The impacts of drought and climate change on agriculture have become increasingly apparent, and affect smallholder livestock farmers. Farmers’ livelihoods rely on agriculture; thus, they are vulnerable to the primary and secondary impacts of climate change. In South Africa, policies for increasing the resilience of smallholder livestock farmers who have suffered from agricultural drought have not paid sufficient attention to the level of livelihood vulnerability. This study assessed the level of livelihood vulnerability of smallholder livestock farmers in the drought-stricken Frances Baard District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The livelihood vulnerability of 217 randomly selected farmers from the municipality were determined using the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and Livelihood Vulnerability Index of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC), which includes seven components and 34 subcomponents addressing livelihood. A high level of livelihood vulnerability, with an LVI score of 0.436, was determined and attributed to high-risk livelihood strategies, food, social networks, health, water, sociodemographics, natural disasters, and climate change. The LVI-IPCC of 0.04 also showed moderate vulnerability due to high exposure, high sensitivity, and low adaptive capacity, especially for the Phokwane, Dikgatlong, and Magareng districts in the Frances Baard municipality. Given continued drought recurrences, it is crucial for the government and other stakeholders to implement strategic and targeted sustainable interventions. The resilience of smallholder livestock farmers should be enhanced by increasing their adaptive capacity through diversified livelihood options while decreasing exposure and sensitivity to agricultural drought risks.

To achieve the SDGs 13 of taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impact, SDGs 2 of ending hunger and poverty, and the African Union CAADP Strategy and Action Plan: 2026–2035 of ending hunger and intensifying sustainable food production, agro-industrialization, and trade, there is a need to enhance farmers coping and adaption strategies for shocks. Agricultural drought has remarkably affected the economies of many sub-Saharan African countries, especially South Africa, in the recent past and still poses a challenge to commercial livestock farming. Understanding the adaptive and coping mechanisms and their determinants is pertinent to informing future preparedness for agricultural drought. This study analyses data from 123 commercial livestock farmers using a multivariate probit model to examine determining factors for the choice of adaptation and coping strategies. The results revealed that livestock management strategies, including the adoption of drought-resilient breeds, feedbanks, and herd size reduction, are the most preferred adaptive strategies, followed by conservation agriculture. Reducing animal numbers and feed management were the most preferred drought coping strategies. The choice of adaptive and coping strategies was mainly influenced by livestock farmers’ experience with past droughts, farmers’ age, the strength of social networks, asset size, and market accessibility. The study advocates for integrated policy, managerial, and social interventions that enhance infrastructure to support market access, improve access to asset-backed financing, strengthen both horizontal (farmer-to-farmer) and vertical (cooperatives) networking, promote conservation agriculture, and ensure water security. These measures aim to bolster the short-term and long-term adaptive capacities, coping strategies, and resilience of livestock farmers in the face of agricultural drought.

Background: Business investments in rural areas of developing countries have been constrained by limited infrastructure and financial, institutional and policy support. Proximate social networks have emerged as decision-making support structures; however, empirical evidence is limited to formal companies in urban areas. Aim: This study examines how strong and weak social networks influence business investment decisions in emerging urban centres (EUCs) in rural areas. Setting: This study was undertaken in Ilula and Madizini, which are small towns in rural areas of the Iringa and Morogoro regions in Tanzania. Methods: Quantitative methods employing Gephi Geolayout and a bivariate probit model, supported by qualitative data, were used to examine spatiality and the influence of social networks on business investment decisions based on a random sample of 755 businesses. Results: The study found that both strong and weak social network ties influenced investment decisions in general wholesale-retail trading, food crop trading and transportation businesses. Institutions, however, deterred these investment decisions. Additionally, the reliance on strong and weak social ties in decision-making decreased as business owners’ experience, education and capital size increased. Conclusion: Transportation routes and exchange hotspots are instrumental in shaping the spatial nature of EUC business social networks. Social networks of strong and weak ties influence the choices of business investment. However, the importance of social network relations varies depending on human capital endowment and business-specific characteristics. Contribution: This study endorses strengthening social networking and institutional environment as a base to support rural business investment and networks, especially around agricultural value chains.