Climate change is undoubtedly one of the biggest crises that humanity is facing today. There is a robust scientific consensus that human-induced climate change is occurring not only in the Western Cape but around the world. The objective of this research was to assess the impact of climate change on primary agriculture and food security. The paper is based on a literature review. A variety of literature reviews, for example, 11 government reports and 21 journal articles including experience outside Western Cape, were consulted to enrich the local experience regarding the impact of climate change on agriculture. The results indicated that many dams had low water levels (40%) during 2016/2017, which reduced crop yields including grapes. Droughts, which affected both smallholder and commercial farmers, are now a common phenomenon. Livestock production has declined over time, with small stock, the beef and dairy industry being the most affected. The paper concludes by highlighting climate adaptation and mitigation interventions and strategies for both crops and livestock production in the Western Cape. The major recommendations included scaling up on the use of organic matter to avoid burning and creating gas emissions to the atmosphere, the effective use of livestock manure and the use of appropriate and adaptable seed varieties, managing the manure of the livestock to assist in mulching to reduce water loss through evaporation and using adaptable seeds. Keywords: climate change; impact; mitigation; primary agriculture; adaptation; drought.

Climate change poses a serious threat to efforts by developing countries to ensure food security and poverty reduction. The National Development goals of South Africa envisage the agricultural sector as a key driver for job creation and economic growth. This article seeks to investigate the adaptive capacity of the Ncunjane farming community in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal in response to drought spells of 2010 and 2014. This article draws on data collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods in 2011 and later in 2015 with the data analysed through the Statistical Package for Social Science to determine significant correlations between variables. Analysis of the vulnerability and adaptive capacity is performed using conceptual framework. This study found that both smallholder farmers who engaged in livestock and crop production have experienced high cattle mortalities and stagnant crop productivity, which in turn put pressure on already constrained disposable household income because of increased food costs and agricultural input costs, particularly supplementary animal feed. Cattle owners were more vulnerable to drought because of poor risk management and thus became highly dependent on government to provide drought relief. Application for government drought relief was found not to be effective in cases of large herds of cattle. Variability of rainfall and prolonged heat spells has a significant impact on the sustainability of smallholder mixed-farming systems, leaving agriculture as a highly questionable form of livelihood for rural farming communities such as Msinga. The article recommends strengthened institutional mechanisms so that stakeholders should play a more meaningful role within provincial and local agriculture in leveraging government support but places emphasis on the adoption of innovative strategies that can potentially yield significantly resilient smallholder mixed-farming systems in the wake of climate variability.

The paper argues that professionalism also affect agricultural extension in service delivery by creating demotivated cadres in agriculture. It also provides clarification of the concept of professionalism. It draws data from researchers who did extensive work in the area of professionalism and the registration of profession, the paper seeks to achieve the following: 1) provide concrete principles of professionalism, 2) identify critical obstacles associated with professionalism, 3) review progress on efforts done to date in South Africa about professionalism in extension, 4) and highlight the qualities extensionists are expected to possess. Only three districts in Limpopo namely Capricorn, Vhembe and Sekhukhune participated in a sample of 30 extension officers. They were interviewed on their opinions about skills requirements of extension profession.The sample was analyzed through Staistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) programme. The results revealed that certain skills are important to be possessed by the extension practitioners as seen by its rating: public speaking 86%, writing 72%, listening 69%, research linkages 83%, leadership,76.6%, critical thinking 63%, supervisory 70% and communication planning 83.3%. But when respondents were asked to judge themselves on the functionality of those skills, it was found wanting. The paper concludes with some recommendations.

ABSTRACT

The study evaluated