Sustainable Development Goal 13 echoes the fact that all countries must make urgent and stringent efforts to mitigate against and adapt to climate change and its associated impacts. Climate financing is one of the key mechanisms used to enable countries to remain resilient to the hastening effects of climate change. In this paper, we empirically assess the effect of institutional governance indicators on the amount of climate finance received by 21 nations for which progress towards the internationally agreed-upon target of reducing global warming to 1.5 °C is tracked. We use the fixed-effects ordinary least squares (OLS) and the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimators, drawing on the Climate Action Tracker panel data from 2002 to 2020. Empirical results reveal that perceived political stability significantly enhanced climate finance inflows among countries that strongly increased their NDC targets, while perceived deterioration in corruption control negatively impacted the amount of climate finance received by the same group of countries. Therefore, governments should reduce corruption tendencies while striving to avoid practices and alliances that lead to any form of violence, including terrorism and civil war. Low developing countries (LDCs) in particular need to improve the standard of public services provided to the populace while maintaining a respectable level of autonomy from political influences. Above all, as countries work towards strengthening institutional governance, there is an urgent need for developed economies to assist developing economies in overcoming debt stress since the likelihood of future resilience and prosperity is being undermined by the debt crisis, with developing countries spending almost five times as much annually on repayment of debt as they allocate to climate adaptation.

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the impact of protected geographical indications (GIs) on the trade performance of South Africa’s wine industry within the European Union (EU). This is critical in enhancing informed policy decisions towards securing more GIs for wines and other products. The unearthed evidence may provide a basis for more government interventions in support of the initiative while protecting the good reputation in communities where production occurs. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses the gravity flow model framework. The Rand value of wine exports was used as a trade performance measure whereas GIs data was extracted from the E-Bacchus database, and three proxies are used to capture the GIs variable. Findings: GIs foster South Africa’s wine exports into the EU. When GIs were proxied as a dummy variable, results suggest that GIs led to about 170% increase in wine exports. However, when the actual number of GIs was used, the estimate also indicates 0.7% rise in exports, whereas using the difference between South Africa’s and the EU’s number of GIs, results suggest that GIs are associated with 87% increase in wine exports. Research limitations/implications: This paper did not take into consideration protected designation of origins (PDOs) on the side of the Europe given that South Africa has no registered PDOs. Further research at industry level should be undertaken to ascertain whether some of South Africa’s wine meets the specifications required to register as a PDO. Originality/value: This paper adds empirical evidence to the existing literature on the competitiveness of South Africa’s wine industry. The role of GIs in international markets remains a silent feature in the literature yet the industry exhibits an outstanding footprint in GIs. This paper, in part, responds to Biénabe and Marie-Vivien’s (2017) recognition for the need for interdisciplinary empirical analyses to better understand the GI concept. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to analyse the impact of GIs on the industry’s trade performance.

Assessing the factors influencing cassava sales and income generation among South African cassava farmers is critical for informed decision-making, policy formulation, targeted interventions, and the long-term growth of the cassava value chain. By recognizing these elements, stakeholders can improve market efficiency, increase income opportunities, reduce poverty, promote rural development, and nurture a sustainable and inclusive cassava value chain. This study examines factors that influence cassava sales and positive income generation along the cassava value chain. Using a simple sample method, we collected data from 240 farmers in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. A logistic regression was used to investigate the impact of explanatory variables on the probability of selling cassava and earning a positive income. Findings show that having access to output markets, owning livestock, being a female, and having sizable land under cassava production enhances the possibility of cassava sales and generating a positive income. In contrast, age has a detrimental influence on cassava sales, while access to extension services and harvesting for household food consumption exhibited no substantial effects. The findings underline the importance of market access, gender equality, integrating livestock farming among cassava farmers, support for elderly farmers, and sustainable agricultural practices. To ensure the long-term positive generation of income by farmers and the sustainability of the cassava value chain, policymakers and stakeholders must collaborate and execute policies and interventions that address these essential concerns.

The paper assesses the factors influencing South Africa’s agricultural export growth to its cardinal destinations between 2001 and 2014. A gravity model was used to present investigation of trade flows that has been validated as a suitable tool in determining export growth. The findings indicate that an improvement in South Africa’s and importer’s GDP causes an increase in agricultural exports. Distance and political stability have been shown to have no influence on the growth of agricultural exports to its trading partners. The importer’s population and the export capacity showed a positive relationship on the growth of South Africa’s agricultural exports to its trading partners. Trading agreements, which include AGOA and the TDCA with the EU, show a positive impact on increase in export performance. Therefore, the results suggest that South Africa should focus on countries with a growing population and GDP to improve agricultural export growth and market diversification.

South Africa’s agricultural sector is comprised of livestock, field crops and fruit in their order of size, in gross value terms. Agriculture in South Africa accounts for a relatively low share in the economy (3% of gross domestic product - GDP), 6% of employment and about 10% of exports (over R144 billion in 2015). Currently (2015/16), South Africa is experiencing the worst drought in over 100 years, which has resulted in significant effects on agriculture, with eight of the nine provinces being declared disaster areas. The motivation of the study was to understand the severity of drought on agriculture as well the impact on the whole economy (to quantify the economy-wide effects/losses emanating from the drought). To quantify these effects a single-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) model was used. Four scenarios were developed: Impact of field crops losses; impact of livestock losses; impact of aggregated agriculture losses; and impact of aggregated agriculture losses plus drought relief. The analysis shows that all scenarios led to a negative impact on GDP, employment and exports while the drought relief was found to have saved some jobs, albeit not significantly. Key words: Drought, computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, field crops, livestock and fruit, GEMPACK.

The global impact of climate variability and change on agricultural production systems is a pressing concern with far-reaching implications. While substantial literature exists on these impacts, there is a notable lack of long-term studies that comprehensively analyse the relationship between climate variables and food production systems in South Africa over extended periods. This study addresses this gap by utilising longitudinal data spanning 45 years (1976–2020) and employing an ordinary least squares regression model for analysis. The findings reveal that temperature has a significant positive effect on animal and horticultural production systems. On marginal variability, a 1 °C increase in annual temperature and precipitation levels leads to an increases in animal production (244.2%), field crops (226.4%), and a decrease in horticultural crops (−116.62%). These results underscore the pronounced effects of climate variability on animal, field, and horticultural production systems. This study concludes that rising temperatures positively influence animal and horticultural production. It recommends prioritising climate-smart agricultural practices to enhance resilience and productivity, particularly in colder seasons. By implementing these strategies, South Africa can strengthen its food production systems, ensuring sustainable agricultural growth in the face of climate variability and change.