address two major knowledge gaps (i) to assess the relevance of indigenous knowledge in weather forecasts used by local farmers for climate adaptation, and (ii) examine farmers’ perceptions in regard to climate change in Levubu and Nwanedi sites. Indigenous knowledge indicators used by farmers for weather forecasting, within their communities, were collected through questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed various forms of indigenous indicators used by local farmers for weather forecasting, such as, star and moon movement, appearance of red and black ants and mist-cover on mountains. A better knowledge of indigenous knowledge systems should play an important role in determining suitable adaptation strategies toward climate change. It is recommended, hence, that policy makers should enhance indigenous knowledge among local communities regarding the implications of climatic stressors to increase crop production.

In South Africa, smallholder farming is an important aspect of livelihood. More so, organic farming is increasingly becoming popular among farmers. However, many studies undertaken focused on the trade possibilities of the industry leaving the farmers’ perceptions underrepresented. This study, therefore, aims to capture the farmers’ opinions by evaluating the critical factors and policy implications of organic farming in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A total of 220 semi-structured questionnaires were administered to smallholder farmers in the province. The results revealed that organic farming is gaining recognition according to 82.8% of the participants, and 86.6% believed that organic farming has high-profit returns. However, 88.4% of the respondents agreed that the required standards for organic farming are too restrictive while a further 74.6% indicated that organic farming certification is difficult to obtain. The results also indicated a statistically significant difference in the perceived benefits of organic farming (p ≤ 0.001) and access to markets (p = 0.042). Based on the results, the study suggests more awareness, training and ease of certification as a way forward in changing the perceptions of the farmers in the province.

This paper seeks to examine how subsistence farmers employ indigenous knowledge methods to enhance food security within rural communities in the Vhembe district. It analyses indigenous knowledge practices used in managing climate change impacts on crop production and determines indigenous knowledge processes used to preserve food to fill the gap during food shortages. The paper also considers the indigenous weather prediction approaches used in the area. A participatory rural appraisal is complemented by a qualitative and quantitative approach. This study used semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions for data collection. A survey of 200 randomly selected indigenous farmers was sampled. The finding revealed that local farmers depend on the use of indigenous knowledge practices to improve household food security. The majority of farmers apply manure in their farms using livestock dumps. Also, it shows that 87.8% of households used sun-drying processes for food preservation and used local mortars to pound and grind foodstuffs such as peanuts and maize. Practices such as crop rotations, mixed cropping and intercropping were employed to improve soil fertility and climate change and reduce insect pest outbursts on crops, hence, improving crop production. Indigenous knowledge of rainfall prediction is helpful in preparation for the planting season. The study recommended that agriculture policies must acknowledge indigenous knowledge practices in development programmes and specific policy interventions to promote the indigenous knowledge systems must focus on enhancing socio-economic factors assisting farmers in improving post-harvest storage facilities. The findings could facilitate interaction between indigenous knowledge stakeholders and the Limpopo provincial agriculture training institution. The fulfilment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 on zero hunger and food security could benefit from the indigenous knowledge systems.

This study seeks to review African indigenous and local knowledge in farming systems that are used as instruments for the achievement of sustainable development. Hence the idea of sustainability, indigenous and local knowledge paying reference to Zero Hunger. Limited studies have indicated the importance of indigenous knowledge systems as a fundamental driver for the achievement of SDG2 by 2030. This study envisioned the idea of sustainable development in the context of indigenous and local knowledge as a potential for achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2. Hence, it emphasizes the necessity of a radical investigation of Indigenous knowledge practices for a more effective local farming system in the African setting that is inclusive and driven by the Indigenous community to harness the untapped riches of indigenous knowledge. Local and Indigenous knowledge are regarded as knowledge systems possessed by cultural groups and, based on their experience and adaptability to local culture and environment, it is important for development, particularly in food security. The study concludes by urging further potential investigation into whether indigenous and traditional knowledge systems as tools can be used to accomplish Sustainable Development Goals in practice.

Whilst there are several empirical studies linking water scarcity and violent conflicts, existing quantitative studies use mostly climate and environmental variables even though such variables have been shown to not be strong predictors of water conflicts by some studies. The aim of this study was to use the water footprint concept and the Falkenmark index to identify water scarcity hotspots at the sub‐national scale and to understand the links between water scarcity and violent conflicts in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin over a period of two decades (2000–2021). We achieve this by developing five water scarcity metrics at a monthly timescale using runoff, soil moisture, potential evapotranspiration, water consumption and demographic data. The developed metrics show high levels of water scarcity across the study area during the dry, pre‐monsoon and post‐monsoon seasons. Analyses further reveal high green water scarcity (GWS) (soil moisture deficit) and low Falkenmark index scores (water stress) during the dry, pre‐monsoon and post‐monsoon seasons, across all reported water conflict locations. This suggest that there is an indirect link between GWS, the Falkenmark index scores and water conflicts. Results from this study may be used to enhance water management, mitigate, and prevent water conflicts in the study area and likewise the methodology adopted may be used to address water scarcity and conflicts in other regions.